Chiggers DO NOT burrow into you!

[Clint]

Oops!

I should have logged Bruce out before posting above about Phenol.

[ETEXASHUNTER]

This looks like great information, this helps in several ways. Thank you for your time andeffort gathering this and sharing it with the TBH team

[steel shot]

Great info!

[CaptainDave]

Thanks for posting.

I'm not sure why so many people believe all the myths about chiggers. Just a little research will uncover the simple fact that by the time you feel and see the bite, the chigger is long gone on his way. By this time, its nothing more than anti-itch remedies.

We have a place in Ft Bend county and I got into them real bad one time. We were clearing brush to make a path for our Ranger. Both my legs looked like the pictures above, had a few more on the waist band, under arms, and a few where the sun don't shine. Not cool, those darn things itch more than ant bites and hang around for a few days. I didn't really even know until the following day. At first, I thought I had poison ivy. I counted over a few hundred bites.

Just standard Deet (off or the like) works fine as a repellant. If they are real bad, you may still get a couple, but that isn't bad. However, when hunting time comes, off is not used due to the scent. I have found that chiggers generally are on brush, branches, etc. So, when walking to and from the blind, try your best to not brush up against trees, limbs, bushes, or walk through high grass. The worst I ever got them was doing brush cleaning, so picking up and draggin limbs is not a good idea, especially w/o repellant. I have done lease work with repellant multiple times since the one bad experience and have not had any problems. A couple here or there, but it ain't nothing like a few hundred.

[BrandonA]

Huh?.....he just said no bleach bath required...just warm soapy shower

I don't care what the article says bleach bath works to relieve the pain and itching and if the little biting *******s are still on you it will kill them as well. sulphur works great but stinks. You can by sulphur soap at the local pharmacy. I have had more than my share of chigger encounters and hate them with a passion.

[Clint]

Anyone get the impression that Brandon might be a tad hard headed.

[BrandonA]

Anyone get the impression that Brandon might be a tad hard headed.

Like a steel anvil but seriously the bleach bath provides immediate comfort and they also work on killing little seed ticks.

[ifishdad]

Dang now im itching

[kcmarullo]

I use chiggerex works good for me

[redfish76]

Huh?.....he just said no bleach bath required...just warm soapy shower

Not just warm, HOT. That helps relieve the itch of chiggers, poison ivy, etc. for a little while.

[quarterback]

As bad as they are, I'll take chigger bites any day over ticks. Somebody needs to start a new thread on ticks! Russ???

[equin]

Hi, equin - I read somewhere awhile back that bear grease (rancid?) mixed with Goldenseal (a perennial herb) was used as an insect repellent by Native Americans. And Gulf of Mexico Native Americans used alligator grease, I think.
Maybe it worked because the insects couldn't penetrate the coating!

Interesting - bear and gator grease. Thanks for the info. I've often wondered about that. I tell ya, I've lived along the gulf coast and Texas most of my life, and bugs and bug bites have plagued me throughout those years. In Puerto Rico and elsewhere, it's only been mosquitoes, but TX and the southeast sure toughens you up to all the different biting bugs - mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks, yellow/deer fly, bee and wasp stings, biting gnats, etc. Always wondered how the Native Americans and early settlers survived side-by-side with all these biting bugs!

[muley4x4]

thanks for the info my legs are still burning from the weekend!

[Blue Eagle2]

Very good thank you for this.

[Chameleon]

Chiggers are the worst and this year they seems to be particularly bad.