Arkansas Chiggers

[Puller]

My family has owned some Arkansas bottom land that has been farmed mainly for cotton for generations, and owned by my family since just after the Civil War. It's about an hour drive from our place, not far across the river in Arkansas.

We recently went over to the place to conduct business with some folks we are leasing part of the land to. One of my visiting cousins, who lives in La Porte, Indiana, said he wanted to come along since he'd never been to Arkansas before. We made the drive and crossed the Mississippi River at Helena, Arkansas, and continued on outside of town a ways, then turned on a gravel road to get to the bottom land currently covered in cotton plants. When we arrived to the place we were to meet some other folks, I told my cousin to stay in the truck and I'd leave it running with the air conditioning on, we wouldn't be here but for a few minutes.

I got out and visited with the folks I had business with which only took about 5 minutes and a handshake, then turned to see my cousin standing out on the edge of the road taking pictures of the cotton field. "Hey, get back in the truck now," I shouted at him. He got back in and asked what the big deal was about.
"Did you spray any bug spray on you when you got out?" He said he didn't. I handed him a bottle of alcohol based hand sanitizer and told him to spread that all over his legs (he was wearing cargo shorts) and let's hope he's not covered up in Arkansas chiggers.

He looked at me and said, I didn't see any . . . .

I pulled out my iPhone and showed him a picture and said, they're too small to see but this is what they look like.

The next day his ankles were covered up in chigger bites. I have a picture I was going to post, but it's too painful looking to share in polite company.

 

[biku324]

Moved to NM from SW MO one county north of Eureka Springs, AR in '80 and haven't had a chigger nor tick bite since. Nor poison ivy. Nor heard a tornado warning. Nor paid personal property tax.

 

[6518John]

Moved to NM from SW MO one county north of Eureka Springs, AR in '80 and haven't had a chigger nor tick bite since. Nor poison ivy. Nor heard a tornado warning. Nor paid personal property tax.

It doesn’t sound like you miss us that much!

 

[biku324]

Only family...and the fishing!

 

[Jessie]

Puller, that picture sure looks like they feel. I hate these little buggers!
I’m sure Virginia chiggers are just as ugly.

 

[Onomea]

Oh yeah. We used to get 'em in Virginia as kids. Unpleasant, for sure.

 

[cherrypointmarine]

When I was in Boy Scouts , we went camping every month . We used to take sulphur powder and dust it around our legs , waist , arm pits and between our legs . As you well know , the bites itch like crazy . We found the best way to deal with the bites was to take clear finger nail polish and paint it over the bites . That kills the bug and the itch goes away .

There's nothing worse than going to school on Monday and trying to discretely scratch chigger bites .Especially the ones around your waist and between your legs . They like to go where you sweat .

 

[6518John]

A cup of bleach in a cool bath tub full of water will get rid of them too.

 

[6518John]

I like the Sunrises and the mist over freshly mowed hay fields.

 

[Rustyt1953]

After a day outside in Florida I would go inside and play "connect the dots".

At school every kid had a ruler and it wasn't just for measuring.

Mom used to smear me with a baking soda paste. I looked like a drop dumpling.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

When picking huckleberries/blackberries we used powered Sulphur mixed
into carbolated Vaseline forming a paste. Placed around ankles, wrist and
waist kept them at bay. If one did bite dab them with the paste.
As an adult chiggers don't seem to like me, I rarely get a bite.
I haven't seen carbolated Vaseline since early 70's. It may not be made
att.

 

[S&W ucla]

That picture is of a juvenile chigger. The teeth are much larger on the adults!

 

[Greyman50]

Growing up in Va. used to get them anytime going out in the spring ,early summer. Nail polish always works.

 

[JayCeeNC]

I always used powdered Sulphur around my socks tops and the tops of my shoes. Worked well.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I did some ether digging and it seems mom was correct.

Chigger Bite Chemistry:

Once the chigger has secured itself to a hair follicle, it pierces the skin and releases saliva which is loaded with digestive enzymes. These enzymes effectively liquefy skin tissue, making it easier for the chigger to feed.


A healthy human immune system will quickly detect the invasion and take defensive measures, forming a red raised bump, called a papule, at the site of each chigger bite. Chiggers use the wall of this round welt (called a stylostome) like a drinking straw, slurping up a smoothie of skin cells.

Why Nail Polish Won't Take the Itch out of Chigger Bites

A bit of basic chigger biology explains why remedies like nail polish or Vaseline won't work to alleviate the misery of chigger bites. There's a misconception that bright red spot in the center of the bite is the chigger itself. It's not. That's the stylostome which only starts itching like mad four to six hours after the chigger bites.

Although applying nail polish or Vaseline might temporarily soothe itching, you aren't suffocating anything by coating the bite, nor are you killing anything by applying alcohol or any other chemical substance. The red, raised bump you're scratching is nothing more than your own skin trying to heal itself. While chigger bites can itch for up to 10 days as your body battles the foreign substances injected by the chigger, the varmints themselves are long gone.


Home Remedies for Itching

A wide variety of home remedies can be applied to the welts to help alleviate itching:

A saline solution mixed with aloe vera can take away some of the itch. Mix up a batch, put it in a spray bottle, and use as needed.
Applying a paste of baking soda and water has been known to keep itching at bay.
Combine mentholated rub and salt to form a paste and apply it during a pre-bedtime shower. It might sting on application but stopping the itch overnight should balance out any minor discomfort.
Of course, you may find that the chiggers have bitten certain tender areas where topical treatments are not appropriate. If you've been bitten below the belt, cold compresses and oral antihistamines are your best bet for itch relief.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Late to the party on this one, but just in time to remind everyone that this is the 21st Century and all cultural sensitivities must be observed. Use of the word "chiggers" could easily be misinterpreted in many social settings, and needless harm to feelings could result.

Perhaps we should consider using "indigenous arachnids".

It is a political issue after all. Politics is a derivative of the Latin "poly" meaning many, and "tics" being blood-sucking creatures.

If I go much further with this I am almost certain to draw a spanking from the moderators.

 

[Chuck24]

Thought this was going a thread about minor league baseball

 

[Bugkiller99]

I did some ether digging and it seems mom was correct.

Chigger Bite Chemistry:

Once the chigger has secured itself to a hair follicle, it pierces the skin and releases saliva which is loaded with digestive enzymes. These enzymes effectively liquefy skin tissue, making it easier for the chigger to feed.


A healthy human immune system will quickly detect the invasion and take defensive measures, forming a red raised bump, called a papule, at the site of each chigger bite. Chiggers use the wall of this round welt (called a stylostome) like a drinking straw, slurping up a smoothie of skin cells.

Why Nail Polish Won't Take the Itch out of Chigger Bites

A bit of basic chigger biology explains why remedies like nail polish or Vaseline won't work to alleviate the misery of chigger bites. There's a misconception that bright red spot in the center of the bite is the chigger itself. It's not. That's the stylostome which only starts itching like mad four to six hours after the chigger bites.

Although applying nail polish or Vaseline might temporarily soothe itching, you aren't suffocating anything by coating the bite, nor are you killing anything by applying alcohol or any other chemical substance. The red, raised bump you're scratching is nothing more than your own skin trying to heal itself. While chigger bites can itch for up to 10 days as your body battles the foreign substances injected by the chigger, the varmints themselves are long gone.


Home Remedies for Itching

A wide variety of home remedies can be applied to the welts to help alleviate itching:

A saline solution mixed with aloe vera can take away some of the itch. Mix up a batch, put it in a spray bottle, and use as needed.
Applying a paste of baking soda and water has been known to keep itching at bay.
Combine mentholated rub and salt to form a paste and apply it during a pre-bedtime shower. It might sting on application but stopping the itch overnight should balance out any minor discomfort.
Of course, you may find that the chiggers have bitten certain tender areas where topical treatments are not appropriate. If you've been bitten below the belt, cold compresses and oral antihistamines are your best bet for itch relief.

Rusty nailed it. Oh, and no charge for the confirmation.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

Rusty, that was the benefit of carbolated Vaseline, it contained carbolic acid
which did kill then help heal the bite. Also some chiggers have been known
to hold on for 3-4 days.

 

[twodog max]

No chiggers in my part of Arkansas. The seed ticks ate all of them.