Chiggers

[EdP]

They were terrible where I lived in Ky. Permethrin is what worked for me. Open up your footwear and spray the inside of footwear and outside of socks. Roll up your pants about 5" and spray the inside 5" and the outside of socks and footwear. Roll pants back down and spray outside up to your knees. Tie or band your pants to your ankles. If you don't spray inside your footwear and outside of socks the little buggers can go thru eyelet holes and bite up your feet. Treatment for a serious case in a prednisone pack.

 

[SpringM1A]

use clear finger nail polish on the bites to kill them and stop that crazy itch!

 

[AKBC]

A farmer in Kansas told me he sprayed diesel on his jeans cuff to keep them out. I never tried it but never want to step foot in chigger country again unless its cold.

 

[Braunschweiger]

I can +1 on Sawyers Permethrin. Follow instrcutions on box/can and it will kill on contact. Otherwise I always spray with 40% deet whereever I go to keep them from attaching.

 

[Whisky]

I had to Google chiggers to see what they look like. I will take that as a good thing!!

I'd probably be dead in 2 days in the bush in the South.

 

[Drenalin]

I got them once from my toes to my belly button…including all points between. Use your imagination. After a few days of calamine lotion, I looked and smelled like a corpse, and had no relief. When I got home, I jumped in a hot shower with bleach, salt, and one of those frilly lady part scrubbers (louffa?) then scrubbed till I couldn’t take anymore. Problem solved and a memorable lesson on prevention. Do what EdP said next time if you don’t want itchy welts on the family jewels.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

My ankles are swollen as I type. I can’t stop them and I use sawyer

It's ok to put it on your skin and not just your clothes. It is the same formula as RID that is put on our kids when they get lice at school. Just put it on the exposed skin and a little bit up the arms and calves and you will be good to go. Also around your waist because they have a nasty way of getting down there and wreaking havoc.

I used to be the Repel Insect repellant rep and the reason these companies say that it should on clothes only is because they don't want to pay the FDA to say its safe on your skin and then it allows them to sell their DEET products at the same time! It's all about the Benjamins!!!!

 

[kfili]

Ha my legs are tore up right now! Forgot the deet on Saturdays scouting hike

 

[Southern Heritage]

Im that guy thats gets destroyed when no one else does. I talked to my 5 other dove hunters who all sprayed with sawyers and or off. No chiggers. I got 11 bites and 1 tick.
My last turkey hunt with 7 guys. Not one guy got a tick. I got 15 on me. 4 embedded that where removed. Then two mornings i woke up with them on my pillow. If some rare occasion i don't spray its comical to the amount of bites i get.

I probably get bit by 200-300 chiggers a year. Ankles, behind my knees, waste line and my scrow.
I probably remove 40 embedded ticks a year.
100+ just crawling on me. Im highly allergic to ants and bees and done the antiflatic ordeal.
I always wondered why me. Is it my blood type or what?
I also spend 365 days outside weather hunting, work, or hiking but so do other people.

 

[Wapiti1]

Knee high socks coated in sawyer permethrin have been the beat for me.

Jeremy

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

I have chiggers and ticks in my lower and back pastures BIG TIME. Didn't find out how horrible it was until a few years ago when I did some prone shooting out back. My lord it was awful. Bites from head to toe and nut to butt. I barely slept until they healed.

Anyways...

The thing people dont realize is, it takes a couple days for the reaction to the chiggers bites to appear. By the time you see the bite and its getting itchy, the chigger is long gone or dead. They also don't burrow into your skin; that's an old wives tale.

Here's what I've learned:

- Chiggers die very easily. They're soft-bodied. After you've went walking thru the tall grass, wipe yourself down with a rag, baby wipe, your hands, etc.

- Spray DEET around your boots, ankles, pant legs, and waist line.

- Put Gold Bond in your boots at the end of the day. The powder kills them.

- Don't wear the same clothes twice without running them thru the dryer for 15-20 mins.

Since adopting these methods, I've went from 100+ chiggers bites a year to less than 10-15. If those little shits still get you, put Vicks Vapor Rub on them for temporary relief.

Hope this helps ya!

 

[LookinforDirt]

Sawyer Permethrin on every thing you plan to wear into the woods. Socks, pants, shirt, underwear, boots (unless rubber, rubber will naturally repel). Do a good job covering each piece. They should be damp to wet. Not just a quick spray. Hang them outside to dry then wear.

I just spent 4 hours scouting in the closet thing to a jungle I’ve ever been in and not one single chigger or tick (but I’m sure I had 500 yards of spiders web clinging to me). If applied right, Permethrin works.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Sawyer Permethrin on every thing you plan to wear into the woods. Socks, pants, shirt, underwear, boots (unless rubber, rubber will naturally repel). Do a good job covering each piece. They should be damp to wet. Not just a quick spray. Hang them outside to dry then wear.

I just spent 4 hours scouting in the closet thing to a jungle I’ve ever been in and not one single chigger or tick (but I’m sure I had 500 yards of spiders web clinging to me). If applied right, Permethrin works.

It would be nice if you could buy the stuff in like a 3 gallon size and just dip your clothes and let them hang. Same goes for water repellant spray. That way you wouldn't ever miss a spot.

 

[dtrkyman]

Guys DIY there own "sawyer" you can buy permethrin concentrate and dilute it, soak your clothes and hang dry.

Google it I am sure it will come up, otherwise most of the turkey forums talk it about it often.

The Sawyer is just convenient and i get several seasons out of a bottle.

 

[EdP]

use clear finger nail polish on the bites to kill them and stop that crazy itch!

By the time you are itching from a chigger it has had it way with you and is long gone. The nail polish thing may stop the itch for some people but the idea that it kills the chigger is a myth.

 

[bradr3367]

Get some Chigger X at Walmart. It is a God send to relieve the itch.

 

[Rokbar]

When I was in the Army, they issued a sulfer based lotion that worked very well.

 

[Mike Islander]

Since it's warm out, if you can bath in a lake or stream each evening, then change into camp clothing it will dramatically reduce them. Like said above, if you don't have a body of water, rub yourself down thoroughly with a wet rag. Think of them as essentially spiders. Fairly fragile and easily destroyed with a washcloth. Do your entire body especially around your ankles, knees, pant lines. They take a while before they bite, so if you can get them dead each night, far fewer will bite you.

I venture into ridiculous South Carolina Lowcountry sea island thickets all summer long. Evening showers or ocean swims with plenty of scrubbing keep my chigger bite count down to less than 20 per year.

 

[Yarak]

Permethrin is your friend and I highly recommend stuffing your pant legs into your boots if possible

 

[MeatMissile]

We call them chegroes.