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Seasider

Beach Lover
Nov 27, 2004
74
4
Meat tenderizer seems to work ok and it is easy to carry a small bottle of the powder in a beach bag. For chiggers there is a product available at drugstores called Chiggerid. It is a liquid that you dab on and it hardens up stopping the itch.
 

Jdarg

SoWal Expert
Feb 15, 2005
18,068
1,973
Seasider said:
Meat tenderizer seems to work ok and it is easy to carry a small bottle of the powder in a beach bag. For chiggers there is a product available at drugstores called Chiggerid. It is a liquid that you dab on and it hardens up stopping the itch.


Thanks for the info on Chiggerid! We'll be ready for the little buggers! Bring it on you little varmints! :boxing:
 
Apr 16, 2005
9,496
160
59
Buckeye Country
Paula said:
What's a chigger? Never heard of it.

This gives me the willies just thinking about it but here ya go Paula.

A chigger or red bug is an immature stage (larvae) of the harvest mite. Like all mites, the harvest mite life cycle includes larva, nymph, and adult. In the last two stages, this mite feeds on plant materials. The stage that gets the attention of humans is the larval stage. This is the stage that is considered to be a pest, causing intense itching.

The tiny nymph (chigger) will infest humans (and other animals) usually when we work or walk in tall grass or other such undergrowth. The chigger has a mouthpart similar to that of a tick and uses this mouthpart for feeding. But, unlike ticks, chiggers do not feed on our blood.
A chigger's saliva will at first harden the walls of the hole made by its mouthpart. This hardening gives the chigger a "straw" to use for feeding and prevents our body from closing off the hole made by this pest. Once the chigger has made its hole, it can now feed. Its saliva will actually liquefy our skin cells which the bug now uses for food.

The chemicals or proteins in a chigger's saliva will cause itching in the area where the tiny red bug feeds. This itching is delayed; we sense intense itching about 24 to 48 hours after being exposed to chigger bites. Some itching might be detected in 3 or 4 hours but the worst sensations (a day or two later) are what fool us into believing that we picked up chiggers (or red bugs, as they are sometimes called) in our lawn.
Having a terrible itch from red bugs or chiggers? Where were you yesterday or the day before? That area is usually the origin of infestation. This is very important when eliminating chiggers or harvest mites in all stages.
A chigger is too tiny to see with the naked eye but a group of them can be visible when they congregate on our ankles, waist or other body area. (These areas are preferred by the chigger because our skin is thinner and makes it easier for this microscopic pest to penetrate our skin for its meal.) When grouped together in large numbers they appear red in color. This is their natural color, not caused by blood feeding!

Chigger Myths
Chiggers do not bore into and live inside of our skin. Applying finger nail polish or other household chemicals to red bumps on our skin does not help. They will not burrow deep inside our body and eventually die. By the time your severe itching problem sets in, the chigger is nowhere in sight. Trying to smother a chigger with various products is a total waste of your time and might actually cause more problems.

Chiggers do not drink blood. They are red because that is their color. Chiggers drink liquefied skin cells. Ticks feed on blood; chiggers do not.

A chigger or red bug is not an adult bug. It is an immature larvae.

These pests are not insects; they are mites.

That tiny hole or red bump on your skin is not where chiggers lay eggs. A chigger is a baby, a harvest mite larvae. Only the adult harvest mite lays eggs.

Elimination
Once you have established which area the chiggers have infested, you can treat lawns, fence rows and ornamentals with Permethrin Pro. Use one ounce of concentrate per 1,000 square feet of area to be treated. Use a hose-end sprayer for applying to lawns, fence rows.
This material is safe for use in areas where children, pets and wildlife frequent when applied correctly. Keep people and pets off treated areas until dry. Permethrin Pro will kill chiggers, ants, fleas, ticks and other pests found in lawns. It can also be used indoors for general purpose pest control: roaches, ants, fleas, ticks, spiders, silverfish and other labeled pests.
 

Miss Kitty

Meow
Jun 10, 2005
47,017
1,131
69
I used to scorn chigger bites on the buttocks! I wonder if I could find some now to "liquify" that area? Those devils itch like crazy! Usually got them at camp or by the bay.
 

Paula

Beach Fanatic
Jan 25, 2005
3,747
442
Michigan but someday in SoWal as well
Yech, chiggers sound disgusting. I assume you can't get chigger bites just walking by some nice sea oats on the way to the pool or the beach? Sounds like something you encounter if your're sporty (hiking, camping, etc.). Are those of us who are lazy beach bums who dont walk in tall grasses, woods, etc., at risk?
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
Paula said:
Yech, chiggers sound disgusting. I assume you can't get chigger bites just walking by some nice sea oats on the way to the pool or the beach? Sounds like something you encounter if your're sporty (hiking, camping, etc.). Are those of us who are lazy beach bums who dont walk in tall grasses, woods, etc., at risk?

no, you are not at risk, unless you go in October, when the Chiggers are all over the beach. You know they don't just bite and leave. They actually bury themselves under your skin. Just another reason to stay in the big cities during Oct.;-)
 
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Paula

Beach Fanatic
Jan 25, 2005
3,747
442
Michigan but someday in SoWal as well
Thanks for the advice on chiggers in October. I've heard they get in your food and drink, too, and are especially active at Grayton Beach during sunset and they look for people with SoWal stickers on their cars (I think they're drawn to bold black and white patterns).

I've also heard about aliens visiting SoWal in October, but that one's probably just a myth (like the one about the 4500 pound alligator in New Orleans). What's most interesting about the alien stories is that the aliens tend to go after people who have the most postings on discussion groups. :lol:
 
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