Chigger Season

[NativeSon]

I forgot how much I hate chiggers. I have been able to avoid the little buggers for quite a few years, but yesterday I had to weed eat a tall stand of weeds that had gotten out of control at the end of our deck. Weed eating is not one of my favorite things so it had been put off a little too long. With all the rain and residual moisture we have it will be a bad year for chiggers and bugs in general. Timing being everything I had the Pest Control guys scheduled yesterday........so let the war begin.

Charlie

 

[EddieWalker]

This might be the first year since I moved here in 2002 that I've been hit by chiggers. I was tore up by them in the Hill Country, but haven't had anything like that happen here until this past weekend. I've always heard that we didn't have them in East Texas because of all the fire ants, but now I realize that we just didn't have a lot of them most of the time. This year must have been perfect conditions for them to take off!!!

Eddie

 

[mx1alex]

We have both ticks and chiggers bad here in MO. I treat my clothes I go out in the woods in with Permethrin.... mostly for the chiggers. I can deal with ticks. Most of the time I can find them before they bite in and even then it's not that bad. Chiggers though you can't see and by the time you realize you got into some it's too late and you could have a thousand bites on you.

 

[oosik]

I experienced chiggers when visiting in Omaha. Found out why I was the only "fool" out lying on the nice green lawn. Here, we only have ticks & this is rapidly becoming the worst year for them in the 33 years I've been here. Fortunately, they crawl around looking for a favored spot and you can feel and pick them off.

At times I wish I could dab a little Frontline on me as I treat my dog monthly.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I experienced chiggers when visiting in Omaha. Found out why I was the only "fool" out lying on the nice green lawn. Here, we only have ticks & this is rapidly becoming the worst year for them in the 33 years I've been here. Fortunately, they crawl around looking for a favored spot and you can feel and pick them off.

At times I wish I could dab a little Frontline on me as I treat my dog monthly.

yep - tics are rampant here in Georgia as well. Makes me want to shop for some Guinea Fowl, except that they'll be coyote food in the blink of your eye.

You can, however use Permethrin - such as Advantage for dogs on yourself. Is it NOT certified for use on humans, but I can attest that I know two people that use it extensively with no apparent after effects.

You will NOT want to put Permethrin on your cat though - it's deadly to felines.

 

[mx1alex]

yep - tics are rampant here in Georgia as well. Makes me want to shop for some Guinea Fowl, except that they'll be coyote food in the blink of your eye.

You can, however use Permethrin - such as Advantage for dogs on yourself. Is it NOT certified for use on humans, but I can attest that I know two people that use it extensively with no apparent after effects.

You will NOT want to put Permethrin on your cat though - it's deadly to felines.

Sawyer makes a permethrin product to treat your clothes. It's 0.5% permethrin and costs around $15 a bottle. I buy Sentry 35 day dog dip and dilute it down to 0.5% and spray my clothes with it. It lasts 3-4 washes and is a lot cheaper than the sawyers.

 

[rekees4300]

Worst chigger season ever in Indiana. Walked 10 feet into weeds ankle high weeds for couple minutes without protection and got nailed 9 times! The little demons seem to know where to bite to be the most annoying like back of knees and crotch. Effective way I use to stop them is high socks pulled up over bottom of pants legs then spray from shoes to knees with liberal dose of Off.

 

[dmccarty]

Sawyer makes a permethrin product to treat your clothes. It's 0.5% permethrin and costs around $15 a bottle. I buy Sentry 35 day dog dip and dilute it down to 0.5% and spray my clothes with it. It lasts 3-4 washes and is a lot cheaper than the sawyers.

I either treat my clothes with Permethrin or use DEET.

What ticks me off, pun intended, :laughing::laughing::laughing: is that Chiggers get us while walking on our gravel driveway and parking area. They get me when BBQing on the gravel. :shocked:

Last weekend I was doing some chores in the house since it was too danged hot to be outside working. I had to go to the barn to get some tools a few times and just walking on gravel the little spawn of the devil got me. Not too bad, only a dozen or so bites but still...

At this piont, I have been bitten so many times that the bits do not bother me as much as they used too. We had a guy out to clear some land in a bulldozer a few years ago. He was wearing sandals and shorts running a huge bull dozer with a 11-12 foot blade. :shocked: I told him the place was loaded with ticks and chigger but he said they don't bother him. :shocked: He was walking around in the weeds so I guess they don't. He must have been bit enough to not be bothered at all by the bites.

The only thing that will control ticks and chiggers is controlled burns. I am convinced that is why we have so many ticks and chiggers now. That and a huge deer population.

Later,
Dan

 

[JRobyn]

They like to climb up to the highest part of any vegetation and wait for something to brush by - then they quickly crawl onto that something and find a dark, moist spot with something covering it (sock, waistband) to push back against and bite. The only things I've found to reduce the likelihood of attack is to keep any vegetation cut down low, and broadcast spread the granules of Triacicide in areas that we know we will be walking on a regular basis. That, plus DEET on skin and Permanone on shoes/clothes.

- Jay

 

[TCJatko]

We don't seem to have chiggers here in New Hampshire, one of the few benefits of long, cold winters. I remember being plagued by them as a kid in West Virginia.