How to pick blackberries and not get eaten alive

[ddb123]

My worst childhood memory is after spending a day picking blackberries. My sister and I were just covered in bites and absolutely miserable for the next few days. Yesterday I thought I'd pick some blackberries, so I put on long pants and sleeves, soaked myself in deet, and set out. Thirty minutes of pickin and about a dozen chigger bites later, I'm turning to TBN for advice. What's the best way to harvest delicious blackberries from my "pasture" without getting eaten alive by bugs?

 

[countryal]

I remember going to the pond with my Grandmother and she would always put kerosene on our sock tops and around the bottom of our pants. It did a pretty good job of keeping the Red Bugs off. I think y'all call em Chiggers:laughing:

 

[ashwood486]

My grandparents put the same stuff on us growing up. They even used the lamp oil from the old lamps we had in the house, for when the power went out. I am positive this works well, we never had any problems. hope this helps

 

[dmccarty]

Did you tuck the long pants into your socks? It may look goofy but Chiggers are not fun.

I wear long pants, with the legs tucked into long socks. Socks and pants are sprayed with DEET or soaked in Permethrin for the season. This works 95% of the time since I can still find a tick or a chigger bite.

The last two weekends I have been walking and SITTING in the woods after using DEET. No problems with Ticks or Chiggers or as I often call them duo, Tiggers. Now one area had a controlled burn a few years ago and there were danged few tiggers but once I crossed across the fire line there were plenty of ticks. The DEET kept them at bay.

What ticks me off about tiggers is that last Sunday I smoked a pork loin. I woke up Monday with quite a few chigger bites. Our smoker/grill is on gravel and those dang spawn of the devil got me.

Later,
Dan

 

[Ridgewalker]

This won't help with bugs but I use my chainsaw chaps to bull thru the brambles. As long as you don't back up your all most sticker proof!

 

[MossRoad]

My worst childhood memory is after spending a day picking blackberries. My sister and I were just covered in bites and absolutely miserable for the next few days. Yesterday I thought I'd pick some blackberries, so I put on long pants and sleeves, soaked myself in deet, and set out. Thirty minutes of pickin and about a dozen chigger bites later, I'm turning to TBN for advice. What's the best way to harvest delicious blackberries from my "pasture" without getting eaten alive by bugs?

Long pants.
Long sleeves.
Tuck your pants into your socks.
Spray your feet, ankles and legs with Deep Woods Off.
Put on a hooded sweatshirt.
Tie the hood string tight under your chin.
Have someone else spray your wrists, arms, torso, back and head, as you will miss spots if you try it yourself.
Finally, light yourself on fire. That usually keeps them away, for a while, at least. :laughing:

 

[2LaneCruzer]

My worst childhood memory is after spending a day picking blackberries. My sister and I were just covered in bites and absolutely miserable for the next few days. Yesterday I thought I'd pick some blackberries, so I put on long pants and sleeves, soaked myself in deet, and set out. Thirty minutes of pickin and about a dozen chigger bites later, I'm turning to TBN for advice. What's the best way to harvest delicious blackberries from my "pasture" without getting eaten alive by bugs?

Southwest Missouri? We moved to SW Missouri from Oklahoma back in the late 1940's, a little town called Pierce City. We did the same thing; all of us went out and picked blackberries and were eaten alive by the chiggers. They are vicious there, especially if you have no immunity. The locals told us about the sweat sock/kerosene trick, and it seemed to work. Still picked up a few bites and a tick or two, but we were able to pick blackberries and survive.

I loved it there, but the winters were horrendous. You could almost live off the land; blackberries, boysenberries, Hazelnuts, walnuts, hickory nuts, and even strawberries grew wild. Lots of game; rabbits, quail, squirrels, lots of good fishing as I recall; there were orchards where you could pick your own peaches very cheaply and you could grow most everything in the gardens there. Mom canned a lot of stuff, so we lived on the cheap.

Have you thought about mowing and spraying the ground around the blackberries? If they are accessible, that might be an option. They do seem to grow best in hard to get to places, though, like in the fences along the right of way and on the dams of earthen ponds. Let us know how you make out.

P.S. You might ask some of the old timers there; I'm sure they solved this problem years ago.

 

[ricklman]

Living on 32 acres in the SW Arkansas Ouachita Mountains, this is daily life for us.

Every. Single. Day.

We've actually stopped trying to kill the little varmints and started actively breeding them. We're hoping to get a contract to start supplying stock to the annual Southwestern Chigger Rodeo events held locally here in the South Central U.S.

We've got a bull chigger that's gonna go all the way to the national finals this year. The wife went out to feed him a couple of days ago and come to think of it, that's the last time I saw her. I wonder....

Seriously, with a LOT of research behind us, the only real "temporary" relief we've found is "HOT" showers/baths after you get the bites. As HOT as you can stand. You'll get about 3-4 hours relief. It really doesn't matter whether you add bleach/oatmeal/etc into the water, the critter(s) are already gone, you're just treating the bite. Nail polish, hair spray, suffocation "stuff" isn't gonna kill anything, because there isn't anything there left to kill. Honest.

There are many, many links but here's just one to start:
Trombiculosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You would think a person would eventually become somewhat immune to the itch, but if ever there was a definition for "excruciating", a chigger bite would be it.

We cover up, spray down with Deep Woods Off, grit our teeth, step off the porch and Let the Games Begin!

 

[Western]

I also use DeepWoods OFF, I will actually spray my legs from the ankles up to my knees, it feels "warm" at first but seems to help. I then spray t liberaly on my outer clothing. I tried spraying to my waist line,once, but where clothing is tight is was aggravating.

 

[riptides]

I keep paths and trails 8 feet wide and as short as possible to all portions of the property with edibles.

Helps the deer, ya know?

 

[Marveltone]

We've actually stopped trying to kill the little varmints and started actively breeding them. We're hoping to get a contract to start supplying stock to the annual Southwestern Chigger Rodeo events held locally here in the South Central U.S.

We've got a bull chigger that's gonna go all the way to the national finals this year. The wife went out to feed him a couple of days ago and come to think of it, that's the last time I saw her. I wonder....

Sounds familiar. We don't get chiggers this far north, but we do get wood ticks and, of course, the Minnesota state bird, the mosquito.

We've been in the process of becoming a certified tick ranch and mosquito aviary for the past few years. The paperwork can be messy, but we have an abundant supply. Living next to the swamp certainly has its perks!

Seriously, I'm thinking of talking to some of the old time Chippewa, as they don't seem to have a problem with these pesky parasites. The theory is their diet gives their bodies a different scent, apparently unappealing to the offending vermin.

Hey, it's worth a shot.

Joe

 

[Spindifferent]

Dust your shoes and pants up to your knees with sulfur powder inside an old sock.

Works well here in Central Texas when we're picking our Brazos, Kiowa, Arapaho and Navaho blackberries. Kiowa is by far the largest and sweetest.

- Spindifferent

 

[Travelover]

For chiggers, I treat socks and pants with permethrin spray (like US military). If you need a lot, it is infinitely cheaper to buy as fly spray at Tractor Supply and dilute.

Amazon.com: Sawyer Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent Trigger Spray, 12-Ounce: Sports & Outdoors

 

[ddb123]

Southwest Missouri? We moved to SW Missouri from Oklahoma back in the late 1940's, a little town called Pierce City. We did the same thing; all of us went out and picked blackberries and were eaten alive by the chiggers. They are vicious there, especially if you have no immunity. The locals told us about the sweat sock/kerosene trick, and it seemed to work. Still picked up a few bites and a tick or two, but we were able to pick blackberries and survive.

I loved it there, but the winters were horrendous. You could almost live off the land; blackberries, boysenberries, Hazelnuts, walnuts, hickory nuts, and even strawberries grew wild. Lots of game; rabbits, quail, squirrels, lots of good fishing as I recall; there were orchards where you could pick your own peaches very cheaply and you could grow most everything in the gardens there. Mom canned a lot of stuff, so we lived on the cheap.

Have you thought about mowing and spraying the ground around the blackberries? If they are accessible, that might be an option. They do seem to grow best in hard to get to places, though, like in the fences along the right of way and on the dams of earthen ponds. Let us know how you make out.

P.S. You might ask some of the old timers there; I'm sure they solved this problem years ago.

Yes, lots of wild edibles here. I have joked that my house and land "came with" its own food supply. Pierce City is about 20 miles due east of here, been there a couple times since it got tornadoed.

I wouldn't think the winters would be that much worse here than Oklahoma. We do get a real bad one now and then. Last winter was extremely mild, and no snow or ice to speak of.

I can't spray vegetation killer or insecticide in the area because it's near where I keep my beehives. I brush hogged a lot of it down to form lanes through the bramble to make it easier to pick from both sides, but the area is a very rocky hill and it's impossible to mow shorter than about seven inches. The rocks like to hide in the grass, invisible until they jump up into the mower blades. Pesky rocks.

Long pants, shirt sleeves, socks, everything tucked into everything else, lots of Off with deet. Bites are limited to my "underwear area." Not that bad this time, but I didn't get many blackberries, either.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

You can always come pick blackberries in Oregon. No chiggers.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Wear socks, shoes, long pants and long-sleeved shirt soaked in Permethrin.

Best color for clothes is WHITE, and duct tape your pants in your socks. If you are really serious, also dust your legs and feet with sulfur powder.

BTW, ticks often times will drop down on you from tree branches, so treat your hat also.

 

[jonyyuma]

Wear socks, shoes, long pants and long-sleeved shirt soaked in Permethrin.

Best color for clothes is WHITE, and duct tape your pants in your socks. If you are really serious, also dust your legs and feet with sulfur powder.

BTW, ticks often times will drop down on you from tree branches, so treat your hat also.

For a fact, The ticks can come from trees..They also go to the top of tall grass and wait for a lift..Whether it be Deer, person or small animal..I still even find some in my yard..

 

[schoolsout]

redbugs in your pasture?

Been lucky the past few years with the bugs...I've got 100% deet from the camping section at WalMart and spray my shoes pretty good and my head/arms with a small dose.

 

[creekbend]

When we were young, my parents would always make us wear long pants and shirts. We would put our pants legs inside our wool socks. Mom would make sure that we were well coated with vinegar. I remember that this worked quite well.

 

[brin]

All you guys need to do is buy some Naugas...they eat Ticks, Mosquitoes, Fleas and Chiggers....as fate would have it I have a friend that has a Nauga ranch...he used to raise them for their hide...he supplied all the car makers with Nauga Hide for the upholstery in cars but when they went to vinyl and leather he changed his business plan and now sells them in breeding pairs to control these insects...

He used to have a problem when he was skinning the Naugas for their hide with the Nauga carcasses but then he got rats and the rats ate the Naugas ..but then he was covered up with Rats so he bought cats and the cats ate the rats...then wouldn't ya know ....too many cats ..so he bought snakes and now the snakes eat the cats...and now he also sells Snake Hide Boots....:laughing: