Thread: Thoughts on dodging chigger bites

Great post, NickM, and welcome to Wild Texas! Lots of useful info in there. I like the idea of using something as innocuous as mineral oil as a chigger deterent. I imagine you have to towel it off at the end of your outing in order to avoid greasing up the car seats, right? Do you apply it over sunblock?

JohnK

Thanks for the response. A towel on the car seat is mandatory part of this routine. Mineral oil on car fabric is a serious problem. A towel works perfectly. Caution is needed when applying it. Cleaning up spilled mineral oil is no fun. Once home, I paper towel it off (the easy part) and hop in a bath. Even in the heat, the coating stayed on my legs where I applied it.

Last year was my first time using mineral oil. I'm trying to remember what I did with sunscreen. I usually use the spf 30 clear liquid pump since its so easy to put on. Sunscreens don't mix well with mineral oil. I seem to remember them separating on my legs and so instead I just kept my lower legs out of the direct sun. This year I may try to apply the clear 30 first and let it dry. Maybe the mineral oil will work over that. Chiggers are already starting to come out in Texas so this will be soon.

Ok. I was chicken to say this before but here's the rest of the story. There is one other exposure, so to speak. Since I only used mineral oil on the lower legs, chiggers are easily able to land on your upper legs and, well travel north. Being this is Texas, the solution really kills 2 birds with 1 stone. If you're willing to forego the (embarrassed smiley) undies and add a little mineral oil to where chiggers might be headed, you avoid getting bitten, well where chiggers have been known to bite people. Also, it is a :cool: cool (ahhh...) secret that you don't have to share with your baking hot friends.

Sorry :eek:

I'm not too proud and I love the Texas outdoors too much to miss it just for chiggers. The freedom to stay out all day is entirely worth the effort.

Thanks for the great post and welcome also. I think I can attract chiggers sitting on my back patio just looking at the grass. I have had some luck with OFF when I know I am going out to my back pasture. Chiggers have ruined many a good memory of an outing for me. Thanks again.

Sandy

Nude? You mean, like, scare them away?

DEET has worked well for me, though I require no less than 40%.

When I hike through thick brush that will contain chiggers. I prefer to wear BDU pants tucked into my hiking boots. They are comfortable, loose and have a lot of pockets.

Also, I have never had problems with chiggers in my socks doing that. And it minimizes the amount of chemicals I have to use. Only having to spray my arms.

Hello again all and happy mid-summer.

The worst attack I ever endured was in the Watertown area of upstate New York. Our Army Reserve unit convoyed up from Virginia for our 2 week summer field exercise. After two days in waist high grass, wearing tucked BDUs and the usual army boots, wool socks, etc., I was taken to the hospital with ~200 bites below each knee.

And if all that fails and you do indeed have chiggers, soak in a tub of vinegar water. I use about 2 cups of vinegar to a tub. If you cant get in a tub then dab vinegar straight on to the bites.

You will smell like a pickle but the chiggers will be gone before you know it!

When I came in from camping Sunday, there was a package of Cedarcide on my doorstep. I ordered a couple BEST YET "spitzers" and a quart of the BEST YET insect control solution.

The stuff ain't cheap and this added up to about $50 w/shipping. However, the Deet type products really bother my skin and since this is cedar oil based, I'm willing to give it a go.

I'll post something on it after I've given it a good testing and that may be a couple of months, since I have to wait for it to warm up a bit.

Here is their website

Last year the chiggers drove me crazy.

I still haven't tried the Cedarcide on myself, but the other day my dog had a tick on it's back, so I sprayed the tick. After about 30 seconds, I combed it right off with no resistance.

I'm going back to Brazos Bend SP Monday for a good ike and I'll probably need an insecticide this time, so I'll test it.