Great treatment for chiggers

Scsmith42

Scsmith42

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Yesterday afternoon I walked thru one of the unmowed hay pastures and ended up covered in chiggers. When I went into the house that evening they had worked their way up my legs and I had around 50 bites on one thigh alone.

At my wife’s suggestion, I filled the tub with hot water and some Dawn dishwashing liquid (around 4 oz), and ended up soaking in it for the better part of an hour.

The bites disappeared and no itch!

Her team uses Dawn in their veterinary practice to kill fleas and bugs on dogs and cats that are inundated with them.

It’s the best chigger treatment that I’ve found, and just wanted to share.
 
I hate those little suckers.
I can’t even walk thru my yard in the summer without getting eaten up. The dogs bring them in too and I get bit at night.
They don’t touch the wife but my legs are severely scarred from years of attacks.
Glad to know I have a way to fight them off now. Thanks for this.
 
Chiggers are soft bodied so if you think you have a few on your legs immediately rub the piss out of your legs and crush them. It actually seems to work. And chiggers are not active when the temperature drops below 60 degrees. I spent years working in the boonies and fought the little bastards every day. Now seed ticks are a whole other matter. You can't rub them off and the only cure is permethrin or quick amputation.
 
Scsmith42 said:
At my wife’s suggestion, I filled the tub with hot water and some Dawn dishwashing liquid (around 4 oz), and ended up soaking in it for the better part of an hour.
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Thanks for this awesome tip! I hate chiggers :mad:. I'd have to get a hotel room to have a bathtub but it might be worth it!
 
Red Marley said:
Thanks for this awesome tip! I hate chiggers :mad:. I'd have to get a hotel room to have a bathtub but it might be worth it!
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Maybe a big thick yard trash bag? You could tape it to a hula hoop or sticks and stand in it while they drown? Assuming you had a water source, you could tote that anywhere.
 
I can put 1 foot, in a 100 acre field, with 1 chigger and the dang thing would bite me. Hate them little bleep bleep spawns of satan!
 
One could probably mix up some Dawn and warm water in a spray bottle and simply spray down the bites.

I've not had good luck with ChiggerX or any of the other popular treatments, but the soak sure works.
 
hp468 said:
Scott, did she give any reason as to why this works or what the active agent is that kills the itch? I've always just dealt with the bites, the sticks and other mess never did anything for me either.
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Nope, no reason given other than that it works well on dogs and cats that are flea ridden when they come in for spay/neuter.

A few months ago I couldn't sleep due to a plethora of chigger bites, and that's when she first mentioned it. I got up in the middle of the night and soaked in the tub and it relieved about 80% of the itching. However I only soaked for 15 minutes or so at that time.

Last night I opted for an hour soak and no itching afterward at all.
 
I think the dawn dislodges the little silica proboscis they leave behind.

I keep so many for so long, I could probably just become a nature museum exhibit.

I've said before, right after you get out of the field, hit yourself up with a sticky lint roller.

Seed ticks you light something on fire and wand it all over your pants. Luckily they aren't as bad in the western part of the state.
 
Scsmith42 said:
Last night I opted for an hour soak and no itching afterward at all.
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They probably just tanked whatever was left of your nerve endings! Little bastards...

Thanks for the tip! I'm starting to think Dawn is some sort of miracle concoction or hyperreality liquid - sure seems to be good for a lot of (non-dishy) things.
 
Downeast said:
Now seed ticks are a whole other matter. You can't rub them off and the only cure is permethrin or quick amputation.
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We always used a paper towel and fingernail polish remover. Wet the towel with the remover and wipe them off. The remover kills them.
 
This discussion reminds me of a state-side military experience I had about 50 years ago. "Camping" Army style in the summer in the south during a field exercise, we unfortunately set up in what turned out to be a chigger infested area. Those #7*@x# insects made their way ALL the way up my legs and past, setting up a feast in my most treasured of body areas.

Not much to say about how bad it was except to make it even worse, I had to convince my wife that my scratching was not a form of self pleasure and that the bites were from chiggers acquired while sleeping on the ground, not other crotch vermin acquired via contact with another woman.
 
Adding a little clorox to the bath water gets rid of them too. Did that all the time as a kid. Only need to soak in it for a few minutes. Mix it up a bit stronger than swimming pool water. Works great.
 
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