Chigger bite remedies

A

AnIdiotOutdoors

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Apr 28, 2012
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I foolishly wandered out to the woods by the lakes without any insect repellent. The weather was actually great and had no mosquito problems; but chiggers did get me and get me good. I didn't even notice I'd been got until the ride home; by which time all of the culprits but one had fled.

I tried Benadryl and Caladryl for relief and found little relief from either. I was considering heating an iron rod until it was red hot and slapping it on the bites; but lucky for me my wife is good at Internet research and is curious. She divided me up half and half and applied a paste of baking soda and water to bites on one side and apple cider vinegar to bites on the other side to see which (if either) was more effective. I thought I'd share the results so someone else can profit from my experience :)

Baking soda and water paste: Easy to prepare. Immediate itch relief. Felt better from the moment she put it on, total itch relief for about 8 hours with one application. After that it started to return a bit; but not full strength.

Apple cider vinegar: Stung and smelled, both of which took your mind off the itch long enough for it to go to work. Probably an effective antiseptic for the raw bites as well. Lasted about 7 hours with one application. Itch relief near total; but not quite equal to baking soda.

Hope this is useful for someone and feel free to share your own experiences with repelling biting bugs.
 
Man, I wish I had known those remedies! I was told salt and water, mixed to a sludge (probably similar to the baking soda) but it never seemed to work. My best solution was to just suck it up and not scratch until the bites faded - maybe that's where I learned it is best to leave bites alone...I sure don't miss chiggers on the sock and pant line.

Thanks again for the info.
 
Mom always made us take a bath with vinegar in it. Always seemed to do the job, but boy it felt like your legs were on fire for a while!
 
I've found the best way to treat these is to prevent it. Rub down with ammonia before going out and get your pant legs real good. Go to your vet office and get you two of the cow tags they stick on cows ears. Secure those to your boots and you will find the bites are far less as you hunt and hike also. I used those for years and just velcroed the things to my boot sides every season. Atwoods sells a product and you can buy it on line that is called Afterbite. Take a hot shower, use the blow dryer after to get the sting out of the bite some in each spot (don't burn yourself) and then apply the afterbite. It will sting like hell but the relief is long lasting and usually they dry up pretty soon after that. They'll get red as hell first but they do clear up.
 
Yes, the ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure sure holds true with chiggers. A little update... having done a few re-applications now, I've noticed a few things:

1. You get the best results right after a shower when your skin is all nice and clean. If you reapply at the end of the day, for some reason, it isn't as effective and doesn't last as long. Maybe something to do with the natural oils in my skin or dirt?

2. The baking soda mix varies in effectiveness depending on the ratio of water/soda. Too watery and it stops working in about 30 minutes - 1 hour. Too thick and you get maybe 4-5 hours out of it. The ideal consistency (for me anyway) has been to get it as wet as you can get it and still see white on both the bite and the tip of your finger when you dab it in.

3. I am going to try the vinegar again tonight to see if it does better without having taken a shower first. Another bonus of the vinegar is it comes pre-mixed in the proper ratio :)
 
STR said:
I've found the best way to treat these is to prevent it. Rub down with ammonia before going out and get your pant legs real good. Go to your vet office and get you two of the cow tags they stick on cows ears. Secure those to your boots and you will find the bites are far less as you hunt and hike also. I used those for years and just velcroed the things to my boot sides every season. Atwoods sells a product and you can buy it on line that is called Afterbite. Take a hot shower, use the blow dryer after to get the sting out of the bite some in each spot (don't burn yourself) and then apply the afterbite. It will sting like hell but the relief is long lasting and usually they dry up pretty soon after that. They'll get red as hell first but they do clear up.
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Great answer. The ammonia really works well. Afterbite is basically ammonia, baking soda and tea tree oil. It works.
 
I get eaten up by those %#@*! things. A friend says to get sulfur from the local farm co-op and mix it with talcum powder. Others have told me to bathe in bleach...right. Lots put fingernail polish on the bites. All I have to do is think about picking blackberries and I got a hundred bites. Its always the worst when you take your socks off for the night. That's when I start really scratching.
 
I've always had good luck wih wintergreen alchohol. Just put some on a cotton ball and dab at each bite. They will sting something fierce at first but the itch disappears and they seem to dry up pretty fast.
 
I've never had chigger bites (that I know of) bud midge flyes can be nasty, and only itch after you scratch them (little bastards) I've learned that before they itch, vics vap-o-rub will keep them from itching, and if they are scratched, Eurax cream does the trick for treatment. very nearly tore the skin off my legs from midgy bites a couple months ago, would wake up scratching, thinking I'd ripped the skin open with my nails. not fun....
 
I am right now doing some testing in underground facilities of the Metro in Cairo (Egypt). No, it is not the friking jungle... but due to permanent humidity (read, water) due to air conditioner condensation... this is full os mosquitos. Feels weird fending mosquitos at the same time we are typing in the computers! I just decided to bring this room to sub-zero temps... so while outside we are at +35ºC in the shade (some days 40)... I am at 18ºC. It scares off the mosquitos and allows me to me fully clothed head to toe, fleeze included. LOL. Crap, I hate this place...

Mikel
 
I always realized I had chigger bites when it was too late and scratching. I paint them with clear nail polish. They fester up but don't itch. When the nail polish wears off they heal pretty quckly.
 
Jewel weed! Works on any kind of insect bite plus poison ivy and stinging nettles.--KV
 
KBamhi said:
I always realized I had chigger bites when it was too late and scratching. I paint them with clear nail polish. They fester up but don't itch. When the nail polish wears off they heal pretty quckly.
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I've used this method many times and it works for me.
 
Shaklee's basic H works good for me. Wipe the bites down with it and let it dry.
 
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