Chigged!

Sue Gremlin

Piney
Sep 13, 2005
1,277
233
61
Vicksburg, Michigan
I live on the outskirts of the pines and my dog and I go for a 4 mile walk every morning on the road during tick season and I still manage to pull tons off of him. Why do ticks seem to thrive so much in the pines? When I go hiking in Delaware, the ticks really aren't all that bad.
Lots of host variety and good environmental conditions. If I were you, I'd use a Preventic or Seresto collar on the dog. Too many terrible diseases he can get.
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,153
4,258
Pines; Bamber area
This is such a great photo of questing behavior of tick larvae. Would you object to me using it in an internal presentation at my job? I'll of course give you credit for it. It's just so icky that there are so many!

Absolutely, no problem. I give it to you freely, to use it for any purpose you desire, be it pleasure or profit.

Robert Moyer 9/10/2016
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
A little over a year since I started the thread and I am chigged again! First batch this year.

I kept feeling a slight itch around both ankles before dinner. I waited until after dinner to investigate more closely and lo and behold, walking red pepper around both ankles.

I saturated a paper towel with alcohol and rubbed and scraped until all visible critters were gone.

Really trying to figure out how I got them. I had long pants on, high socks and work boots and I walked a well-worn fire trail and dirt roads with no vegetation.

Scourge of the Pines !
 

MuckSavage

Explorer
Apr 1, 2005
597
218
56
Turnersville
I got them 4 weeks ago on a short walk from the parking lot at Pine Valley CC to the dam on the lake at Pine Hill Scout Reservation. I thought it was too early in the season ,& didn't exercise caution.
 

Gibbs

New Member
Jan 22, 2016
8
0
NJ.
Just did a 9 mile loop along the Mullica Trail this morning. I had my sneakers, socks, and wind pants sprayed with Permethrin. That was done to protect from ticks. I didn't realize chiggers were such an issue.

So far it looks like I escaped unscathed.
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
Let’s get ready for chigger season!!
I thought it would be nice to revive this old thread.

I got my first dose of those little bastards yesterday doing some survey fieldwork almost around the corner from where I live.
Doing a 2.5 acre boundary with about 30% of it being knee high grasses and low shrub growth. I knew I was somewhat doomed when I realized that my field guy hadn’t maintained our usual stock of deep woods off in the truck. I really should have gone back to my house for more spray.

I sprayed what little we had around my pant cuffs and under the cuffs around the tops of my work boots. We spent about two hours in the grass and before we left, I felt them starting to go to work.

Tonight, I am applying some floucinolone, a potent prescription steroid ointment that I use for eczema to help with the itch. When I go to bed tonight . I’ll be putting on Sarna, a smelly but effective OTC itch medication consisting of camphor oil and menthol.

I can’t help but feel good about how many millions of chiggers might have died in the recent fire.
 
Last edited:

66C10

Scout
Aug 4, 2023
75
163
South Vineland
Let’s get ready for chigger season!!
I thought it would be nice to revive this old thread.

I got my first dose of those little bastards yesterday doing some survey fieldwork almost around the corner from where I live.
Doing a 2.5 acre boundary with about 30% of it being knee high grasses and low shrub growth. I knew I was somewhat doomed when I realized that my field guy hadn’t maintained our usual stock of deep woods off in the truck. I really should have gone back to my house for more spray.

I sprayed what little we had around my pant cuffs and under the cuffs around the tops of my work boots. We spent about two hours in the grass and before we left, I felt them starting to go to work.

Tonight, I am applying some floucinolone, a potent prescription steroid ointment that I use for eczema to help with the itch. When I go to bed tonight . I’ll be putting on Sarna, a smelly but effective OTC itch medication consisting of camphor oil and menthol.

I can’t help but feel good about how many millions of chiggers might have died in the recent fire.
It’s been years since I’ve been walking in the deep woods during summer as much as I have been this year due to a shoulder injury and permethrin has worked great knock on wood for both ticks and chiggers. I use it every year during turkey season as well works great. When I get chiggers I just remind myself how lucky I am that it ain’t poison ivy I’ll take chiggers any day over poison ivy sumac or oak.
 

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,552
2,465
59
millville nj
www.youtube.com
It’s been years since I’ve been walking in the deep woods during summer as much as I have been this year due to a shoulder injury and permethrin has worked great knock on wood for both ticks and chiggers. I use it every year during turkey season as well works great. When I get chiggers I just remind myself how lucky I am that it ain’t poison ivy I’ll take chiggers any day over poison ivy sumac or oak.
I will take the Poison Ivy over the Chigs/tick larvae.I can identify poison and avoid it if I choose too.If it gets on my shoes and clothes i can try and avoid handling them in the woods,upon taking them off at home I can wash real good and usually avoid getting it if I"m careful but you can't see the chigs till they're on you and then they can travel right off your clothes onto you,they go through your socks.Ivy can mess you up worse then chigs I agree but I think Ivy is more avoidable.Chigs are everywhere especially along trails and road where tall grass grows.the deer use our roads and trails as well and this is where the ticks drop off and lay their eggs and the larvae climb the grass and wait for the next meal to walk by.Also Ivy is fairly uncommon in most barrens habitats,tick larvae are not uncommon:)
 
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Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,602
8,181
Could have used it today. They were all over us.
 
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