Could Use Some Help

Do you believe an unidentified species exists within the Pine Barrens?


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    13

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,054
3,327
Pestletown, N.J.
Really? I'm pretty sure I've been chigged in January before.


Ben,

The chigger adult winters over in soil and according to this fact sheet, they don't emerge until soil temps reach 60. Even on a warm day in the winter soil temps are pretty static.
In addition, the adult doesn't feed on humans, the larvae of the next generation do. The larvae would not hatch and survive in the winter temps.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2100.html

Ticks winter over as adults too but can become active above 45 degrees. They, unlike our chigger friends, feed at every stage of development.
So above 45 they are on the prowl or "questing" as this fact sheet tells us.

http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/life_cycle_and_hosts.html
 
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noboat

Explorer
Feb 1, 2010
324
159
64
Waterford Works
Ben,

The chigger adult winters over in soil and according to this fact sheet, they don't emerge until soil temps reach 60. Even on a warm day in the winter soil temps are pretty static.
In addition, the adult doesn't feed on humans, the larvae of the next generation do. The larvae would not hatch and survive in the winter temps.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2100.html

Ticks winter over as adults too but can become active above 45 degrees. They, unlike our chigger friends, feed at every stage of development.
So above 45 they are on the prowl or "questing" as this fact sheet tells us.

http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/life_cycle_and_hosts.html
I don't think the chigger read the fact sheet;)
 

Old Crazy

Explorer
Oct 13, 2007
481
94
Stinking Creek, NJ
Did they wear ski masks? Or did they make you eat a mushroom Old Crazy?

No masks, but after the second time they beat me up they were kind enough to share the short cut they used to get ahead of me. I used that short cut the next time I hiked that trail, but unfortunately I stepped on a bear trap somebody must have accidentally dropped. :D
 

Old Crazy

Explorer
Oct 13, 2007
481
94
Stinking Creek, NJ
Chiggers are dormant when the temperature is in the 40's & 50's, and they're history for the season after the first frost.

I can only recall one time I got a tick on me in temperatures below 40. For the most part the ticks are pretty dormant in temperatures below 50 and they really don't start to become an issue until the temperatures get up into the 60's. I do get a few on me here and there in the winter when the temperature is in the 40's & 50's, but when it's cool outside the ticks that do get on you move in slow motion, so you have a pretty big window to find them before they reach a feeding spot.
 

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,826
3,005
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,054
3,327
Pestletown, N.J.
This is the first year in many that I've not been bitten by chiggers. Not even one!

Another fact sheet indicates that chiggers have a low tolerance for alcohol. Could explain why you were not bitten.

Wait a minute, that can't be true because I have been hammered by the little suckers three times so far this summer.

:)
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,951
8,695
They are in my car. Every day I get a few random bites.

Guy
 

Gibby

Piney
Apr 4, 2011
1,644
442
Trenton
I have a nice collection of chigger bites. I have some around both my ankles, my belt line, along my left arm, and a few on my stomach. Some are new and others are fading marks. I am lucky that my body doesn't have a bad reaction to them. I get a small red bump and not much more. Chiggers are one of those things that come with what we do. I have tried Sawyer's spray on my clothing, DEET, and Off Sport. None of them seem effective, so I don't even bother using them now.

Sunday, I came across a colony of fleas in a sandy area while in Bass River. I felt something above my sock line and found a dozen or so chowing down on my leg. I can now add them to the list of what has bitten me while exploring. Hmm, I wonder if a white flea collar would work?
 

Gibby

Piney
Apr 4, 2011
1,644
442
Trenton
Front Line:eek:

I am going to have some difficulty with step "3". :D

3. Choose the area where licking cannot occur e.g. on the back of the neck. Part the coat so the contents can be applied directly to the skin when the pipette is squeezed.


step3.jpg
 
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Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,951
8,695
"Off" kills Chiggers instantly. When I use it I never have a problem, but the problem is I hate using it.

Guy
 

Gibby

Piney
Apr 4, 2011
1,644
442
Trenton
Teegate, do you spray it on before hand as a deterrent or afterwards as an insecticide?

I have used it by spraying it on before hand and it didn't work to well for me. It also has an odd sweet scent that I don't like.
 

pineywoman

Explorer
Aug 24, 2012
427
48
So do baby alcohol wipes. Kills them every time. Okay off subject, but unable to start a new forum. I was at Bowman's tower about 2 weeks ago in New Hope. They had ruins on the ground, one looked like a large stone outhouse at one time. Then there was this fireplace that was just exposed to the elements. I does not look like it was part of a house. Could it have been a part of an outdoor kitchen in the 17-1800s? My girlfriend and were trying to figure out what. The heck it was used for.
 

imkms

Explorer
Feb 18, 2008
603
242
SJ and SW FL
I don't know what it was, but it definitely was a fireplace of a log cabin building. You can see where the mortar is rounded above the mantel area where it met the logs. A few feet further up from the mantel the ridge line of the roof is also visible where the mortar met the roof line. With the metal lintel in the firebox and the type of bricks used for the hearth it does not look to be as old as the 1700s, maybe late 1800s or even early 1900s.
 

pineywoman

Explorer
Aug 24, 2012
427
48
Can see that. I just find it odd I am unable to find anything. There was a building behind it that had an old bathroom.

I'm wondering if small barracks for the folks of the watch tower or caretakers? If it was a log cabin this thing was teeny tiny.

Thanks IMKMS.
 

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imkms

Explorer
Feb 18, 2008
603
242
SJ and SW FL
It might have been a picnic shelter. Similar to the ones at Bass River, Goshen and many years ago at Oswego, except this one had a fireplace.
 
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