Possible chigger bite remedy

[Steve Brown]

I live at Laurel Lake, in the woods of Cumberland County, and after mowing my lawn for the first time this year, which included picking up a lot of brush near wooded areas while wearing shorts, have several red welts on my left leg, presumably from chiggers. I showered afterwards, and the welts began to appear the next day.

The remedy I use to relieve itching and to promote healing is NAC (n-acetylcysteine), available in capsules as a nutritional supplement. NAC is used as an antidote to various toxins, such as acetaldehyde (a hangover-causing metabolite of alcohol), methyl mercury, and to treat acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdose, so my idea is that it may be effective at neutralizing or detoxifying the digestive enzyme that the chigger secretes into the skin. In the body, NAC is a precursor to glutathione, an important cellular antioxidant, and that may also detoxify the chigger enzyme.

I take a capsule of NAC internally, and also open a capsule, mix the contents with a little water, and rub it onto the welts to relieve the itching. The grainy texture of the NAC powder provides an abrasive action that is similar to but more gentle than scratching, and the rubbing tends to work a small amount of NAC into the skin. This provides some relief and seems to promote healing. I also take vitamin C internally to detoxify and to promote healing of the skin.

So, if any other of you Pineys try this remedy for chigger bites, I would be interested to know the results.

 

[46er]

I have a few bites from similar activity. Aloe works for me.

 

[Boyd]

Are you sure they were chiggers? Seems pretty early, although I think they appeared about this time last year. But last year was really much warmer. See: http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/mullica-river-wilderness-trail-question.8329/#post-98862

 

[46er]

Are you sure they were chiggers? Seems pretty early, although I think they appeared about this time last year. But last year was really much warmer.

They are chiggers. No doubt at all.

 

[Boyd]

Ugh. Well I hope they stay at your place... I have not seen them yet down here.

 

[46er]

Ugh. Well I hope they stay at your place... I have not seen them yet down here.

I captured one of them and after a little waterboarding he talked. They are massing for a move on south Jersey this week. They plan to take no prisoners. I then flushed him

 

[Steve Brown]

Are you sure they were chiggers? Seems pretty early, although I think they appeared about this time last year. But last year was really much warmer. See: http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/mullica-river-wilderness-trail-question.8329/#post-98862

What else can it be? It tends to be very humid here, and my property is bordered on three sides by woods.

 

[Boyd]

From last years' thread that I linked to above.

I need to research chiggers more.I have never gotten them in spring but have had folks tell me they are here.I wonder if folks are getting sand fleas and think they are chiggers.Has anyone actually seen the chiggers themselves crawling on them this time of year or just had irritating bites on their ankles and thought it was chigger bites?Perhpas chiggers have several hatch out times a year but I've only encountered them in late august thru early october.

Last year I'm sure that I was getting chigger bites this early. I live out in the woods about 5 miles South of Mays Landing and am outside every day. But I just haven't noticed any yet this year. Which is good.

I believe that Al (aka "Manumuskin") is practically a neighbor of yours, so maybe he has some ideas...

 

[46er]

What else can it be? It tends to be very humid here, and my property is bordered on three sides by woods.

Here is a way to check. They are small, around 1/150". My eyes are such that i cannot see them without a magnifying glass, unless there are billions of them.


"To sample your yard for chiggers, you'll need one or more squares of black cardboard, each about 6 inches by 6 inches. Stand the cardboard squares on edge in areas where you suspect chiggers may be. Leave the squares in place for several minutes.

Look closely at the cardboard once you've left it for a few minutes. If chiggers are present, they will climb up the cardboard and gather near the top. The chiggers will be tiny, and either red or yellow in color." - about.com

Don't bother on mowed grass, or in sunny areas.

 

[Gibby]

Steve, you may have encountered juvenile ticks. They leave an irritating small blister-like mark that may itch for several days. At least that is my body's reaction to their bite and for me, it is almost like a chigger bite.

 

[Spung-Man]

Steve,

Here's two links to earlier posts that might help:

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/chigger-bites-ouch.5836/#post-69208​

​

http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/granny-smith.6201/#post-89390​

​

S-M

 

[Steve Brown]

Steve, you may have encountered juvenile ticks. They leave an irritating small blister-like mark that may itch for several days. At least that is my body's reaction to their bite and for me, it is almost like a chigger bite.

A juvenile tick would be a nymph, right? As I understand it, a nymph tick will attach itself to the skin and try to suck blood, whereas a chigger injects a digestive enzyme into the skin but does not latch on, so it can be washed off. I have never seen these things that bite me, so I presume they are practically microscopic. The welt can be an inch or so in diameter, and the center tends to become a blister after a day or two, which can open and ooze lymph. That seems to fit the description of a chigger bite.

 

[Boyd]

I think that what you describe could be a tick bite too. Some people will even have a similar reaction to mosquito bites. With me, I never see just one isolated chigger bite, there are always several of them grouped together and they tend to be in places where your clothes fit tightly, like the waistband of your underwear or under your socks. I've gotten chigger bites on my wrists when pulling up weeds next to my sidewalk however (which was pretty stupid). But again, there was a whole group of them and not just isolated bites.

The ticks have been out for quite some time around my place, in a variety of sizes. A week or two ago, there was a little nymph crawling on my hand. It was really tiny and was easily brushed off. I was thinking that it probably wasn't big enough to actually attach itself.

46er: I have read about that same test for chiggers myself and always meant to try it. Have you tried it?

 

[Teegate]

It is way too early for chiggers I believe.

 

[46er]

46er: I have read about that same test for chiggers myself and always meant to try it. Have you tried it?

Nope, I depend on my ankles for that. I've got 3 tell tales all in a row on my right ankle. I will have to spray the area before I work out there again. This rain and warmth will have them out in force this week. I am told the test is what the bug researchers use, and then they count them. The black cardboard supposedly absorbs heat and mimics a warm body as the attractant.

 

[Spung-Man]

It is way too early for chiggers I believe.

Agreed. I cannot recall suffering such an early chigger onset, even after unusually warm El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) winters. SB's narrative sounds like spider bites to me, which can leave nasty itchy welts.

S-M

 

[Boyd]

I will have to spray the area before I work out there again.

What do you spray with? Every summer I see little roadside signs advertising "tick spraying" and wonder about it. Seems like there could be some environmental concerns if such practices are common. Where I live, it seems pointless since it's really just "woods" with almost no "yard".

When I moved here 7 years ago my neighbor stopped by to welcome me and asked "do you know about chiggers?" I said I was very familiar with them and he said "most people around here just stay out of the woods in the summer because they're so bad."

Well I don't stay out of the woods, but I see his point. He was right, they are *really* bad around here.

 

[noboat]

It is way too early for chiggers I believe.

Tell that to the chiggers and the ticks.

 

[46er]

What do you spray with? Every summer I see little roadside signs advertising "tick spraying" and wonder about it. Seems like there could be some environmental concerns if such practices are common. Where I live, it seems pointless since it's really just "woods" with almost no "yard".

I just use a regular bug killer in the area I will be working. It's not a long working solution, just for the time I'll be working there. I think those commercial things are a waste of money and would disappear with the first rain; I have no idea what they use. Also use permethrin on clothing from the knee's down, which I have not done yet this year. The dog gets Advantix II.

Along with the chigger bites, I took a miniscule tick off. One of the dangerous ones, so small you can barely see them and easily missed. It is now in tick Valhalla And the tiger mosquito's are already looking for a free meal. How long till winter comes back?

 

[Boyd]

I've been getting occasional ticks on my pants since March. Started permethrin treatments about a month ago. No tick bites yet this year.