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Newfie_buell
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 09:32 pm: | 
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OK,
Whats a Chigger????
Picture Please!!!! |
Wyckedflesh
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 10:30 pm: |
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http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/factsheets/008-96.htm
chiggers Newfie |
X1glider
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 10:46 pm: |
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Hey Blake. Ever hear of a pest control service?
Glad you chimed in on the necrotizing venom info so I didn't have to. I've met many people who have been bitten by these critters and a few who have had a toe or finger or two amputated. A few others have gotten away luckily with only disfigurements on the legs or torsos. Nasty venom. All spiders bite, most are like a mosquito bite, but these are the worst I've come across.
I've had a few encounters with these buggers oncamping trips, mostly the nickel size ones and some dime size ones. I kill them all. No shortage of them in the piney woods, they won't be missed.
Snake bite kit: #1 priority in TX. We have rattlesnakes, coral snakes, copperheads and water moccassins in abundance. |
SouthernMarine
| | Posted on Saturday, September 04, 2004 - 10:50 pm: |
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Little monsters will eat you alive. I was firing on the rifle range a few years back, in North Carolina, and those things got inside my pants and boots and eat my legs up from my ankles to my knees. I was pouring alcohol and any medicated lotion I could find on me.
Raraf, what kind of lotion did ya'll use, calamine? |
Blake
| | Posted on Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 12:47 am: |
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Bob,
I used to subscribe to the "poison your home" as critter defense theory. I noticed that I'd often feel sick after a spraying or yard treatment, and the smell ruined being out in the yard for weeks. The only thing I use now is a little Orthene to spot treat Fire Ant mounds and I'll set of some general insecticidal foggers in the attic. That Orthene stuff is super effective. Best Fire Ant treatment I've found.
There's another one for you Newf, Fire Ants. Not really any kind of serious threat, just very tenacious and irritating. Aggressive and mean spiteful little ants with stingers. I still go barefoot. They sure do keep the landscape cleaned of anything edible. Don’t see rabbits much anymore in Fire Ant territory. They were introduced via shipping port from S. America. Thanks S. America. They’ve spread about as far as they can East of the Rocky mountains and as far North as they can tolerate.
Haven't run into any Killer Bees yet.
Damn Bob, you've met "many" people with Brown Recluse wounds, and more than two who had to have digital extremities amputated? Yikes!
Newf, Chiggers are satan's unseen microscopic ninja tormenters supreme, and I am allergic to them. I get flue-like symptoms if I get attacked by more than 6 or so of the vile little creatures.
Treatment? By far the best and most satisfying is to moisten your finger in a bit of water, then dab it into a bowl of salt, then rub the salt into the Chigger spot until a small red spot of blood appears. Grinding the salt into the Chig feels great, instantly relieves the itching from hell and kills the vile little microscopic denizens of hell. You'll just have a tiny version of road rash to exhibit for a while. Well worth it.
How'd I end up falling victim to a massive Chig attack? I merely walked through a cow pasture and some tall grass in shorts on my way to and from a fishing hole. That night I came down with chills, then fever, then chills, then fever and shakes, then violent projectile vomiting followed by wrenching dry heaves, then my legs and waist were attacked by the most evil tormenting itching from hell.
The wife said to me, "you have chiggers." What the hell are Chiggers?!" said I? Will I live? Is amputation required? What is the next phase of this body snatching experience? How long before they take over my mind?
I tried the conventional remedies, one called "Chig-a-rid" I swear was nothing more than relabeled nail polish. It was supposed to suffocate the loathsome little bugs. There were other over-the-counter treatments; they all required that you not scratch or touch any of the Chig spots after application. FUG THAT!!! I was seriously going insane. I was a poor college kid and couldn't even afford enough booze to dull the torment. I finally called the SMU campus Doctor.
The old doctor told me to forget about all the worthless stuff at the pharmacy. He said remove the nail polish crap, get some salt, dip your finger in some water then the salt and rub until you see a spot of blood... the salt abrasion technique.
That was a treatment straight from God in heaven. Each of the about one hundred Chig sites got picked clean of the nail polish stuff; no I didn't have any nail polish remover, so I had to rip and tear and scrape including a fair amount of surrounding leg hair. Yeah I looked like a leper on chemo for a while. Then one by one each Chig spot was decimated by the salt abrasion.
Abrading in succession each Chig spot with salt was truly one of the most intensely satisfying experiences of my life. You know when you get that terrible itch on your back that you just can't quite reach, and you finally get up and find something to reach it, you know how satisfying that feeling is? Multiply that by a hundred and repeat it a hundred times. AAAAHHHHHHHHH. Immediate alleviation of unspeakable torment replaced in turn with near ecstatic pleasure and an overwhelmingly satisfying sense of justice and retribution against the evil little spawn of satan.
The only discomforting thing is that they are microscopic and cannot be seen. I wanted to see the little bastards die. You have to let your imagination handle that.
Simple solution... to avoid a Chig attack... insect repellent, or even a dusting of some powdered sulfur on prone areas.
You have tics up there right?
What is the strangest place you've ever had a tic burrow into your flesh? I'm not saying.
What doesn't kill you makes you tougher. |
SouthernMarine
| | Posted on Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 12:00 pm: |
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Dangit Blake, both my legs were eat up. Wish I had known about that. My legs are itching right now thinking about them. |
Charlieboy6649
| | Posted on Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 11:43 pm: |
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Ahhh, all of the critters mentioned here to include the snakes AND bugs can be found in my beloved Sonoran Desert. God it's a grand place. Was just bit by a spider this morning. Would usually shrug it off but this thread has got me paranoid! Damn you all! LOL! |
Socoken
| | Posted on Monday, September 06, 2004 - 12:34 am: |
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The only spider that will ACTIVELY try and bite you is the Hawaiian Cane Spider
in the states maybe, but ive been CHASED around by camel spiders as big as dinner plates, talk about aggressive, and FAST. you cant just stomp on something that big, and that fast. but whenever we pitted one against a big scorpion, the scorpion always won. seeing a scorpion in action, now THAT will scare you awake at night. |
Charlieboy6649
| | Posted on Monday, September 06, 2004 - 01:41 am: |
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Yea, a black light in the desert will open your eyes for sure! |
M1combat
| | Posted on Monday, September 06, 2004 - 02:00 am: |
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Knock it off dangit!
I keep feeling spiders on my feet now... Thanks...
Newfie... You probably DO have Brown Recluses up there. I know they survive in Alaska but are rare. |
X1glider
| | Posted on Monday, September 06, 2004 - 06:23 pm: |
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"Damn Bob, you've met "many" people with Brown Recluse wounds, and more than two who had to have digital extremities amputated? Yikes!"
Sounds odd for normal everyday people doesn't it? No one has ever considered me or my friends normal though.
I did a couple year stint with a group as an "adventure racer" (a 2-3 day mini Eco-challenge) until my body decided it wasn't as tolerant of abuse and Texas heat as I used to be. A good supplement to mountain bike racing. Was a lot of fun but very taxing even when packing light...meaning no tent and other ammenities. Bites are bound to happen. I've been lucky. Others I've raced with and against have not.
The hardest one, but not fatal, to deal with was carrying a teammate to camp after a stingray slashed his tendons and muscle in his ankle. |
Newfie_buell
| | Posted on Monday, September 06, 2004 - 06:52 pm: |
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Tics are very rare up this way as well.
Geesh I am glad i live in a place where the cold repels those kinds of bugs!!! |
Blake
| | Posted on Monday, September 06, 2004 - 10:44 pm: |
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How about black flies and mosquitoe? The worst night of my life was spent camping sans tent in Ontario, Candada. Even doused in repellent and with only my nose sticking out of my bag, I got zero sleep. Friggin mosquitos darn near carried us off. Biting flies are fun too.
Bob,
I did a mini-adventure race once, at Cedar Hill State Park near Dallas. That was the most physically demanding athletic event I've ever done. The attrition rate was over 10% due to record heat that day, a mere 108oF. We finished about mid pack after about 4 hours. |
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