Budget friendly cure for chiggers?

[willoughbyclan]

Please help me find a budget friendly cure for chiggers. I am pretty sure that my little one has them and I am really not sure what to do.

Any ideas?

 

[ELLE-TN]

I have heard LYE soap

 

[HunnyPots]

Calamine lotion or benadryl ointment to stop the itching. There is no "cure" per say, other than to keep the grass cut and discourage you little ones from sitting in it with bare legs. Use the same repellent you'd use for mosquitos, Off or whatever you choose.

 

[disneyfreakk]

clear nail polish is supposed to kill them.

And for itchy bug bites, rub deodorant on the bites and they will stop itching.

 

[Whistle]

I'll second the clear nail polish. They are sooooo itchy!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I agree with clear nail polish. My dad was a surveyor and spent a lot of time walking in tall grass. He used to get them all the time and always used clear nail polish on them.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

Rubbing the bites with a bar of soap always stops the itching for me.

 

[tinker&belle]

I always used the clear nail polish as well.

 

[PilotWife]

Clear nail polish

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that the chiggers actually burrow into your leg and stay there. That's why nail polish works. It suffocates them. Anti itch cream or benadryl might alleviate some discomfort, but you really need to kill the chigger.

 

[dyna]

Yeap clear nail polish even then the chiggers still itch till they die in a few hours. Before clear nail polish idea came along used to bathe in bleach water that helped too an we smelled really really bleachy after too lol

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that the chiggers actually burrow into your leg and stay there. That's why nail polish works. It suffocates them. Anti itch cream or benadryl might alleviate some discomfort, but you really need to kill the chigger.

Yes, you are correct. The chiggers burrow into your skin and the nail polish cuts off their air.

 

[Accentuate+]

Another vote for nail polish, it doesn't HAVE to be clear, you could end up with some pretty festive looking kids if you use hot pink.

or you could be like my uncle who once said "I used to love to get red bugs (chiggers) when I was a kid because it felt so good to scratch them".

I told him then and I still maintain that it was the 'countriest' thing I've ever heard anyone say.


edited to add:

Did some googling. According to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_mite#Treatment)
"To reduce the itching, an application of anti-itch cream containing hydrocortisone, calamine, or benzyl benzoate is often used. Applying fingernail polish to the affected area does not kill the chigger; the chigger is actually no longer present by the time a rash is noticed"

Wiki isn't always accurate, though. I've always heard the "nail polish smothers them" argument but it wouldn't be the first time family wisdom has been disproved.

 

[Newfie2000]

I've got a couple of other ideas for you that we have used on bad cases and they have worked. The trick is definitely to smother them! We have used vaseline, vicks rub and also a mixture of sulfur powder and mineral oil. Good luck!

 

[JoliBug]

I don't know about the finger nail polish thing, it may kill the critters but it doesn't take away the itch. I found a cream at walmart that works well, it's called chigger-ex. It doesn't cost but a few bucks and goes a long way. If you look I found it over by the benedryl spray, calamine loation and the like. It's in a little white container with a red lid.

 

[NotUrsula]

Apparently, capsaicin (the active ingredient in hot red peppers) will relieve the itch. I don't think I'd use that remedy on a small child, though -- Capsaicin really burns for awhile.

 

[pweyl36]

My dad uses dog shampoo.

 

[Tissa]

I just got a lot of chigger bites for the first time a few weeks ago. It was horrible! Everything I read said that they do NOT burrow into your skin so the clear nail polish does not work. I read that in several different articles and trust me I would have tried anything. My legs ended up swelling up from all the bites. Anyway on one site they said to put Listerine on them and it did take away the crazy itching. My boys and mom also got bit but not as bad since I was out in the woods more helping my aunt at her new place. I now spray very well with Off.

Myths About Chiggers
One of the biggest myths or misconceptions about chiggers is that they can burrow under your skin and drink your blood. This leads to the common treatment for chiggers of putting clear nail polish on chigger bites to suffocate the chiggers. Since chiggers don't actually burrow under your skin, this 'treatment' is unnecessary

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/dermatologytopics/a/06_chiggers.htm

 

[HunnyPots]

I just got a lot of chigger bites for the first time a few weeks ago. It was horrible! Everything I read said that they do NOT burrow into your skin so the clear nail polish does not work. I read that in several different articles and trust me I would have tried anything. My legs ended up swelling up from all the bites. Anyway on one site they said to put Listerine on them and it did take away the crazy itching. My boys and mom also got bit but not as bad since I was out in the woods more helping my aunt at her new place. I now spray very well with Off.



http://pediatrics.about.com/od/dermatologytopics/a/06_chiggers.htm

Exactly. As I posted earlier, before all the clear nail polish posts, treat the itch and prevent the bites with repellent.

 

[scoutmom41]

Chiggerex - which you can buy at Walmart in the same section as bendryl cream, etc. it is a small white jar with a red lid. My family swears buy it,
instant relief and it is budget friendly!!!