just home...with bug bites!

[castlehappy]

We just returned from a glorious trip to the fort only bad thing I can say is I brought home unwanted bug bitesI have no idea what kind of bug and I was just wondering if this has happened to anyone else. My legs are covered in red bites that itch like crazy! I have tried everything for relief, but nothing is helping. Funny thing is, my DH did not get one bite! only me... anyone else bring home these nasty little things and if so what did you do to stop the itching???

 

[ob1quixote]

Sounds like chiggers {red bugs}

Scratch them all to get them opened up. Hop in the shower with a bottle of pet flea shampoo. Wash the affected areas with the shampoo and let it "soak" a few minutes before rinsing.

 

[castlehappy]

that's what my DH said as well. I have always lived in the south, so I remember my Mom putting finger nail polish on us when we were little. seemed to help, but not this time. thanks for your suggestion.

 

[big kahuna1]

Yep, sounds like red bugs or chiggers as stated above. They love the tender spots of the body like behind the knee, ankles etc... but will bite anywhere. Basically, they bore a hole into our skin where their saliva then liquifies the skin cells and then they suck them up through a straw like mouth like a tick. They do NOT get under or live in or under the skin so scratching them open does no good. It is the saliva that is causing the itching. This intense itching will last a couple of days or more. Just use some Benedryl to ease the itching until the itching subsides.

 

[tungpo1]

They are red bugs boy do they itch!! Them suckers will leave some nice scares

 

[Bessie_Blue]

CHIGGERS. If you can not see them yet you swear they are moving. It feels like the hair on your legs is moving, then it is CHIGGERS. Pestly little mites, can't stand them. We get them everytime we go to the state park here in TX. Go to Walmart and buy two bottles of ChiggerRX, will stop the itching. Keep it close by and within reach. Once they find a nice hair folicle there's no stopping it. Two weeks later you might not feel them any more. Wash the dogs, sheets, clothes, carpets, and anything else you can think of often. Once they mature after a couple of weeks they'll move to your yard or house plants and have more little mites. A nice freeze does the trick. Bet you can't wait for winter now!

Good luck. We went camping two weeks ago and I still have them crawling on me. Better than the swine flu.

Anyway...Hope you had a great time while you were there!

 

[castlehappy]

thanks everyone! I will be going to walmart and getting some of that chiggerx! it is really driving me crazy!! with the exception of this, we had an amazing time at the fort!!

 

[freshlybarked]

I just got back also and never gave it a thought. I walked the dogs along the canal in loop 300 and took off my shoes. I thought they were red ant bits, but couldn't understand why I didn't feel them bit. Now I know. I put some ammonia on them and it seemed to help. Two trips ago it was yellow flies. I must have tasty ankles.

 

[team bradfield]

use plenty of alcohol.










I prefer Becks or St Pauli girl.

 

[tungpo1]

Drink the alcohol

 

[CDRJJMA@Disney]

When we were there my daughter got them while waiting for the bus to Blizzard Beach and by the middle of the day they had stopped itching. Maybe it was the cholrine? Just a thought. Good luck!

 

[castlehappy]

the (drinking) alcohol sure does help!

 

[satorifound]

ACK! Everything likes to bite me, I hope I don't have to deal with these...

 

[photo_chick]

If you see a rash then the chiggers are probably gone already. Use a blow dryer on your skin if the creams don't work. It will keep the itching at bay for a few hours.

Also, don't know if they're bad everywhere else, but where I'm at scabies have been rampant this summer. They look like a pimply rash that ends up as really rough skin with many little brown dots. They require prescription cream to get rid of since they burrow in your skin.

I thought my son's rash was from chiggers at first, it looked very similar. Then it rapidly changed and when I took him in the doctor diagnosed him with scabies.

*shudder*

I hate bugs.

 

[shirley 38]

YEP I got the scars to prove it.

 

[Rhonda]

We get No-See-Um bites down here, that leave those same type of bites. They are "delayed-reaction" bites -- you don't know you have them til a day or two later, when they turn red and start itching. They'll drive you crazy!

I just use over-the-counter cortizone cream on them to make the itching stop.

 

[zakerdog]

They were spraying the campground today.

 

[castlehappy]

well , not sure if I had bites from chiggers or the no-see-ums, but they seem to be getting better...finally! thanks to everyone for your suggestions!!

 

[mousebrain]

Keep a bottle of Absorbine Jr around! This was a must have when I grew up on the coast of Texas where every plant and bug wants to KILL YOU! My daughter got bit up bad at the Fort so we hit the drug store and picked up a bottle and saved the trip for her!

Mousebrain

 

[ob1quixote]

I like Absorbine Jr for care of the bites, and flea soap to make sure I dont get bitten anymore! Extreme applications of Deep Woods Off around the ankles beltline and sleeves for prevention.

So says a guy who spends many, many weekends in the deep woods every year cutting, arrowing and riding fresh motorcycle trails.