What kind of biting bugs do you folks have to deal with?

[Kansas Terri]

Right now we are dealing with mosquitos and ticks: chigger season will be here in about three weeks.

Not every area has chiggers: lucky them! Chiggers are so small most people cannot see them, and they like to climb the victim's leg (or walk through the weave of a person's clothing) and then bite where it would be very rude to scratch! They hang on for a couple of days as well, though a dab of bug repellent makes them drop off. They also like to bite where the clothing is tight, such as under a person's sock or waistband.

I hate chiggers, mostly because they are invisible to my eyes. I do not know that I have been bit until I start to itch, and it would be awkward in most locations to spray repellent under one's clothing! And the longer you wait to get rid of the little horrors the worse the bite will itch.

I find that the itch of ANY biting bug will be reduced with an antihistamine pill and some ibuprofen, but that might just be me. I have a lot of allergies and it usually takes 3-4 days for an itchy bite to go away!

 

[Chuck]

Right now we are dealing with mosquitos and ticks: chigger season will be here in about three weeks.

Not every area has chiggers: lucky them! Chiggers are so small most people cannot see them, and they like to climb the victim's leg (or walk through the weave of a person's clothing) and then bite where it would be very rude to scratch! They hang on for a couple of days as well, though a dab of bug repellent makes them drop off. They also like to bite where the clothing is tight, such as under a person's sock or waistband.

I hate chiggers, mostly because they are invisible to my eyes. I do not know that I have been bit until I start to itch, and it would be awkward in most locations to spray repellent under one's clothing! And the longer you wait to get rid of the little horrors the worse the bite will itch.

I find that the itch of ANY biting bug will be reduced with an antihistamine pill and some ibuprofen, but that might just be me. I have a lot of allergies and it usually takes 3-4 days for an itchy bite to go away!

You will not have chiggers chewing on you if you will dust the cuffs of your pants and socks with Dusting Sulphur. Get an old sock and put a good handfull of sulphur in it and tie it off. When you put your socks and pants on just slap the sock against your ankles a couple of times. No more chigger bites.........................guaranteed

 

[Rosyrain]

I lived in Arkansas for a year and there was a huge chigger problem there...where I live now, there are only mosquitos to deal with and the occassional flea if my cat happens to bring them into the house. Neither of which are very hard to control.

 

[Shellyann36]

Mainly here we deal with mosquitoes and ticks. We do have several pine trees that do lend to the chigger population but strangely enough we are not really bothered by them. Of course we keep the pine straw raked up and that is normally where the chiggers seem to hide out. We use this pinestraw as mulch around the pine trees or we rake it into the woods.

 

[firelily99]

I'm in Connecticut and we probably have many of the same insects that are problems elsewhere. I haven't had issues with chiggers in a long time but they can be awful. We have lost eight out of ten species of bats in Connecticut due to the fungus they get. Each bat will eat a million mosquitoes so that's a ton of bugs now flying around that should be dead.

 

[Trellum]

Mosquitoes mostly, some people have ticks issues, fortunately we don't have that many issues with them! Isn't like mosquitoes are easy to deal with, but at least they're not as awful as ticks.

 

[R.R.]

Mosquitoes. If a ever meet a genie, one of my wishes will be getting rid of them. I get from 3 to 4 new bites every time I go outside. I hate them!

 

[Chuck]

Mosquitoes. If a ever meet a genie, one of my wishes will be getting rid of them. I get from 3 to 4 new bites every time I go outside. I hate them!

Rub Avon SkinSoSoft on your exposed skin. It works a lot better than Deet

 

[R.R.]

I might try, but I don't like rubbing stuff on my skin.

 

[R.R.]

Well, actually, I rub liquid Benadryl on the bites as soon as they happen, but it's only a small surface.

 

[Pat]

Mosquitoes mostly. We have bugs in the yard that bite really bad when you walk or sit on the ground. I never see the bugs just the bites and they really hurt.

 

[gata montes]

Although we seem to have just about every variety of biting and non biting insects where I live - including enormous mosquitoes and ticks - I can't say for sure whether or not we actually have chiggers - as we have something that we call " no-see-ums " which as they are very similar to chiggers - in that they bite in the very same way and exactly the same places as chiggers - I can really equate with what you are saying Kansas Terri and apart from trying to deal with the bites once you've got them - the only thing that I have found to help in deterring these cruel nasty insects is to use Catnip - which as having Catnip plants dotted around is an excellent way of keeping all biting insects and particularly mosquitoes at bay - also works really well as a body wipe repellant too - which can be done really easily by crushing the leaves and then applying to your skin the only down side is that - if you own a cat - you may find that your cat finds you irresistibly attractive

 

[Chuck]

Although we seem to have just about every variety of biting and non biting insects where I live - including enormous mosquitoes and ticks - I can't say for sure whether or not we actually have chiggers - as we have something that we call " no-see-ums " which as they are very similar to chiggers - in that they bite in the very same way and exactly the same places as chiggers - I can really equate with what you are saying Kansas Terri and apart from trying to deal with the bites once you've got them - the only thing that I have found to help in deterring these cruel nasty insects is to use Catnip - which as having Catnip plants dotted around is an excellent way of keeping all biting insects and particularly mosquitoes at bay - also works really well as a body wipe repellant too - which can be done really easily by crushing the leaves and then applying to your skin the only down side is that - if you own a cat - you may find that your cat finds you irresistibly attractive

Can you boil down or reduce catnip to make a concentrate that could then be used as a spray?

 

[gata montes]

Can you boil down or reduce catnip to make a concentrate that could then be used as a spray?

Yes you can make a concentrated spray - which can safely be sprayed onto skin and clothes or into the atmosphere

Very easily made too by

Placing 2 large handfuls of crushed Catnip leaves in a bowl and either covering them with 1 pint of boiling water or 1 pint of cold vinegar ( which if you want a really strong solution you would choose the vinegar )
Leave to soak overnight - then strain and pour into a spray bottle

by which time you are armed and ready to deal with all biting insects

 

[R.R.]

Sweet!