# Survival > Bushcraft Medicine >  Bug bite  Remedy

## hunter63

As it that time of year again, the chiggers are out in force....at our cabin..."The Place"
They seem to be bad in June...then taper off in July...so hopefully they will subside...
I have never seen one?

Wading around with high weeds and even cut grass seem to be where they are coming from...but the gravel driveway may be another place to pick them up.

I have dealt with them in the past  (every year it seems) and they are a real PITA...and *all* points south.

Have tried many potions, creams, saves, liquids and anything I can think of...to control the itching.

My best cure? control? relief came from older products like:
"Skeeter Stick" ......No longer made.....
" After Bite"...Salve and stick.....and the Walgreens version.... several versions, stick, salve, and different strengths ....
These contained ammonia as an active ingredient......05 to 2 %


Looking today, the names are the same, but no longer list ammonia as an active ingredient....???

Many use Benzocaine, Hydrocortisone, in many brands with limited results.

"After Bite"  now contains baking soda .....Didn't try

Chiggerex;.....Active Ingredients: Benzocaine 10.0%.. Plus a Whole lot of inactive stuff....Limited results.

Benadryl Itch stick..Ingredients: Camphorated Phenol (Camphor 10.8% & Phenol 4.7%), Eucalyptus Oil, Light Mineral Oil
Limited results

Some new ones I'm trying

"Campho-Phenique" Pain and itch gel...Camphorated Phenol (Camphor 10.8% & Phenol 4.7%), Eucalyptus Oil, Light
 Mineral Oil

 "Off"  .....Bite and Itch Relief:
 ACTIVE INGREDIENT:Benzocaine  5%, Camphor 3%, Phenol 1.35%...Inactive Ingredients:Propylene Glycol  90.65%

Rubbing alcohol wipe...burns, but take away itch....Kinda like the ammonia did.

And for several hours of relief , believe it or not...
Preparation H "Cool Gel....  
Ingredients: Phenylephrine HCI/Witch Hazel/Aloe Barbadensis Gel/Benzophenone-4/Edetate Disodium/Hydroxyethylcellulose/Methylparaben/Polysorbate 80/Propylene Glycol/Propylparaben/Sodium Citrate/Vitamin E/Water

The ammonia based sticks and salves seem to wok the best followed by the Prep H....

Still looking for the older formula.....OR refill the ammonia stick with ammonia...

Just a little review based on my experience.

BTW I have tried the fingernail polish to "suffocate" tem....and several other cures...Mostly false.

FYI
http://www.chiggaway.com/Biggest.htm

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## kyratshooter

Have dealt with chiggers all my life here in the south.  

The best cure is prevention.  The old stitch in time saves 9 thing.

Application of OFF or one of the other good personal insecticides to keep them off in the first place is better than any after the fact remedy. 

Back in the day my grand dad used to rub kerosene on the shoes and pants cuffs.  I never though it helped much.  

"Off" Came out while I was a teenager.  Deep Woods Off came out just before I went into the Army and I remember that a can of it was always part of the contents of the "butt-pack" on the ALICE gear while in training. 

At Ft Benning I saw a guy that had decided to lay down in the soft grass to sleep (a chigger bed apparently) and woke up covered in chiggers three layers deep.  It was not pretty.  Big black guy, a cop from Kansas City.  We had to send him to the hospital.

I have a spray can in each vehicle and one can on the back porch.

I once knew a couple of guys that were game wardens in TN.  They claimed the chemical companies liked to try out new products on the game wardens because they knew they would get a through workout. One guy said he had treated a pair of pants with something they gave him and they were still "chigger proof" two years latter!

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## hunter63

I hear ya.....and I always spray down...
Gnats are bad as well.....so a lot for stuff get sprayed down.

Mosquitoes have not been bad....but lot a water standing around...so we will see.

Bush remedy is urine is useful.....  for many things....but then again you smell like ...eh, Urine?

https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/urine.html

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## pete lynch

I agree on the prevention angle. I put Listerine in a spray bottle and apply to lower legs, ankles etc.
Seems to work pretty well.

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## Antonyraison

Here I use Tabard, seems to be effective..
they use DEET, Diethyltoluamide.
apparently citronella also can help, can get that as an oil, and can burn a lamp, or a candle.

https://www.tabarduk.com/products.htm

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## Fixit

Sulfur . A small capsule once a week keeps all bugs off. Growing up I would just eat a clove of garlic before going to pick blackberries . Now when in NG summer camp we did a mid-week saltwater dip to kill the chiggers .

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## WalkingTree

Tis the little ones that can gitcha as much as anything else. That's why I decided that in a longish term bush situation, if much else isn't at hand, my primitive shelter design involves plain dirt - the tightest weave of foliage won't screen bugs at night while trying to sleep, but building something around the idea of dirt walls should be a bit better.

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## hunter63

> Here I use Tabard, seems to be effective..
> they use DEET, Diethyltoluamide.
> apparently citronella also can help, can get that as an oil, and can burn a lamp, or a candle.
> 
> https://www.tabarduk.com/products.htm


I do use Off and Deep Woods Off....have to look at the can.....for ingredients....does help.
Those citronella candles do help with mosquitos and flying bugs....chiggers, don't know.




> Sulfur . A small capsule once a week keeps all bugs off. Growing up I would just eat a clove of garlic before going to pick blackberries . Now when in NG summer camp we did a mid-week saltwater dip to kill the chiggers .


Have dusted with sulfur ...in an old sock against cuffs and socks....results?
And while looking it up, found reference to eating sulfur....like take 5 match heads and call me in the morning....Don't know about that?

WT...I agree I have always found that brush shelters are bug, spiders, and have had mice scurrying around .....just all sorts of stuff some best not to know.

Dirt walls floors are muddy.....
Most all of these methods are "survival shelters" for rain shelter and warmth,... not something I would want to do long term....Like ROTTW scenario's

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## Rick

I don't much mind that stuff anymore. The boys and me were camping one night and something (field mouse?) ran up the leg of my oldest. He was about 28 at the time. You would have thought an atomic bomb had gone off in camp. Me and the other son couldn't get out of the way for laughing. We don't fear no stinkin' chiggars. Field mice. That's another thing altogether. 

I have had condominiums of chiggers when I worked outside. Nail polish was all I ever used. Some of the guys swore by pantyhose but I never had the guts.

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## hunter63

They make panty hose with a  fly?.....

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## Rick

No. And don't ever fart wearing a pair of panty hose. That bubble will float around in there all day. Not that I would know about that.

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## Antonyraison

> No. And don't ever fart wearing a pair of panty hose. That bubble will float around in there all day. Not that I would know about that.


useful survival tip for river crossings.

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## crashdive123

Rick has been practicing and sharing his survival skills for a long, long time.  Here is a picture of him from his early days demonstrating the proper personal protective equipment for removing pantyhose that had been farted in earlier in the day.


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## Antonyraison

> Rick has been practicing and sharing his survival skills for a long, long time.  Here is a picture of him from his early days demonstrating the proper personal protective equipment for removing pantyhose that had been farted in earlier in the day.
> 
> 
> Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.


hahahahahahahahahh ... yeah I think my wife can do with one of these... Not that I have the pantyhose delema.. but ummm yeah.. me starting up in the mornings can be like an old old diesel engine. splutters, sometimes floods, sometimes needs a bit of choke. lots of back firing.

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## Rick

Hey! It might have been heavy but it worked until my brother decided to use it for a goldfish bowl.

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## JohnLeePettimore

I've made, and sold, natural bug repellent using lemon eucalyptus essential oil.  I've only had one person tell me it didn't work on them.  I've also been out with other folks and they got chicks and tiggers and I didn't.

Recipe (by volume):  5-10% lemon eucalyptus essential oil, 5-10% polysorbate 80 emulsifier, balance equal amounts of witch hazel and water.

Lemon eucalyptus has the same active ingredient as citronella, but doesn't smell as funky.

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## hunter63

> I've made, and sold, natural bug repellent using lemon eucalyptus essential oil.  I've only had one person tell me it didn't work on them.  I've also been out with other folks and they got chicks and tiggers and I didn't.
> 
> Recipe (by volume):  5-10% lemon eucalyptus essential oil, 5-10% polysorbate 80 emulsifier, balance equal amounts of witch hazel and water.
> 
> Lemon eucalyptus has the same active ingredient as citronella, but doesn't smell as funky.


Don't know it's the same thing....as I can't read the hand printed label.....but I have several different containers of "Bug Dope"....and a couple of salves, I the I have picked up from the "Magic Potion Lady" at the Farmer's market and craft fairs...

The labels were hand printed and when they are around awhile can't read them very well.

Many have witch hazel, aloe, beeswax citronella, camphor, other essentials oils and may others.....some of the same ingredients that are in the commercial offerings.

I would be willing to give it a try...but would not purchase those ingredients unless I knew it worked........LOL.

I will write those ingredients down and check with my potion lady....

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## hunter63

> hahahahahahahahahh ... yeah I think my wife can do with one of these... Not that I have the pantyhose delema.. but ummm yeah.. me starting up in the mornings can be like an old old diesel engine. splutters, sometimes floods, sometimes needs a bit of choke. lots of back firing.


Bhohahaha....

THAT Sir,  is most likely the funniest, truthful and relatable statement I have seen in looooog time...

You have just started my day off with a laugh......Thanks for that....
Rep sent....aw crap...c an't till I spread it around....
Someone rep this post please?

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## Batch

The two biggest problem insects where I camp are mosquitoes and deer flies. 

Deer flies suck. I welt up from the bites that itch me for days. But, they are most active in the hotter months and seem to be in the more direct heat. We tend to keep to the hammocks around that time of year. When hiking allows it, either be the point man or at least third back. And lag back about twice the distance between the point man and the second guy. The first guy must kick them up and the second guy gets all the attention.

Long pants and shirts sleeves help. But, its too danged hot down here for that and wet pant legs and shirt sleeves suck and I have been bitten through my shirt.

Mosquitoes need mosquito repellent which is best spelled DEET! I use Deep Woods Off and others as well. I have little pen sized bottles in smaller pieces of kit. Sawyer or Deep Woods pump bottles in all my packs. And, aerosol cans in the doors of my trucks and under the seat and in the glove box of the UTV. 

I have been in mosquitoes so thick that you breath them in. Literally so thick you can easily push a handful away without the need to swat at them. Prevention is best. Stick to worn trails and out of the grass. But, this time of year if you breath or perspire your going to attract mosquitoes. And if your down here this time of year and you breath, you are going to perspire!  

This year the mighty marsh mosquito has been off the chain. If you have never been in the mangroves of the southern Everglades during the Summer, you can't know. These are the loudest buzzing and most itchingest mosquitoes I have ever encountered. Just the ones that buzz in your will leave you contemplating whether further existing really has all that many benefits. Then from the time the first bite is felt you begin to welt! 

I avoid the mangroves when the salt marsh mosquitoes are at their worst. But, they are active down here almost year round.

This year is bad though. http://www.naplesnews.com/story/news...nty/101718874/

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## crashdive123

> I've made, and sold, natural bug repellent using lemon eucalyptus essential oil.  I've only had one person tell me it didn't work on them.  I've also been out with other folks and they got *chicks and tiggers* and I didn't.
> 
> Recipe (by volume):  5-10% lemon eucalyptus essential oil, 5-10% polysorbate 80 emulsifier, balance equal amounts of witch hazel and water.
> 
> Lemon eucalyptus has the same active ingredient as citronella, but doesn't smell as funky.


When I was younger I could have used some of that stuff that attracted chicks.  The tigers.........not so much.

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## WalkingTree

> useful survival tip for river crossings.


haha!





> WT...Dirt walls floors are muddy


The way I'd do it, it'd be dry. That's another thing I'll never be able to show a vid of when that's the best way to demonstrate in here. Though I guess I could describe in words.







> Long pants and shirts sleeves help. But, its too danged hot down here for that and wet pant legs and shirt sleeves suck and I have been bitten through my shirt.


Long pants and shirts can work, and still be cool. Even cooler than short pants and short sleeves. I once had a job where I was outside all day under the sun mid summer, every day, and same in winter. All year. Well, I did the research on it, and it includes long clothing everywhere, but also type of material and color. Dark not light, btw. People always thought I must be burning up, especially when it was 100 degrees all day. But I was the coolest one out there. Was quite comfortable in fact. However, what I wore wouldn't do well walking through much undergrowth.

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## hunter63

Sooo......Stopped in a couple local bait stores....as well as the small drug store....
Both the kind of stores that have only one or two items in stock.....(most go to Walmart 15 miles away).

Figured maybe they had some old "New stock" Skeeter Sticks or After Bite.....Nope.

Lady at the drug store helped me look and was all the new style...
So I asked it I could buy a syringe and needle....so I could fill my old applicators buck up....

You should have seen the faces of the store people....LOLOLOL



After convincing them what the purpose was ....that I wasn't a druggy (could have gone next door to the clinic...told them I was an addict  ...they would give me a free needle...LOL)

Guy did sell me a syringe and needle for .26 cents.

Had some ammonia for cleaning...so mixed up an ounce...filled up the old applicator......
We will see......

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## JohnLeePettimore

> Don't know it's the same thing....as I can't read the hand printed label.....but I have several different containers of "Bug Dope"....and a couple of salves, I the I have picked up from the "Magic Potion Lady" at the Farmer's market and craft fairs...
> 
> The labels were hand printed and when they are around awhile can't read them very well.
> 
> Many have witch hazel, aloe, beeswax citronella, camphor, other essentials oils and may others.....some of the same ingredients that are in the commercial offerings.
> 
> I would be willing to give it a try...but would not purchase those ingredients unless I knew it worked........LOL.
> 
> I will write those ingredients down and check with my potion lady....


Lemongrass eo is another common "natural ingredient".  If you do want to buy some, I suggest either "Majestic Mountain Sage" https://www.thesage.com or "Camden Grey" http://www.camdengrey.com/. I am not affiliated with either site.

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## hunter63

Gotcha,....Thanks.

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## Antonyraison

> Bhohahaha....
> 
> THAT Sir,  is most likely the funniest, truthful and relatable statement I have seen in looooog time...
> 
> You have just started my day off with a laugh......Thanks for that....
> Rep sent....aw crap...c an't till I spread it around....
> Someone rep this post please?


hahah, Laughter is one of the best medicines. Honestly its likely why I am always wanted in a group survival situation..
I have a very good sense of humor and always keeping the peeps smiling.

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## chiggersngrits

I use deep woods off. I knew a guy that was driving through a field, got a flat tire and laid in the grass while changing the tire. Got chiggers so bad had to go to the hospital. 

  Hunter, I buy needles and syringes at Tractor Supply in the livestock health care section.

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## hunter63

Yeah, thanks.....
They have them at the hardware/feed store as well.....
I guess the drug store people haven't been asked before....LOL

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## Rick

Usually those that ask at the drug store are rubbing their arm and sniffling and saying, "Come on, man. I reeeealllly need it, man." So you didn't fit the mold.

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## hunter63

Well, I was kinda standing there... itching my....well itching...stuff....so maybe?

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## Wildthang

> I hear ya.....and I always spray down...
> Gnats are bad as well.....so a lot for stuff get sprayed down.
> 
> Mosquitoes have not been bad....but lot a water standing around...so we will see.
> 
> Bush remedy is urine is useful.....  for many things....but then again you smell like ...eh, Urine?
> 
> https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/urine.html



Wanna know how to keep gnats out of your face Hunter?

Cut a hole in the seat of your briches! :Smartass:

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## hunter63

Really?.....Have to go try it....Thanks.....LOL

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## Wise Old Owl

Hunter is right! What the hell happened? ( I think GOVT REGULATION)- he forgot "Sting Eze" that was full of Ammonia and worked. No longer offered.

Well here is a thread about what works and crap that will waste your time or your money belt or purse.

Forget about avoidance of yellow jackets sting and sting again... and they LOVE being on the trail with nests. What is your plan the next CVS or Walgreens... last I looked they do not appear to be on the AT.... So what to do?

Part of this is I wear a full Honey Bee suit and I still get stung thru the suit on my back and ankles. Tonight I am nursing 8-15 bites on one ankle as I got Ketone tagged by the Yellow Jackets, the equivalent of Pheromone to kill this idiot in a bee suit. On the trail... you may be the victim, what do you do?

I already know the answer ... but there clearly isn't a totally correct answer. Even your Pharmacist will be clueless.

Next post- some better ideas.

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## Wildthang

No matter what we use for ticks and chiggers, I have to search the girls for chiggers, don't want those chiggers on my girls.......LOL

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## hunter63

> No matter what we use for ticks and chiggers, I have to search the girls for chiggers, don't want those chiggers on my girls.......LOL

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## JohnLeePettimore

> ... I have to search the girls for chiggers...


Sounds like a business opportunity.

I can see the sign now: "CHIGGER INFESTATION AREA! I'll search you for chiggers for only $10"

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## Rick

Your first customer is here...

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## kyratshooter

Rick you have to have a really warped mind to know where to find these pictures!

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## crashdive123

And for only $10.  A good businessman would have a price scale.  I'm thinking some may go as high as $1000.

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## Rick

You know, I was thinking. That's a lot of sand.

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## JohnLeePettimore

You guys must be old.

The money wasn't really the point.

;o)

I guess the old "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" doesn't hold anymore, either.

Maybe not such a good idea after all.

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## kimmysawi

> Don't know it's the same thing....as I can't read the hand printed label.....but I have several different containers of "Bug Dope"....and a couple of salves, I the I have picked up from the "Magic Potion Lady" at the Farmer's market and craft fairs...
> 
> The labels were hand printed and when they are around awhile can't read them very well.
> 
> Many have witch hazel, aloe, beeswax citronella, camphor, other essentials oils and may others.....some of the same ingredients that are in the commercial offerings.
> 
> I would be willing to give it a try...but would not purchase those ingredients unless I knew it worked........LOL.
> 
> I will write those ingredients down and check with my potion lady....


Please ellobrate those magic potion lady to those which are not get it correctly please (Y) Cheers I am just a stupid spammer and the link to diet pills has been removed.

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## Rick

And this came from within the country. There's a solid vote for open borders.

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## JohnLeePettimore

> And this came from within the country. There's a solid vote for open borders.


It could be a native who learned grammar in a public school.

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## Jaeger

Something I've used that's been effective so far is peppermint oil to deter mosquitoes, flies, etc. Get it from Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, or any other local drug store and mix it with some olive oil to dilute it a bit (it's very strong and can cause irritation of the skin for some). Put it in a little spray bottle and spray all over. So far it's helped a lot for someone who used to be feasted on by mosquitoes. If you try it, be forewarned... you may end up smelling like Christmas the rest of the day.

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## Boanerges

This is a trick I learned in Vietnam for chigger bites. When the itching starts, look at the bite site. You will see a little blister/bubble. Take your finger nail and scrape the bubble away. Then apply directly to the wound site a dab of "Mc ILHEENNY'S TABASCO  PEPPER SAUCE" Rub it in till the liquid evaporates. Pain will stop within 5 minutes. Then lick the bite site.

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## madmax

> This is a trick I learned in Vietnam for chigger bites. When the itching starts, look at the bite site. You will see a little blister/bubble. Take your finger nail and scrape the bubble away. Then apply directly to the wound site a dab of "Mc ILHEENNY'S TABASCO  PEPPER SAUCE" Rub it in till the liquid evaporates. Pain will stop within 5 minutes. Then lick the bite site.


Most of the time I couldn't possibly reach chigger bites with my tongue.  Some I wouldn't want to.

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## Boanerges

True but... a good spotter/partner will apply spit by hand, excluding the butt & groin areas. When the butt area gets invaded, all one can do is grin and bare the joys of the bush and state; " are we having fun yet."

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