My introduction to chiggers came with a load of hay we ordered for our llamas when we lived on our land south of Hot Springs. Those little buggers are almost impossible to detect, with the exception of the itchy red bump they leave as a lengthy memento of their visit. That first exposure to those sneaky insects was a shock to this old lady who had never been exposed to them in Minnesota. I knew mosquitos, black flies, sand flies and other miserable bugs from living 65 years among the lakes of Minnesota, but during all of that time I had never met up with a chigger. Those annoying pests were kept in store for my elder years in South Dakota.
During my first time dealing with them I scratched one little bump until it became infected. Do not, I repeat, do not scratch one! I still have a scar as a reminder of that initial attack back in about 2004. Eventually it involved a visit to a doctor to take care of an infection.
We are now living in town, away from such annoyances, and yet on Monday I found one bite through that dreaded itch. By the time Monday had turned over to Tuesday I had nine more spots begging to be scratched. One more magically appeared this morning.
It is an old wives tale that finger nail polish destroys them. By the time you are bitten those tiny red monsters have long gone. The website suggests calamine lotion or other such remedies to sooth the itching. Whatever works, or doesn't, do not scratch!!!
Still remaining, in addition to the itches, is the mystery of where they came from. My husband does not have one bite. He was not with me in the Miss South Dakota parade on Saturday, Our Save Our VA group lined up in a park outside of town. Maybe, just maybe some of those cheeky chiggers hopped a visit then. Don't know, and maybe never will. It may remain another of life's little mysteries.
"Ah, a (not so) sweet mystery of life".
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