I've had several notes from readers responding to Wednesday's column (Home & Garden section of paper) about chiggers.
I had mentioned a fellow in Texas who told us his preventative was powdered sulphur mixed with Vaseline, spread on thie lower half of the body. None of my respondents endorsed that suggestion.
A dab of nail polish on the bite, to kill the itch, received four votes. I've tried that with no success. Clear polish is recommended. Fewer questions from observers, I assume.
A generous smear of suntan lotion was used successfully by one reader.
Tucking pant legs into your socks after you use Permethrin on the clothing and Deet on yourself sounds like a good preventative.
One respondent mentioned an uncle who had taken his bites to a doctor, which is what I did once. I hope his results were better than mine.
Oh, and don't sit on the ground in chigger country, or walk through tall grass. That sounds instinctive to me, at least once you've endured the bites. What does chigger country look like? It always looks harmless.
