Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Chiggers

I had to crawl in the big bin where the oats are kept the other day. This is an image of my right lower leg. All those little red whelps are Chigger bites. Apparently there was a small Chigger army living in the oat bin and a battalion or two decided to mount an excursion up my leg.

No, they didn't stop at the leg. I pretty much have them all over my body that same way. The bites really itch.

I had kind of forgotten about Chiggers which is amazing because I recall knowing them pretty well from my childhood.

The bites will more or less be gone in a couple of weeks.

I hope the horses enjoyed the oats that I rescued from the opposing horde of Chiggers. Does make me wonder what else is in there. I was told to watch out for snakes but I didn't see any of them.

We used to have some gold fish in the horses' water tank. I was going to try to get a picture of them. They do a great job of keeping the tank clean. And they will come up to the surface when a horse drinks and try to eat stuff off the horse's mouth. Usually there is plenty, too. But these white birds (I've heard them called egrets or sea gulls or pelicans) found out about the gold fish and ate them.

14 comments:

nancy said...

terry your leg looks so painful. does anything help for the itch? calamine lotion, benadryl? i am fortunate to say i haven't had an experience with chiggers, knock on wood.

i hope the next 2 weeks go by quickly and you get some relief from them.

cornbread hell said...

yowch!
i've been wonderin' where all the chiggers went. now i know.

Joanne said...

OH goodness, those bites look painful. Hope they heal quickly and the itching stops real soon.

Annie said...

I highly recommend Benadryl gel lotion, it works a treat.

¸.•*´)ღ¸.•*´Chris said...

I secondthe benadryl gel lotion. You can find it at Walmart for about 4$ and some change. Good stuff. speedy recovery to you!

~Betsy said...

Oatmeal soaks, Flinty - long oatmeal soaks followed by benadryl gel. If they are really, really bad you may want to call the doctor and see about a shot. I'd hate to see them get infected. Are your oats stored in sealed containers? We had to do that to keep the little monsters out.

I have never heard of goldfish in the horse's water trough. Interesting thought. Knowing my pony, he'd swallow the fish.

SKYGIRL said...

EUEWWWWWW! Chiggers, I remember them from childhood too! Just not why or how! Ironically, I agree with Betsy, those precious Oats you were digging for? May be your salvation too!

I can't think of the company that makes the Oatmeal Soaks, but maybe "Alveno?" ask a Pharmacist, they will now.

And add some bubbles! I wont tell! LOL!

dave said...

wow
that looks awful
itch itch scratch bleed

StefanieRose said...

:( That looks very much UN-FUN. I am sorry, I wish I could hold your two hands back from itching I know you want to but DON'T! lol Hang in there

Lori1955 said...

Oh my gosh, that looks terrible. I hope it doesn't feel as painful as it looks. :(

rilera said...

I'm itchy just from looking at your picture! I like hearing about life on the farm, especially the gold fish in the horses water tank. That's quite clever!

Hope you are doing OK.

~Betsy said...

Just checking in on you, Terry. I hope you are feeling OK.

Joanne said...

Are you doing okay, Terry? Hope all is well.

Anonymous said...

I'm itchy from looking at your leg as well! Ouch!! That just looks painful! Hope you are feeling better soon!!