Chiggers in small square hay bales

[Dave Downs]

First I think I should define ‘chiggers’. In my area they are small red insects, smaller than the average period at the end of a sentence. They burrow under your skin, usually where your clothing is tight, like at your belt line.  They itch like crazy. The cure is to paint the affected area with clear nail polish so they suffocate.

My young neighbor does small squares for the local ‘horse crowd’ and stores them in my barn. The bales have become infested with chiggers to the point where you can pick up a bale and you will get 3 or 4 crawling on your hands.

This is totally new to me, never seen anything like this before. Has anybody here ever had this problem?

[from H to 80]

I would rather be attacked by ticks and mosquitoes at the same time as those #%**% things. 

[560Dennis]

Don’t want them 

[Alan Dinan]

Never heard that before. Learn something new everyday!!

[vtfireman85]

We don’t have them here, and I don’t want them either! 

[wmoore77]

We have chiggers here but most of the time in the stored hay and straw we call those hay-straw mites 

exact same bite thought  they will itch you to death and they always seem to bite in the worst places 

[dale560]

Apparently they are more common than I realized even an article from South Dakota on them.

[ray54]

We have oat straw mites here since the 80's-90's. A lot more mixed forage hay with wheat and barley because of it now. They never got me working on the swather cutting it. Once the hay dried look out. The good is they go away or die once the cool weather starts. Once they die do not come back in the barn stored hay in the second year.  They are small I have never seen them or felt them crawling. But give a rash that itches like crazy. Using mosquito repellent helps. Since they are contact with the hay, once done loading I wipe stomach and arms with wet paper towel seem to get them off. Never let anyone sit on a bale if they could be in it. We all had to learn that the hard way, they come right through pants.

Supposedly you can see them with a good magnifying glass.  I have never had the to look.

[vtfireman85]

Permethrin is quite effective here against ticks, you can use it in chicken coops for mites, all I have seen here is for clothing spray, I use it on all my hunting stuff. Might be a short term solution for the bale handling. I have heard of people applying it directly to their chickens, not sure how it would go for livestock. 

[naedlaen]

Permethrin is used as livestock spray/rub.  Not sure if it is approved for use on people.

Neal

[iowaboy1965]

11 hours ago, naedlaen said:

Permethrin is used as livestock spray/rub.  Not sure if it is approved for use on people.

Neal

Pretty sure it is.

[vtfireman85]

28 minutes ago, iowaboy1965 said:

Pretty sure it is.

 

11 hours ago, naedlaen said:

Permethrin is used as livestock spray/rub.  Not sure if it is approved for use on people.

Neal

The clothing spray specifically says do not allow skin contact, apply to clothing, let dry, then wear. I personally in general prefer to avoid chemicals, but I figure the tick born illnesses are worse than the permethrin. 

[TN Hillbilly]

We had them one time in a load of baled straw, from western KY, maybe? Somebody told us they were "turkey mites." I don't know if that's correct, but they were bad news until that straw was gone!

[B.B.]

The nail polish thing is a myth….  

[yellowrosefarm]

Epson salts has always been my go to for chigger bites. Scrub it into the bite in the shower and no more itch.