HELP!! I am going mad!

So we did a 10 mile back country in Shenandoah this weekend.

It was incredible packed in 6 miles found a great area to pitch the tent and as it turns out it was infested with noseeums. I am going mad with the itching. What can I put on this to quell the itching.

Also it seems like I am still getting bitten. Is that possible? I was thinking of enduring the burning and using some jungle juice (100% deet) to run off any stragglers.

Help before I go mad!!!

I get bit up EVERY time I camp here in Florida or Georgia.

The no-seeums certainly do sting when they bite, but your itching may be chiggers.

I typically scratch like crazy and then keep putting rubbing alcohol on my skin to make it dry out.

Sorry to tell you, but the itching will take 4 to 5 days before it goes away.

Rather than using the 100% DEET repellents, try the newer timed-release DEET repellents. We used these in Alaska a couple years back for the first time. With me, the "organics" keep the little beasts (mosquitoes, gnats, noseeums, etc) away for about a minute or less. 100% DEET seems to keep them at bay for a half hour. But the timed-release products seem to be effective for 6 to 8 hours. One other factor is the foods you eat. As a non-red-meat eater, I include a lot of fruits in my diet. Bananas seem to attract mosquitoes especially well, but peaches and other soft fruits are pretty effective attractants as well (even the dried fruits that I take in the backcountry). Garlic and onions seem to help reduce my natural attraction for the 6-legged flying ones.

I don't have trouble with chiggers, but in our local hills, I do pick up some ticks (we have the dreaded Lyme-carrying deer ticks in some areas here). The time-released DEET products seem to be quite effective against ticks, so I would expect it to work well against their 8-legged cousins, the chiggers, as well.

I have found that pure peppermint oil stops itching pretty quickly.

The best defence I've found for chiggers / ticks and other critters is a physical barrier - long sleeves and long legs - I don't LIKE to wear long pants - I much prefer shorts, butI became very conscious of the value of a barrier earlier this summer when, after feeling so lousy that I actually went to the doctor, I found that I had early Lyme disease from a tick bite.
One of my older BSA handbooks (it's one from the 1950's) - suggest sulphur powder in the cuffs of your pants to keep ticks away - I've never tried it but hey - it might just work!
If you suspect you're still infested - take a bath - to ease the itch an oatmeal bath did the trick when I had a bad case of PI a few years ago -

Update -

I look like a crack addict -

I have at least 50 big red welts and some scabs from not being able to control the urge to scratch. (gross eh)

The itching has subsided and the advice on the Oatmeal bath was great. I also bought a Benadryl Itch Relief Stick for the office as I did not think they would take kindly to me enjoying a soothing oatmeal bath in my cube.

Major lessons learned here.

1. Wear pants; As much as I enjoy trapsing around naked.. oh I mean in shorts, the protection of cover on your extremities is vital.

2. Use an unscented insect repelant; Even if there are no mosquito's around, more than just mosquitos can mess up your day. (Bill, I'm going to find me some of that timed release Deet, I am a magnet for the flesh eating critters)

3. Stay out of the tall grass, nuff said there.

4. TrailSpace is my favorite forum!

Thanks for the help guys.

Greg

One reminder-DEET supposedly will eat some plastics and stain clothes. I used to use it in NZ and didn't have that problem, but the labels usually warn you about it. They have those little noseeums down there too on the coast and they are really obnoxious, so I know what you mean.

chigger bites are a fact of life if you camp.

The more you go, the more you get bit. The more you get bit, the more you just deal with it.

The only true way to ward the little buggers off is to use repellent and never wear the same clothing twice. That ain't gonna happen.

Don't be uncomfortable while hiking in long pants or stay out of areas that need to be bushwacked.

I take a careful look at where I'm going to sit before doing so - I once watched a scoutmaster get really badly stung when he, without looking, sat down on a ground hornet nest -it was kinda funny (at the time) to watch him run around yelling - it was less "funny" when we had to carry him 7 miles to a car and then get him to a hospital - he'd been stung between 20 and 30 times and his throat swelled up -

I pack in Louisiana. Everything that crawls is here. Chiggers, known as red bugs here, are probably your long lasting itch problem. They do not go away easily. I usually take a hot shower and a stiff fingernail brush with plenty of soap and scrub the little vermon out. Then after the hole stops seeping, brush with "New Skin". Harsh, but effective. It takes only a couple of days for the wound to heal, but the itch usually stops when you corterize the wound with the new skin. Grit your teeth! I found the "New Skin" effective on hot spots if you have time to let it dry, and it can get you by on some broken blisters (let them some what stop seeping first.)
The sulfer sock is effective for preventing the little skin suckers from getting you in the first place. Sulfer sock=pour sulfer into old sock and dust around ankles & belt line. I'm afraid long pants will increase your protection also.