Using various ointments to stop the chigger bite itching didn't seem to do the job, but I did find something that helps for bug bites as well as poison ivy. Hot water. As hot as you can stand, right on the spot. Do this for as long as you can bear it. It seems to break up the histamine responsible for the itch, and for me, works up to 8 hours at a time. While you are applying the hot water though, be prepared for intense itching while using the water. That lets you know that the histamine is breaking up.

Obviously, the best thing to do is spray with a good insect repellant before going into the woods, this definitely works. You know, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". I have tried everything from fingernail polish, bleach, alcohol, and kerosene with very little relief. Then one day I was in such misery that I tried anything I could find. I used Ivarest that day and discovered that Ivarest (for relief of poison ivy) gave relief for quite a few hours, and the chiggers didn't last as many days as usual. I live in the wilderness where there is an abundance of chiggers and seed ticks.

After possible exposure (nature hike in GA) I scrubbed firmly with a washrag using pure beef tallow soap. This soap really sucks dirt out of pores, and helped keep the bites small and tolerable. I treated the bigger bites from the day before by wetting the soap and rubbing it on the effective area. It took the itch out for a few hours, then I retreated. We washed all hair, affected clothes, bedding and pets, too. Good luck. Thanks for information on this site!

Chiggers were especially bad this year. My remedy for relief of bites when they occur is to scrub them with Dawn dish soap using the scratchy side of a kitchen sponge. This gives about 10 hours of relief from itching, so twice a day for a couple of days does the trick for me.

Benadryl no, Chiggarid no, clear nail polish no. I ended up getting Prednisone from my doctor. I got my chiggers from my garden and they have been hanging around for a week, a few have been there for about four weeks.

I put benadryl and other calamine type lotions on my daughters legs and benadryl was the best of those options, but I finally put the cold aloe gel you keep in the fridge on her legs and she was asleep within 10 minutes. The others had her up all through the night digging and in agony.

I had real problems sleeping last night, the itching was so bad. After reading the posts I took a hot bath in our garden tube with epsom salt mixed in. Then, because epsom salt tends to dry the skin, I took a hot shower using a good body wash with skin moisturizer. After that I used a spray lotion I purchased from CVS. Just awoke from a really nice nap and although I don't know how long the relief will last, I feel great at this moment. These little bugs are bad news!

I went hiking in the mountains and got chiggers bad. I searched all over and itched all over with no relief. I thought it may be a larve, so I headed to store and bought some Rid-X and it worked great. Now even if I mow the grass, I go take a shower and use the Rid-X if I have one itch.