How can I get rid of chiggers in my lawn?

Question

My grandmother's yard has always been packed with chiggers (and sometimes ticks). When we go over to cut the grass or work in the yard, we always get chigger bites. She lives on a farm in a rural area in Kansas, surrounded by pasture and wooded sections. Lots of wildlife around and cattle.

Are there any powders, sprays, etc. I can apply to the lawn to control the chiggers? We'd like something relatively safe, as my cousin's small children regularly play in the grass and my grandmother's cat wanders around out there.

Answer 1

Beck92 gave a really good answer.  I would add this.  Find an AVON lady.  They sell a product called Avon Skin So Soft.  It is extremely oily / greasy , but apparently chiggers and mosquitoes hate the smell.  I am a botanist by training and did alot of research in the south.  The first summer I was eaten alive and miserable because of chiggers.  The second summer with AVON's help I got only 5 bites.  In addition to the AVON product I always wore pantyhose (despite the heat) and I rolled my jeans up and dumped sulfur powder in the cuffs.  I NEVER used any insecticide. You need to prepare in this manner and then cut back all the weedy areas.  Chiggers are not as common in lawns, but love tall weeds.

Clear nail polish doesn't work!  There is a prescription cortisone cream that is wonderful. It has a higher percentage of the active ingredient than you can get without a prescription.

Answer 2

You could check out the link below..

I also read that if you have a bite, you should put clear nail polish over the wound and it suffocates them.. Good luck

Answer 3

Diduno...

A few good answers but none that seem to fully answer your question and deal with your biggest concerns as well so I will chime in although a bit late.

If I read your question correctly, you want to not just keep them off of you when outside but hopefully get them off of the lawn.  This can be done but they will slowly migrate back from the surrounding area but should give you relief for a year or two or at least keep the population so low that it seems like they are gone comparatively.

With a cat and young children outside on the grass, you do not want residual poison and dusting a child with sulfur etc likely does not suit what you are looking for.

I have seen a few chemical free products that have been used for chigger control and the one that seems to work is actually a chemical free enzyme based bedbug spray that you water down for chiggers.  I do not know the dilution rate etc but they say it can be used on plants and around kids and pets safely so I would think if you contacted the comany that sells (www.Kleen-Free.com) it they could help and give you more advice.

Apparently if you dab it on the  bites it also helps to soothe the itching and to kill the chiggers as well.

Good luck.  I hope this helped and that Kleen-Free can answer your questions better than I.

Answer 4

Chiggers seem to affect warm covered areas of the body more than drier areas. Thus, areas covered by socks and shoes, behind the knees and around the groin are often trouble spots. Special attention should be given to small children, as areas higher in the body (chest, back, waist-band, and under-arms) may be affected more easily than in adults, since children are shorter and may more likely than adults come in contact with low-lying vegetation and dry grass where chiggers thrive.

To avoid being afflicted by chiggers, always wear a tight weave, protective clothing, and long pants. Spray insect repellent on your skin for further protection. Application of repellent to the shoes and lower trousers is helpful. Staying on trails, roads, or paths can help prevent contact.

Dusting sulfur is used commercially for mite control and can be used to control chiggers in yards. The dusting of shoes, socks and trouser legs with sulfur can be highly effective in repelling chiggers.

People who pick wild blueberries in the summer have traditionally been very vulnerable to chigger bites and have suggested applying deodorant soap to the skin and letting it dry without rinsing may help prevent bites.

Another helpful avoidance is to recognize the chigger habitat to avoid exposure in the first place. Chiggers in North America thrive late in summer, in dry tall grasses and other thick, unshaded vegetation.

Insect repellents containing one of the following active ingredients are recommended: DEET, Catnip oil extract - Nepetalactone, Citronella or eucalyptus oil extract. However, in 1993 issue a study reported on tests of two commercial repellants: DEET and citrus oil: "All chiggers exposed on the filter papers treated with DEET died and did not move off the treated papers. None of the chiggers that were placed on papers treated with citrus oil were killed."[2] It was concluded that DEET was more effective than citrus oil.

Answer 5

Workmen generally dust shoes and pants legs with sulphur to keep chiggers off them during work.

There should be any number of insecticides you could use, liquid or powder; most give time limits to keep pets and kids out of the area on the directions.  Using something like this on a regular basis should help but with her country location the insects will always be a problem.  However, I think you'd want to keep these in check since so many kids play in the yard.

BTW, you're wonderful to do your grandmother's yard for her.