The Dangers of Picking Wild Sand Plums – Chiggers!

On Sunday morning David, my friend Barbara and I headed out to our plum thicket to pick wild sand plums. If you have never had wild plum jelly you are definitely missing out! It makes a jelly that is both sweet and tart and is not only good on toast and English muffins but David loves it on French toast. The problem is the danger of picking wild sand plums. Chiggers!

Before we left the house we all covered ourselves in Deep Woods Off. I guess I didn't get enough on me because I came home and the next morning had chiggers on my ankles and at the back of my knees. I hate chiggers. They aren't like mosquito bites that go away after about 24 hours. No, they hang around and wake you in the middle of the night as you are scratching yourself raw. It seems if you start to scratch one it wakes the others up and they begin to itch.

I kept my pool as a chlorine pool because of the chiggers. If I soak in the pool for a few hours every night it seems to keep them away or get rid of them quicker. I have received LOTS of advise on how to get rid of them (or prevent them in the first place). Here are some of the more creative ones:

• From Kathy: "Try clear fingernail polish or hand sanitizer for the itching."
• Janice says: "Crazy enough - VICKS works!"
• Claudia suggests: "I always use rubbing alcohol it burns a little but them suckers die!"
• Doris give me a preventative measure: "If you put Vicks Vapor Rub around your ankes and waist you will not get any!"
• Judy said: "That's why I don't pick sand plums anymore! That's the only time I got them."
• Jerry simply stated: "Bleach!"
• Stan said: "Soak in a bucket of salt water!" (Now, I ask you...how would I get my big butt into a bucket of salt water?)
• Kimberly said: "Try backing soda and water soak. It should help the itching!"
• Wayne went all out: "Instead of scratching the bite, lightly slap it to help stop the itch." Then gave me links to a ton of information on how to keep them from biting in the first place.

When I first moved to Oklahoma I thought how wonderful it is that there aren't  very many mosquitoes. Where I came from (Minnesota) you can't sit out after dusk because they will eat you alive. But, no one ever told me about the chiggers! They are much worse than mosquitoes by a long shot! I hate those little invisible boogers!

Here is a link that was shared with me: How To Treat Chigger Bites from WikiHow.com

Thanks to everyone that shared their home remedies with me. I'm hoping they don't last much longer. I will let you know what works best for me!

We did get a good pick from the plum thicket though! Now to find the best recipe.