I recently wrote a post about how mosquitoes and other biting bugs seem to prefer me over Chareva. Here’s more proof.
The bites in the photo below were my own fault. I went out to play disc golf and forgot to put insect repellent on my legs — which weren’t bare, by the way. The chiggers managed to get to me despite long pants and socks. Chareva works out in the garden almost every day, but she doesn’t get bites like these.
Now this next one really pisses me off: All I did was go to bed and go to sleep. That ought to be a hazard-less activity. But I woke up bitten all over by what I presume was a spider. All the red welts you see below are bites. I counted 14 of them in all. (Most aren’t in the photo because they’re in areas that don’t make for family-friendly photography.) I have bites in both armpits, on my back and on my stomach. I was in an all-day seminar for work today and had to pretend to pay attention when all I wanted to do was scratch my own skin off.
Guess how many spider bites Chareva has today? That’s right, NONE. Derned critters just leave her alone for some reason.
If anyone has a suggestion for making myself less delicious to spiders, I’m all ears.
If you enjoy my posts, please consider a small donation to the Fat Head Kids GoFundMe campaign.
Have you considered harvest mites? They bite you and the itching starts hours later. Itches like hell for days.
They seem to like me, while my husband doesn’t have any problems with them. But he gets the chigger bites while I was never bit by a chigger…
I haven’t heard of harvest mites.
It’s fleas. I’ve been bitten by fleas before. It’s extremely itchy, more itchy than mosquito bites, and leaves a redder but smaller bump compared to mosquito bites.
Fleas are extremely hard to get rid of, and they’re impossible to see unless you have a huge infestation. They have a tendency to prefer some people over others.
But you have to get rid of it. They have four stages: egg, larva, cocoon, and adult. The cocoon and egg stages are extremely hard to kill. And the cocoon stage can remain dormant for a long time until it’s the right time to hatch.
You can hire someone to do it, or you’ll have to vacuum your whole house to get rid of the cocoon and eggs.
It may be time to bomb the room.
Bay Rum aftershave, liberally applied to exposed skin to reduce the number of bites and applying it to the bites will help them heal faster. You can get a gallon of the stuff online for about $20.
I agree with the other people, those aren’t spider bites. Probably a persistent mosquito or the like. Let me guess…Your blood type is O and Chevera’s isn’t.
Correct on the blood types.
It is likely that Chareva gets bites as often as you do, but is one of thoee people who doesn’t react much to bug bites. There are even people who don’t react much to black widow spider bites! Others react to the slightest bit of histamine. I’m guessing that’s you!
That could be. My Irish skin isn’t meant to take bites from bugs that like hot, humid weather.
Hi Tom! Really a fan, both of the FH movie and the LCarb philosophy.
About those bites: I read recently (I think a study of some sort, maybe on Sisson’s site?) that mosquitoes prefer folks with type O blood. Not so much type A. Just a thought. Also, homeopathic Arnica cream seems to make them feel much better and go away quicker. Good luck,
Shar
Yup, I posted about that. I’m type O, Chareva is type A.
Hi Tom! Really a fan, both of the FH movie and the LCarb philosophy.
About those bites: I read recently (I think a study of some sort, maybe on Sisson’s site?) that mosquitoes prefer folks with type O blood. Not so much type A. Just a thought. Also, homeopathic Arnica cream seems to make them feel much better and go away quicker. Good luck,
Shar
Yup, I posted about that. I’m type O, Chareva is type A.
This rural Missouri hillbilly puts his money on all chigger bites. Spider bites, when looked at closely have TWO wounds (not one) in the very center from their fangs. Flea bites don’t last nearly as long as chiggers, have a very symmetrical circular welt, that doesn’t get as red and inflamed.
I recently thought I had bed bugs, took all the bedding apart, looked very hard in all the crevasses (you can spot them, if you have them), then remembered I had laid down (briefly) on the ground to remove a lawn mower blockage. I was very glad to conclude it was chiggers.
Scratching chigger bites is to be avoided, as it just makes them try to burrow deeper, making more pain. The old timers prevention is sprinkling powdered sulfur in your socks and on lower pants and shoes. It helps but does not completely prevent, but is low toxicity. I’ve learned to just accept a certain amount in the summer months.
Oh, and they will ebb and flow thru the weather. Long dry spells knock their numbers way down. The day or two after a rain, they will be back big. Sometimes you can plan your activity accordingly. Of course, keep things mowed also!
Don’t do any bombing unless you are sure you have a need.
Definitely chigger bites on the legs, but the bites on the upper body are something else. They look like flea or bedbug bites from what I’ve seen.
This rural Missouri hillbilly puts his money on all chigger bites. Spider bites, when looked at closely have TWO wounds (not one) in the very center from their fangs. Flea bites don’t last nearly as long as chiggers, have a very symmetrical circular welt, that doesn’t get as red and inflamed.
I recently thought I had bed bugs, took all the bedding apart, looked very hard in all the crevasses (you can spot them, if you have them), then remembered I had laid down (briefly) on the ground to remove a lawn mower blockage. I was very glad to conclude it was chiggers.
Scratching chigger bites is to be avoided, as it just makes them try to burrow deeper, making more pain. The old timers prevention is sprinkling powdered sulfur in your socks and on lower pants and shoes. It helps but does not completely prevent, but is low toxicity. I’ve learned to just accept a certain amount in the summer months.
Oh, and they will ebb and flow thru the weather. Long dry spells knock their numbers way down. The day or two after a rain, they will be back big. Sometimes you can plan your activity accordingly. Of course, keep things mowed also!
Don’t do any bombing unless you are sure you have a need.
Definitely chigger bites on the legs, but the bites on the upper body are something else. They look like flea or bedbug bites from what I’ve seen.
Bed bugs must be brought in, so you’ll have to think if you’ve bought anything used, or maybe a flight/hotel/cruise were the culprit? What about bat-bugs? I hear they’re similar. That’s very strange to go from no bites to a dozen, though…usually your bites will multiply over time. If you’re being bitten on parts of your body mosquitoes can’t access, then it’s definitely something LIKE bed bugs, but make sure you can find and identify one before you go nuts.
I live in NYC where they’re an issue. So annoying! Keep us posted—if you have them, I have tips that got rid of them asap. 🙂 good luck!
I doubt it’s mosquitoes because I’m getting around the waist as well – that’s through a t-shirt and under a sheet and blanket.
The best thing ever for taking the ichyness away from stings, bites and rashes is Mylanta dabbed on with a cotton ball. I don’t know if you call it that in the US (I’m in Australia). It’s a thick, kinda chalky, peppermint flavoured liquid that you take for indigestion. Very soothing and cooling on the itch. Better than Calamine Lotion.
We have Mylanta here. Same product name.
Bed bugs must be brought in, so you’ll have to think if you’ve bought anything used, or maybe a flight/hotel/cruise were the culprit? What about bat-bugs? I hear they’re similar. That’s very strange to go from no bites to a dozen, though…usually your bites will multiply over time. If you’re being bitten on parts of your body mosquitoes can’t access, then it’s definitely something LIKE bed bugs, but make sure you can find and identify one before you go nuts.
I live in NYC where they’re an issue. So annoying! Keep us posted—if you have them, I have tips that got rid of them asap. 🙂 good luck!
I doubt it’s mosquitoes because I’m getting around the waist as well – that’s through a t-shirt and under a sheet and blanket.
Check out this site for several homemade flea traps. At least you will know for sure if they are fleas, and how heavy the infestation is. BTW, I’ve never seen the candle method.
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Flea-Trap
I have a desk lamp like that. I’ll try the dish of soapy water.
Since it appears most here are on the same page concerning consensus, I’ll throw in my two cents. When it comes to public perception, doing the exact opposite works every time. The long term solution is to consume high saturated fats, tons of salt(real), stay away from the gym, don’t drink plain water, get plenty of sunshine(no sunscreen/sunglasses and try to be in the direct sunlight near solar noon), and consume foods containing tons of bacteria(raw dairy, fish, lacto-fermented…). With the exception of allium, cook all vegetables and add tons of butter and salt.
For a short term solution to bug attraction, go to the animal feed store and order a 50lb bag of Redmond Salt, add a couple of cups of the salt and one cup of epsom salt to a bath.
Jim
The best thing ever for taking the ichyness away from stings, bites and rashes is Mylanta dabbed on with a cotton ball. I don’t know if you call it that in the US (I’m in Australia). It’s a thick, kinda chalky, peppermint flavoured liquid that you take for indigestion. Very soothing and cooling on the itch. Better than Calamine Lotion.
We have Mylanta here. Same product name.
Check out this site for several homemade flea traps. At least you will know for sure if they are fleas, and how heavy the infestation is. BTW, I’ve never seen the candle method.
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Flea-Trap
I have a desk lamp like that. I’ll try the dish of soapy water.
Since it appears most here are on the same page concerning consensus, I’ll throw in my two cents. When it comes to public perception, doing the exact opposite works every time. The long term solution is to consume high saturated fats, tons of salt(real), stay away from the gym, don’t drink plain water, get plenty of sunshine(no sunscreen/sunglasses and try to be in the direct sunlight near solar noon), and consume foods containing tons of bacteria(raw dairy, fish, lacto-fermented…). With the exception of allium, cook all vegetables and add tons of butter and salt.
For a short term solution to bug attraction, go to the animal feed store and order a 50lb bag of Redmond Salt, add a couple of cups of the salt and one cup of epsom salt to a bath.
Jim
Lookin’ pretty hawt there Tom….
Bitten up is hawt now?
LOL!!! Seriously!
I am blood group O Negative… I am similar to you.
I suspect this: what my blood group means is that I lack anything in my blood. Certain protiens and that. This is why O Neg is a universal donor- there is nothong in it to trigger an immune response in other people. Thus, your wife could have a transfusion of my blood, and benefit, bit where she has A type blood, I would suffer badly at best. Death is a good possibility…
What if insect are going for you, because they detect nothing from you?
In any case, try Citronella essential oil. It repels mosquitoes, but I don’t know about spiders. There isn’t that problem in Britain…
Turns out my bites aren’t from spiders. Bedbugs or fleas are the likely culprits.
Ah… I was wondering why spiders were out to get you…
Check the cats for fleas, and dump the duvets in the wash. I once lived in a place where the cats got fleas, and worked out it was fleas when I saw city populations jumping about on the duvet. I shoved it in the wash, and it was problem solved.
Still go for the Cotronella. Great against mosquotoes.
I will definitely be on the lookout for fleas.
Lookin’ pretty hawt there Tom….
Bitten up is hawt now?
LOL!!! Seriously!
I am blood group O Negative… I am similar to you.
I suspect this: what my blood group means is that I lack anything in my blood. Certain protiens and that. This is why O Neg is a universal donor- there is nothong in it to trigger an immune response in other people. Thus, your wife could have a transfusion of my blood, and benefit, bit where she has A type blood, I would suffer badly at best. Death is a good possibility…
What if insect are going for you, because they detect nothing from you?
In any case, try Citronella essential oil. It repels mosquitoes, but I don’t know about spiders. There isn’t that problem in Britain…
Turns out my bites aren’t from spiders. Bedbugs or fleas are the likely culprits.
Ah… I was wondering why spiders were out to get you…
Check the cats for fleas, and dump the duvets in the wash. I once lived in a place where the cats got fleas, and worked out it was fleas when I saw city populations jumping about on the duvet. I shoved it in the wash, and it was problem solved.
Still go for the Cotronella. Great against mosquotoes.
I will definitely be on the lookout for fleas.
I’m O+ and usually get eaten alive by bugs. Only exception was when I was pregant, and I assumed it was because my body temp was higher and that put the bugs off me temporarily. Possibly not a particularly helpful tip for you though Tom (although medical breakthroughs happen all the time).
Incidentally, daughter’s blood type is B+ – in light of the comment about antibodies, I wonder (in hindsight) if this was the reason for lack of interest in my delicious blood during the weeks of pregnancy.
I’m O+ and usually get eaten alive by bugs. Only exception was when I was pregant, and I assumed it was because my body temp was higher and that put the bugs off me temporarily. Possibly not a particularly helpful tip for you though Tom (although medical breakthroughs happen all the time).
Incidentally, daughter’s blood type is B+ – in light of the comment about antibodies, I wonder (in hindsight) if this was the reason for lack of interest in my delicious blood during the weeks of pregnancy.
I have O blood as well and get eaten alive. I’ve also heard they like “white meat” and being a ginger, I am very white. My husband and daughter both have olive skin tones and they rarely get bitten. My son however is pale like me and also gets eaten alive.
I have O blood as well and get eaten alive. I’ve also heard they like “white meat” and being a ginger, I am very white. My husband and daughter both have olive skin tones and they rarely get bitten. My son however is pale like me and also gets eaten alive.