Redbugs, often referred to as chiggers, are mites measuring only 1/150th of an inch in diameter. Their small size and affinity for high-grass places makes these pesky little bugs a frequent offender of humans in the southern part of the United States. Redbugs bite onto human ankles and legs, feasting on liquefying tissue until a human scratches them away. Your skin's defensive reaction to the irritating bite of redbugs is to swell with tiny pimple-like bumps on the affected area. Like other insect bites, these bumps will eventually heal on their own but not after causing extreme itching.
Soap and Water
A redbud crawls around on your body for several minutes before starting its feast. Fortunately, these little mites don't have much sticking power and are easily brushed off their landing pads. Take a warm bath and scrub yourself thoroughly with a wet, soapy washcloth to remove the redbugs before they stake their claim on your skin. Even if they've already started biting, warm soapy water will remove them from your skin surface, limiting the damage and minimizing the itching.
Antihistamine Creams
After a redbug bite, your body responds by increasing the blood flow and swelling with tiny bumps to protect and heal the skin. From your standpoint, those defensive pimply bumps are just unbearably itchy. Soothe the itch by washing your skin with warm soap and water to remove any existing redbugs. Then gently pat your skin dry and apply a thin layer of antihistamine cream over the entire affected area three to four times a day. Cover the affect area with an adhesive bandage to prevent scratching.
Calamine Lotion
Remove any existing redbugs from your skin with warm water and soap. Dot a quarter-sized amount of calamine lotion onto a cotton pad and spread liberally over your bumps. Resist the urge to gouge or itch your skin, as the debris under your fingernails could cause a secondary infection. Keep your skin bare until the lotion dries before sitting on furniture or wearing longer clothing.
Sulphur Powder
As a last resort, remove existing redbugs by spreading sulphur powder on your exposed skin. Redbugs hate sulphur and will quickly flee the scene by dropping off your body. For the obvious aromatic reasons, only use sulphur powder in the absence of warm water and soap. Dusting sulphur powder over your skin and around the openings of your clothing, like pant legs and arm sleeves, will also repel future redbug bites for a few hours.
Tags: your skin, existing redbugs, sulphur powder, your body, your skin, affected area