Cooperative Living July 2015 - 6

MAILBAG
DEALING WITH THE DREADED
CHIGGER
Chiggers! Ten times worse than a
tick bite because you don't get one, you
get 50 at a time!
Since getting my first chigger bites
four summers ago near the Shenandoah
River in Middletown on our
horse farm, I have learned no matter
how hot it is I wear at least one pair
of sturdy cotton socks to calf high if
tolerable. On top of that I wear a heavy
rubber boot that comes to my knee.
As soon as I am done working
around the river or our fences I head to
the house, take all that off, put on my
glasses and check for possible little red
bites. If I see anything I stick my foot
and leg under the tub hot water and
scrub hard with soap and a brush! It's
not fun but it kills off or removes half
to two-thirds of them. After that I take
a cotton ball and soak it in straight
ammonia, yup, that stuff you might
clean the floor with, and cover the area
from toes to knee.
When I was going crazy with the
constant fiery itching for weeks that
comes with these little monsters' bites I
turned to a pharmacist, who told me
about the straight ammonia. Ammonia
is the working ingredient in almost all
WHATZIT?
Each issue, we will
pub lish a photo of a familiar
but unidentified object.
You are invited to make
your best guess and send it
in writing with your name,
address, and phone number
to WHATZIT?, c/o Cooperat -
ive Living, P.O. Box 2340,
Glen Allen, VA 230582340;
or guess online at
www.co-opliving.com
under " Contests. " Dead -
line for entries is July 10
All correct entries will be
put into a drawing and a
winner announced in the
September 2015 issue. The
winner will re ceive a
check for $25. n
4
anti-itch sticks, but it is
watered down. Using it
straight cuts the recovery
and the damage from
the bites by half!
Sadly, I don't think
WRITE US!
NOTE
EMAIL
there is a preventative
to getting swamped by
the little red buggers
except spray and cover skin
so tightly they have a hard time getting
to it. Seriously, I have been bitten
with two pairs of socks and rubber
boots, but less often. Good Luck!
ADDRESS
Linda Kangarloo
Via Email
ANOTHER SOLUTION FOR
TICK REMOVAL
One letter-writer advocated putting
soap on a tick before removing it
with tweezers. I have found a dab of
dog flea-and-tick shampoo works
even better. You can tell the tick is
ready to be pulled when you see its
body move up from the skin. This is
especially helpful with tiny seed ticks.
Lathering yourself with Avon's
Skin So Soft will keep ticks and chiggers
at bay. However, if you have the
misfortune to get chigger bites,
We want to hear from you - comments, opinions, suggestions.
Your letter must be signed and legible. We reserve the right
to edit for grammar, style and length, with a 250-word
maximum for acceptance. Write: MAILBAG, P.O. Box
2340, Glen Allen, VA 23058-2340; or email
mailbag@co-opliving.com. Please include your name
and city/town of residence, with MAILBAG as the subject.
immediately coating the area with
Nix or any head lice shampoo will
give immediate relief from the
burning and itching.
Mary Jane Banyi
Lynch Station
NATIVE PLANTS CAN HELP
WITH HOODLUM WILDLIFE
Always love reading Cooperative
Living!!! Great, informative, interesting
articles! Love the recipes,
too ... and I even read the KIDS'
KORNER, where I always learn
something new!!
Regarding Margo's problem with
her birds and wildlife ... (June
issue) she'll solve everything (and
save a ton of money) if she ditches
bird seed and feeders and adds
some native plants and trees to her
landscape instead!
Now I know from reading
Margo over the years that she's not
fond of gardening, but she could
hire neighborhood children to do
(her) supervised planting. Then, in
the fall, she could simply broadcast
perennial native plant seeds in the
garden. They'll hibernate all
winter and will start growing at the
proper time.
From early spring until frost,
 DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?
The May 2015
WHATZIT? (r)
was guitar
strings. Reader
Tom Noga (l) of
New Castle was our $25 winner.
Congratu lations, Tom!
birds will feast on the berries,
shoots and nectar that native plants,
trees and shrubs provide. In the
winter, birds will absolutely love
the buffet of the seeds that the
plants have produced. But don't
worry, Mother Nature has provided
so many seeds that there's always
plenty left over to reseed the
garden!
Karla Seidita
Sumerduck
Cooperative Living/July 2015
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living July 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living July 2015
