aszalan

from an entomology extension guide http://extension.missouri.edu/p/g7398 "Avoidance The best defense against chiggers is to avoid them. Avoid wearing shorts, sleeveless shirts and sandals when going into chigger habitats. Tightly woven fabrics reduce the threat of chiggers penetrating clothing. Tuck pant legs inside boots, and button cuffs and collars tightly to keep chiggers on the outside of clothing. This increases the time that chiggers are exposed to any repellents you have applied to your clothes. Remove clothing as soon as possible after exposure to chigger habitats, and launder it before wearing it again. A warm shower with a vigorous skin massage, taken within an hour or two after exposure, greatly reduces the number of irritating bites. If itching has already started, however, it is probably too late for bathing to do much good. Repellents If you must enter chigger-infested areas, chemical repellents can be used with good results. Any insect repellent containing DEET (diethyl toluamide) or picaradin will be effective. Apply it to clothing from the feet up, and reapply every two to three hours to maintain its effectiveness. Sulphur powder is also effective when applied to clothing but has a strong odor that makes it less desirable. Permanone, also sold as Coulston's Permethrin Tick Repellent, contains the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin and should be sprayed on clothing and allowed to dry before the clothing is worn."

our pack started the year out with 50 cub scouts which is approximately 5% of the boys in first - fifth grade in our area.

sad to hear that this appears to be a widespread occurrence. Never would have imagined this as a scout 35 years ago. I have been to two district cub adventures as a den leader during the past two years and have not experienced any of this, just the occasional 'bad aim'. our next cub adventure is in two weeks, we shall see.

this year we recruited from 2 grade k-3 and 1 grade 4&5 schools. ended up with 12 new tigers, 5 new wolves, 6 new bears and 1 new web. we had another elementary school nearby that didnt have any recruiting done, but we decided to hold off. pack has 35 boys right now and our biggest problem is retention (ie 25 tigers last year, only 4 are wolves now), and the need to focus on den programs and not on fundraising.(This message has been edited by aszalan)