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[Robert Walton <waltonrp AT gmail.com>]

Red Bugs and chiggers are the same. When I first came to Virginia,
no-one knew what I was talking about, here they are "chiggers", in
Florida, we always said "red bugs".

I don't get poison ivy itch either. I used to lay in a bed of it in a
ditch near where I grew up. I'd convince the neighbor girl to do the
same and she'd get absolutely covered with it. In Florida, the
mosquito bites never bothered me. No bumps, no itching. First year
here, I thought I was going to itch to death from mosquito bites. A
few years later, it's not so bad.

There must be something different about the mosquitoes, I'm glad I've
built up some immunity to it.

What Gene wrote about pioneers, our ancestors slathering themselves in
mud is interesting. I'm sure that they suffered a lot from insects.
It's interesting when you read about children gathering berries, men
going out to hunt, etc. They did what they needed to do, but there
must have been some dread of having to go out and get chiggers and
ticks on you in order to do those things.

Indians, Native Americans must have had ways to protect themselves.
Probably also the smarts to not get into chiggers.

Rob - Va