Oak Mite Bites

 I worked on the rock path next to the front bed yesterday.  I was out there for about an hour.  Right after I came inside, I hopped in the shower and scrubbed.  This morning, I have no less than 8 new oak mite bites.  

Now, if you're not familiar with oak mites, they're not visible to the human eye, so you can't even pay them back for biting you.  Also, they don't so much bite as burrow.  Gross, I know.  Their bites are, perhaps, the itchy bites I've ever had.  Not sure how they compare to poison ivy, since I'm immune to that shit, but from the way Hubs reacts to his bites, they're pretty much on par.  

Unfortunately, our house is not only surrounded by oaky woods, we have a huge, old, white oak that overhangs most of the front yard.  And, you guessed it, oak mites hang out in oak trees - unless it's windy when they blow out or dry when they drop out on their own.  It's hard to go outside without being exposed to oak mites.

What does one do about the bites?  Well, pretty much every anti-itch thing on the market doesn't cut it.  (I've tried just about all of them over the years.)  In fact, Benadryl gel just makes the itch worse.  The only thing I've found to get rid of the itch is to take a fingernail, dig it into the center of the bite - which sometimes has a little blister in it - and dig it out.  Hurts like a bitch.  Then take a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol - the strongest you can find - and scrub the bite with it.  Stings like a bitch.  THEN take merthiolate and dab some of that on.  Burns like a bitch.  It's pretty much all bitchy, but it's better than the constant, overwhelming itch.  

You may have to repeat the process.  I guess that's probably because the first round didn't actually get the mite out of your skin / kill the mite in your skin.  

Sometimes, I have to wait until the bite is at its itchiest before I do the above or I really will have to repeat the process.  It all depends on how much itch or pain I can stand at any given moment.

Sure, the easiest way to handle an oak mite bite is to stay inside.  I've heard bug spray works, too, but I hate the thought of having to spray myself down every instant I stepped out of the house.  If you can't do those things, you can try my method.  Unfortunately, your mileage may vary, so I make no guarantees.  It's just something you can try to ameliorate the itch.  

Please note that merthiolate quite often leaves a mark, so accept that you might have a scar thing in place of an itch thing.  I have made my peace with that.  

Please also note that oak mite bites seem to be more susceptible to infection.  Pay attention to those things even if you don't use my method.  A simple scratched bite can turn into something nasty in a hurry.  Rubbing alcohol is your friend.  

Now, if you'll pardon me, I've only treated about half the bites I had last night - the ones that wouldn't let me sleep - so I have to go gouge, sting, and burn myself.  

Thursday This n That

No, the Kansas City woman who was shot by police wasn't unarmed.  Check the bodycam footage.  It clearly shows the gun in her hand.  

No, seeing a bobcat in the daytime does not mean it's rabid.  Bobcats are not strictly nocturnal.   You can also see possums, raccoons, and foxes in the daytime without it meaning they're sick.

The number of rains we get in August doesn't equal the number of snows we get the following winter.  Neither does the number of cicadas equate to how harsh the winter is going to be.  Not sure about the woolly-bear stripes, but they're supposed to equate to length and harshness of winter.  We've been doing independent research on that one.  It's probably not true either.  

If a person is inclined to commit a crime with a gun, making that gun illegal isn't really going to be a stumbling block.  If a person is inclined to commit a crime, and there are no guns anywhere, they will still commit the crime.  The problem isn't the weapon, it's the philosophy and the culture that make committing crimes okay.  Taking guns away from law-abiding citizens because criminals use guns is stupid.

Socialism is a fancy word for enslaving everyone to the government.  Communism is a fancy word for enslaving everyone to everyone else (and also the government).  I don't want to be a slave to anyone and I don't want anyone to be a slave to me.  Got it?

Clay, the bald eagle rescued in OK with a damaged wing, is flying again.  He's so beautiful.  I'm not sure if they'll be able to release him even now, because I'm not sure if he can do sustained flight at altitude.  He may end up living out his life in an enclosure at some raptor rescue.  But at least he's not trapped on the ground anymore.

The secret to oak mite bites (at least for me):  If you have one, don't scratch it.  Wait until it itches so much you can't stand it anymore, then take your fingernail and gouge it out with one motion.  (Just enough to pop the blister... for godsakes, don't go crazy there... there doesn't need to be blood.)  Then soak it with rubbing alcohol and apply a Bandaid.  It should stop itching after that.  If it doesn't, repeat.  Yes, I have oak mite bites again, why do you ask?  

It seems like every time I meet someone with kids, at least one of them has ADHD.  Hell, they probably would've diagnosed me with it.  I was a hyper kid with focus issues.  Why?  I was bored, for one thing.  The other kids took longer to get the lesson than I did, so why they were still being taught something, I was already over it.  The other thing for me was sugar.  Mom took away most sugary things from me, just to save her sanity.  And when she saw I was bored, she gave me something to do.  Or made me go outside and play.  I wonder if it's the same for the kids today.  Just pondering.

A Prothonotary warbler couple has taken a liking to my little birdhouse.  Which is cool.  It's also made the front porch a hazard for other birds, because those PWs are extremely protective of their nests.  This does not bode well for the visitors to our suet and to our hummingbird feeder.  Getting dive-bombed by little yellow birds while you're trying to eat is probably not the most pleasant of experiences.  One poor baby wren decided it wanted to see what was in the birdhouse and P'Dubya (the male) took it down.  Oh, well.  If She'Dubya (the female) wants to raises babies there, I'll let her.  And then move the birdhouse after she's done with this brood, so our regular visitors don't continue to get harassed.

And that's more than enough out of me this morning.  What's on your radar today?