What is biting me at the gunks?

I have asked this in the past, and the general consensus has been chiggers, which are common at the Gunks.  Looking up what their bites look like though, this isn't that.

I pretty consistently get the same kind of bites whenever I go in the summer months.  They are always only on my legs, typically my thighs.  I always wear long pants and on my most recent trip was wearing tight leggings.  The inflammation from the bites always show up the next day.  I do not feel the bite or anything until that time.  I always go to sleep wondering how many bites I am going to wake up to in the morning. That next day, the bites will inflame up to a medium size welt that is larger, harder, and itchier than a mosquito bite.  Not much itchier though.  The bites are not clustered, they do not blister, and they are not red.  Which is why I do not think they are chiggers. Everything I see online suggests that chigger bites tend to be clustered and are red and blistery.  The bites clear in 5 days or so.  I am often just doing day trips and sleeping in my own bed, so it isn't bed bugs from a sketchy hotel

I've looked a bunch online and cannot figure out what they are.  It's to the point where I am wondering if they are not even bites but are in fact heat related and maybe something with the contact points of my harness.  But, I do not think it is that.  Whatever it is, it sure presents itself as bug bites.

So, what else could it be that is apparently crawling pretty far under my clothing to bite me without me feeling it and nothing showing up til the next day?

Chiggers!! 

Gabe Schwartz wrote:

I have asked this in the past, and the general consensus has been chiggers, which are common at the Gunks.  Looking up what their bites look like though, this isn't that.

I pretty consistently get the same kind of bites whenever I go in the summer months.  They are always only on my legs, typically my thighs.  I always wear long pants and on my most recent trip was wearing tight leggings.  The inflammation from the bites always show up the next day.  I do not feel the bite or anything until that time.  I always go to sleep wondering how many bites I am going to wake up to in the morning. That next day, the bites will inflame up to a medium size welt that is larger, harder, and itchier than a mosquito bite.  Not much itchier though.  The bites are not clustered, they do not blister, and they are not red.  Which is why I do not think they are chiggers. Everything I see online suggests that chigger bites tend to be clustered and are red and blistery.  The bites clear in 5 days or so.  I am often just doing day trips and sleeping in my own bed, so it isn't bed bugs from a sketchy hotel

I've looked a bunch online and cannot figure out what they are.  It's to the point where I am wondering if they are not even bites but are in fact heat related and maybe something with the contact points of my harness.  But, I do not think it is that.  Whatever it is, it sure presents itself as bug bites.

So, what else could it be that is apparently crawling pretty far under my clothing to bite me without me feeling it and nothing showing up til the next day?

Although your statement that it's always on your legs, esp your thighs, really suggests chiggers, the stuff I bolded is exactly how I reacted to black fly bites. But with those I'd also get them on any exposed flesh, not just the legs. Are you sitting on any grassy ledges while belaying? That is a common source of chiggers in the Gunks.

Marc801 C wrote:

Are you sitting on any grassy ledges while belaying? That is a common source of chiggers in the Gunks.

Yes, I try to avoid the grass when I can, but I can't always.

EVERYTHING is pointing to chiggers except the bites themselves and the fact that I'm not getting them at the seams if clothing, but deep up/down my legs. It's possible I just react differently to them though and it's chiggers.

Chiggers. Mine don't show up until the next day, where they present as mosquito bites. And then over the next couple days they harden and then puss (&bleed if a scratch them) and then go away.

I hate them...thus I always wear pants, even in the summer, and I only now get them on my ankles, if at all. I would guess that leggings would prevent them...but maybe I'm wrong. 

Definitely chiggers. The bites look a bit different because your immune system is getting a little bit used to them. And FWIW my experience says you're more likely to get them sitting on rock rather than the grass. And not black flies; they can't get through leggings. Chiggers OTOH can.  Advice - spray your lower body with Off before you leave the car.

Do chiggers live north up there?
So far I assumed that they lived down south in Texas etc.

Chiggers for sure. Permethrin spray on the clothes helps. DEET. And good advice from an earlier thread on the topic: a good hot soapy shower as soon as possible after climbing. I got ‘em a lot worse when I was driving back to the city after climbing. 

Yury wrote:

Do chiggers live north up there?
So far I assumed that they lived down south in Texas etc.

You bet there are chiggers in upstate NY!

pants, permethrin (follow the directions), shower asap.   Sitting on the rock or bushwhacking the overgrown trail from the top is my guess.  

OP, Doctor here (who deals w rashes a fair bit) I feel you’re on the right track regarding expanding the causes (heat/sweat). All signs point to chiggers and the treatment/mitigation would be mostly the same for almost all insects (pants, permethrin, DEET) as others have said. Spending more time figuring out which kind of insect won’t help you. Consider it insect related and try those measures. At the same time consider heat rash as you have because not all people will develop the same rash to an stimulus and certainly not all rashes from X will look exactly how “the book” says X rash will be.
TLDR: try a trip with full 100% chigger mitigation measures and see what happens. Then try another trip with none and 100% focused on swamp ass mitigation and see what happens. That’s your best bet.

Edit: do you wear very breezy clothing on your upper body?  Do you get a similar rash doing other activities? Do you get it gym climbing?  Do you get it ONLY at the Gunks (in summer?) Build the Venn diagrams and you may figure it out. 

Another vote for chiggers. I treat my pants with permethrin (for tick protection), and it noticeably cuts down on chigger bites but does not eliminate them.  I don't get the clustering around the waist band and underpant lines that I used to get, it's more like some random dots.  If I add to this a good application of DEET to the ankles and lower calf, that pretty much solves the problem most of the time.  I did get a fairly annoying case last summer after belaying standing up but leaning against a tree.  I got bites on my upper body, suggesting the bugs had worked their way up the tree and were not starting from ground level.

rgold wrote:

Another vote for chiggers. I treat my pants with permethrin (for tick protection), and it noticeably cuts down on chigger bites but does not eliminate them.  I don't get the clustering around the waist band and underpant lines that I used to get, it's more like some random dots.  If I add to this a good application of DEET to the ankles and lower calf, that pretty much solves the problem most of the time.  I did get a fairly annoying case last summer after belaying standing up but leaning against a tree.  I got bites on my upper body, suggesting the bugs had worked their way up the tree and were not starting from ground level.

Same experience... chigger bites under my arm from leaning against a tree while belaying.  Grrr...

Am I a god or something? The only bites I’ve gotten in the gunks are from mosquitos and angry followers. None of my friends have gotten bites either. I’ve climbed hundreds of pitches of the gunks and climbed in every month of the year, I don’t understand. 

Doctor Drake wrote:

Am I a god or something? The only bites I’ve gotten in the gunks are from mosquitos and angry followers. None of my friends have gotten bites either. I’ve climbed hundreds of pitches of the gunks and climbed in every month of the year, I don’t understand. 

None of my climbing partners seem to have gotten the bites. I consistently get the bites in the summer months there. Part of the reason why I wonder if it's potentially a heat rash thing, even though it so clearly presents as bug bites.

If the itch is barely worse than a mosquito bite, I wouldn't say it's chiggers. If you're contemplating self-amputation with a rusty hacksaw blade to make the itch go away, that's how I'd describe a chigger bite! I've used nail lacquer to calm the itch, I realize it's not "smothering the chigger eggs" as the old wives might say, but I think it works anyway, better than the hacksaw option for sure.

I'd look into laundry detergent sensitivity aggravated by pressure/sweat/heat from a harness. My wife gets a heat rash that looks just like mosquito bites. I get dermatitis from just about everything.

Ed O'Dwyer wrote:

If the itch is barely worse than a mosquito bite, I wouldn't say it's chiggers. If you're contemplating self-amputation with a rusty hacksaw blade to make the itch go away, that's how I'd describe a chigger bite! I've used nail lacquer to calm the itch, I realize it's not "smothering the chigger eggs" as the old wives might say, but I think it works anyway, better than the hacksaw option for sure.

I'd look into laundry detergent sensitivity aggravated by pressure/sweat/heat from a harness. My wife gets a heat rash that looks just like mosquito bites. I get dermatitis from just about everything.

DISCLAIMER:  I am not a doc.  I grew up in KY where chiggers are abundant.

It is chiggers. Different people react differently depending on their immune system response.  If you wear socks and pants, tuck the pants into the socks and spray both with permethrin.  If you don't wear socks, use DEET on your legs or expect to get chiggers. Tuck in your shirt.  Use permethrin on clothing (best) or DEET (watch your nylon gear) on socks/skin (if no long pants) and around your waist.  Try to not sit down on the GT ledge (especially) and on the ground.

And the only remedies for the itch are antihistamines or prescription steroids (in severe cases).  That over-the-counter steroid creme doesn't work.

Marc801 C wrote:

You bet there are chiggers in upstate NY!

As for my experience only mosquitoes, blackflies, deerflies, horseflies and ticks live in upstate NY.
I never saw any chigger there.

Plenty of chiggers in the summer Gunks (don't know about further upstate--never recall problems with them in the ADK, but they still might be present there). Might look different from chiggers elsewhere (never done a comparison) but chiggers they are---little red beasties.

Likely chiggers but could also be bird mites.

Dealt with this too periodically in the gunks. Never happened elsewhere, so I’m on team chiggers