BUGAPEST is right. You have chiggers. Although it is true that they burrow into the skin, it is not true that putting nail polish on your skin will help. That is an old wives tale. Also, I suspect that the Chiggerid folks are making money but people are still itching. Not sure about that but I think they're product is something along the lines of the nail polish on the skin tip...
I am terribly sensitive to spider bites and their venom. Chiggers are in the arachnid family. So, after a lot of research (and ruling other pests out), here's our program to be free of them:
1. Tuck your pants inside your socks when you're working outside where you know the chiggers are.
2. If I'm going to be working outside for a number of hours, I sometimes spray my pants legs and shoes with OFF! (a no-no in the organic world but saves me from DAYS of itching...)
3. Get out of the work clothes as quickly as possible. The chiggers will hang out in your clothes. I put them immediately in the laundry basket (at the least) and sometimes right into the washer.
4. Bathe with warm, soapy water. The soapy water kills the chiggers.
5. Although it's kind of a pain to do this, I have started taking a break after about 2 hours of outside work, take a shower, change clothes, and then go back out and work some more. Gotta get those chiggers OFF ME!
One thing I found out is that chiggers are territorial. They won't migrate to other places in the yard like other pests do. But that also means that they'll show up every year in the same bushes, or patches of weeds, until you kill them.
As you will see from the copied Library text below, chiggers like arid, infertile soil. If you water, fertilize (organically, of course), and treat for chiggers, you will get rid of the horrible, little pests.
We have broadcast diatomaceous earth and I look forward to a chigger-free yard in years to come... hopefully, this year.
The following is from the Library on this site, under "Chigger". I have not tried the suggestions to stop the itching, but I feel sure that they would work.
I have not tried the baby oil either. Probably won't.
I had forgotten about the sulfur dust treatment. Going to get some of that, too. We're attacking from the angle of treating the yard and getting the chiggers off of us asap.
Hope that helps, and that you are itch-free soon!!
From the Library article:
Sulfur dust is a good repellent. So is lemonmint, also called horsemint (Monarda citriodora). Take a hot, soapy bath to remove larvae. Stop the itching with baking soda, vinegar, aloe vera, or comfrey juice.
Insight: If you have to walk through property that's dry and weedy and it's summertime, take a few precautions. First, don't wear shorts. Second, dust your shoes, pant legs, and socks with powdered sulfur. It's available at any nursery or feed store. Rubbing the crushed flowers of lemonmint on your clothing will also repel chiggers.
Chiggers can be controlled with a broadcast application of diatomaceous earth or an application of granular or dusting sulfur at 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet. If you have alkaline soil, the sulfur is also a good soil amendment. If you have acid soil, just don't overdo it. Excess sulfur will kill or severely imbalance the microorganisms in the soil. If your property is watered occasionally, chiggers won't be a problem.
Treat infested sites with elemental sulfur at 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet. People allergic to sulfur can spray the site with the Garden-Ville Fire Ant Control formula. Chiggers like dry infertile soil. Increase the organic matter and the water holding capacity of the soil and the pressure from these mites will be minimal. Lava sand or other volcanic material will help the soil’s moisture retention. Apply baby oil to your body before dressing if you plan to be in infested area.