BillN
somebody shut me the fark up.
Take a look at the slide show, it shows different bugs and their bites.
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/ss/slideshow-bad-bugs
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/ss/slideshow-bad-bugs
Are you CERTAIN it's not ants, or even fireants? I've had fireants build a nest inside my hickory and pecan stacked wood before. Even though it was elevated off of the ground I had the wood rack near my fence, so it looked like they used the fence to get to the wood.
Permethrin seems like it should do the job if it is ants or chiggers, but do apply it sparingly as it is toxic to small animals.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/permethrin-kill-ants-75299.html
Are you CERTAIN it's not ants, or even fireants? I've had fireants build a nest inside my hickory and pecan stacked wood before. Even though it was elevated off of the ground I had the wood rack near my fence, so it looked like they used the fence to get to the wood.
Permethrin seems like it should do the job if it is ants or chiggers, but do apply it sparingly as it is toxic to small animals.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/permethrin-kill-ants-75299.html
Have you though about deer ticks?
Is there any terra-cotta near the woodpile?
Chiggers are well known to infest areas with terra cotta.
They also do infest rotten wood.
NC is certainly chigger country.
All of the bites disappeared completely after 4 or 5 days with the application of the steroid cream. No ticks were seen/removed. Would deer ticks not remain in the skin?
Permethrin is actually a dangerous poison to humans when it's wet. Once it's dry, it is perfectly safe.
Poison ivy or oak sounds more possible to me. Hope you figure it out..... but Fat Backs answer had me in tears laughing.
I'm leaning towards chiggers. Them boogers were horrible when I was stationed in NC. Worst I'd ever seen.
Also make sure it's not a tick nest. The baby ticks are so small, they almost can't be seen like chiggers. You have to look very close at your skin to see them. They look look like specks of dirt.
Example: KY jelly is safe for human contact, but you wouldn't use it as the "J" in a PBJ sammich...:heh:
Here, we never had true chiggers, but have a lot of deer ticks, the tiniest "seed" ticks are like grains of black pepper and a lot of guys get into them and call them chiggers. but small as they are you can see them and they're black. From what you say I'd say they are actual chiggers, my daughter lived awhile in NC and she didn't have anything good to say about them. :grin:
I'm thinking if you can wrap the pile in clear plastic, with a southern exposure, the heat build up will probably kill them, and a thought, if you have to handle the wood to move it to your "kiln", spray it down with a CO2 fire extinguisher, the freeze might slow them down long enough to move it, and no toxic chemicals to worry about.
All of the bites disappeared completely after 4 or 5 days with the application of the steroid cream. No ticks were seen/removed. Would deer ticks not remain in the skin?