# Sulfur powder?



## Sparticle

We have a chigger problem and I don't want to nuke the yard. I've read about putting sulfur powder in a pillow case and dragging that around the yard and putting the powder in your socks and on your pants. I also have to go into the woods quite a bit so I need something for myself. I've tried all sorts of natural sprays and I am getting fewer bites, though still getting bitten. 

Is this a natural product? Will it hurt kittens or other animals? Anyone have experience with this?

I treated the paths with (non swimming pool) Diatomaceous earth but don't have enough to treat the whole yard. I'll go buy more if that's the best bet. 

Anyone have any ideas for natural treatment of the yard and people? I know to keep the paths cut. All comments about traditional "nuke 'em" chemical pesticides will just be ignored (by me anyway).


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## pookshollow

I don't know about chiggers (don't even know what they are!), but a couple of my goats had lice and I sprinkled them with DE and sulphur powder. Lice were completely gone the next day and haven't come back.

I'd say it's worth a try.


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## Tricky Grama

We buy sulphur by the 50# bags. Found it at Home Despot one yr but not since & I know it's hard to come by sometimes. I think feed stores will carry it.
We have an old sock full of it & tied at the top that we dust on ourselves-especially shoes, socks, waist- as soon as we step onto our land. Have had NO chigger bites or ticks using this.
Once we dusted the area where guests were going to be sitting & that seemed to work well too.


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## Old Vet

Sulfur power is a natural product and will not hurt moat animals except to repel them. What I do is to mix sulfur power 50% with talcum power 50% to make it smell good then dust myself with it before going into places that have chiggers or ticks. I get mine at any pharmacy. It doesn't take much.


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## Sparticle

Thanks! I'll try to find it in town.


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## ldc

Sparticle, it's also called flowers of sulfur at some old fashioned places. It works! Used to dust the dogs when I was doing some rescues, to kill the mites from the newcomers (the kind of mites that cause one kind of mange). It also swiftly killed the ones on me! ldc


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## empofuniv

If you are talking about the yellow powder sulfur - I remember that coming in a round cardboard container like an oatmeal container about 50+ yrs ago back in OK.

My G'ma would make a pile of it in a pie pan and burn it before we moved into a new place to "clean out the bugs". She may have sprinkled it around the floor/wall junctures too. I don't remember for sure.

I can still remember the taste and texture of a spoon with sulfur on it covered w molasses that we had to take every spring to "clean out what ails ya."

G'ma was a great believer in sulfur she was.

And I have to say I don't remember ever having a tick as a child, and not very many chiggers either. I had more chiggers the week I spent back in OK this past June than I remember ever having all summer as a child.

Pam


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## Txsteader

Well shut my mouth! I never knew sulpher would kill chiggers. And to think of all the years I've suffered with the devils.

So, if it works on mange mites, would it be safe to dust on my chickens for mites?


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## whodunit

When I was a kid we ate dried fruit that had sulfur on it for keeping the ticks off of us.

Worked really well.

Hmm this thread has got me to thinking.... I wonder if the sulfur powder would work for fly prevention on my milk cow?


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## EDDIE BUCK

Txsteader said:


> Well shut my mouth! I never knew sulpher would kill chiggers. And to think of all the years I've suffered with the devils.
> 
> So, if it works on mange mites, would it be safe to dust on my chickens for mites?


 LOL,get ready to shut it again.Me and another fellow was taking the skirting down from around an old ladies mobilehome because she was moving.Well,when I was looking where to start,I noticed some yellow stuff on the ground all the way around it.

I asked the lady what it was,she said flowers of sulphur she had sprinkled around it,because someone saw a snake go under it and it kills snakes.Yea, right, I thought.Anyway after about half the skirting was off,to my suprize there was a dead copperhead a bigunDid the sulphur kill the snake?I don't know,but what I do know is,when the good Lord calls us home,He's got more than one tool to get the job done.

Maybe He used sulphur for the tool to turn this snakes lights out.The thing about Gods calling is,when He calls,you going,whether its sulphur or flour or whatever,its "LIGHTS OUT"just hope the snake was ready. lol eb


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## FintanK

I add a very small amount of sulphur powder to my dogs dry food to stop ticks which are a big problem where I live. 

It must be working because they have never had ticks.

On the same trail of thought I also put a couple of large cloves of garlic in the dogs water bucket and a small peice of copper pipe as well. All these measures allegedly make the dogs a less attractive target for biting insects. 

For more technical information as to why these measures are effective I would suggest people read books by Pat Coleby. The best one in my opinion is "Natural Farming".


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## Txsteader

EDDIE BUCK said:


> LOL,get ready to shut it again.Me and another fellow was taking the skirting down from around an old ladies mobilehome because she was moving.Well,when I was looking where to start,I noticed some yellow stuff on the ground all the way around it.
> 
> I asked the lady what it was,she said flowers of sulphur she had sprinkled around it,because someone saw a snake go under it and it kills snakes.Yea, right, I thought.Anyway after about half the skirting was off,to my suprize there was a dead copperhead a bigunDid the sulphur kill the snake?I don't know,but what I do know is,when the good Lord calls us home,He's got more than one tool to get the job done.
> 
> Maybe He used sulphur for the tool to turn this snakes lights out.The thing about Gods calling is,when He calls,you going,whether its sulphur or flour or whatever,its "LIGHTS OUT"just hope the snake was ready. lol eb


LOL, you just never know. What I _do_ know is that I'm going to get some sulpher powder from the feed store Monday morning.


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## anniew

I use sulfur (called elemental sulfur here) to lower the pH in soil before I plant blueberries, but sulfur is also used, if I remember correctly, for pest control in organic gardening, so that should be a product you'd be comfortable with, sparticle. How's it going in MO, J?


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## LWMSAVON

EDDIE BUCK said:


> LOL,get ready to shut it again.Me and another fellow was taking the skirting down from around an old ladies mobilehome because she was moving.Well,when I was looking where to start,I noticed some yellow stuff on the ground all the way around it.
> 
> I asked the lady what it was,she said flowers of sulphur she had sprinkled around it,because someone saw a snake go under it and it kills snakes.Yea, right, I thought.Anyway after about half the skirting was off,to my suprize there was a dead copperhead a bigunDid the sulphur kill the snake?I don't know,but what I do know is,when the good Lord calls us home,He's got more than one tool to get the job done.
> 
> Maybe He used sulphur for the tool to turn this snakes lights out.The thing about Gods calling is,when He calls,you going,whether its sulphur or flour or whatever,its "LIGHTS OUT"just hope the snake was ready. lol eb


never heard that about sulfur killing snakes. I know that moth balls will repel them but if sulfur will kill them, I'm gonna go buy me a big ol' bag. I hate snakes and we have copperheads and timber rattlers here as well as black snakes. I can tolerate the non-poisonous ones but they still scare me. The others are dead on sight from my screaming. lol Ok, well after dh shoots them.


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## busybee870

we make a paste of"flowers of sulfur" and vaseline, i put it on cuts and scrapes, they heal so fast. used to put it on hot spots on a dog i had.


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## Sparticle

anniew said:


> I use sulfur (called elemental sulfur here) to lower the pH in soil before I plant blueberries, but sulfur is also used, if I remember correctly, for pest control in organic gardening, so that should be a product you'd be comfortable with, sparticle. How's it going in MO, J?


Hey Anniew!! That is good news along with all the other good stuff people have said about sulfur powder. It is going great here, the weather has been awesome though it's hot today. I've got about 50-60 chigger bites, spider and mosquito bites; but the plantain salve and poultice and my soaks have kept the itching under control. 

It's Sunday and I think all the stores here are closed. So I may have to wait till tomorrow to go find some.


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## Woodpecker

busybee870 said:


> we make a paste of"flowers of sulfur" and vaseline, i put it on cuts and scrapes, they heal so fast. used to put it on hot spots on a dog i had.


Thanks for the info, I'll look at the pharmacy on Monday.


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## Sparticle

I've been looking online (froogle.com) and can it be that MSM is from Sulfur powder?

Found this but it has bentonite in it, wonder if it would sprinkle as well and I guess you couldn't ingest this:
http://www.agriculturesolutions.com...ur-Tiger-90-50Lbs/Detailed-product-flyer.html


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## ArmyDoc

I have a friend with a creek and a pond. He runs a line of sulfur powder betwen them and the house. He says that since he's done that he hasn't had a water moccasin near the house. I don't know about killing them, but it sounds like it repells them...


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## ArmyDoc

Did a little searching on the net, and found that most sites say sulfur doesn't act as a repellant, and neither does mothballs. I did find one government site that says that cinnamon oil, clove oil, and eugenol mixed in 1% concentration can make them flee, and spraying it in a container will make snakes leave it. Unfortunately, it also says they don't work as a deterant/barrier. In other words, you can't spray it in a line and expect them not to cross the line for the next several days or weeks.


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## Sparticle

Went to Walgreens and the pharmacist said she could probably order it for me and would check prices on the largest quantity they sold.


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## Woodpecker

I was looking this up online and came across sulpher flakes. Is there a big difference between the flakes and powder?


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## DCT

Always dusted shirt cuffs, waist, and pant cuffs to fight chiggers and ticks when younger and it did work. Just recently found sulfer again and started using it this year, really cuts down on the scratching from the LACK of bites. Can't help you find it as we found it in an old garage, I hope 50 lbs will last us for YEARS. Never thought of dusting the yard with it, but will have to try it if the need ever arises.


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## EDDIE BUCK

DCT said:


> Always dusted shirt cuffs, waist, and pant cuffs to fight chiggers and ticks when younger and it did work. Just recently found sulfer again and started using it this year, really cuts down on the scratching from the LACK of bites. Can't help you find it as we found it in an old garage, I hope 50 lbs will last us for YEARS. Never thought of dusting the yard with it, but will have to try it if the need ever arises.


 Have you checked hardware stores?Around here its in all of them,and also at fertilizer companies.lol,never seen it in fifty pound bags,but 1,5and 10 pound bags. Also found it at walmart.


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## Tricky Grama

DCT said:


> Always dusted shirt cuffs, waist, and pant cuffs to fight chiggers and ticks when younger and it did work. Just recently found sulfer again and started using it this year, really cuts down on the scratching from the LACK of bites. Can't help you find it as we found it in an old garage, I hope 50 lbs will last us for YEARS. Never thought of dusting the yard with it, but will have to try it if the need ever arises.


I know you are new to the forums -12 posts-but I post the info on sulfur & chiggers everytime someone asks about chiggers and/or ticks!

Patty


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## Pony

Found this page with a whole list of sulfur vendors in a google search:

http://sulfursoap.com/Sulfur-Powder.htm


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## Sparticle

DCT said:


> Can't help you find it as we found it in an old garage, I hope 50 lbs will last us for YEARS.


What a find!!!!


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## Sparticle

Pony said:


> Found this page with a whole list of sulfur vendors in a google search:
> 
> http://sulfursoap.com/Sulfur-Powder.htm


Thanks!


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## Sparticle

The pharmacy stopped carrying sulfur powder and every other store I called didn't carry it. Then I called my feed store to make an order and he said they had it. I ordered 50lbs. 

We went to look at property again and I put some in a sock and took it with me. We're walking through chest high fallow fields and the woods in the middle of summer in Missouri. So it's a chigger fest let me tell you. I really wanted to test this stuff out so I didn't spray my boots with DEET (like I did the time before last and was still eaten up). 

The powder doesn't come out of the sock, I tried dusting it on didn't work. Maybe the sock was too thick. Next time I'll try panty hose (picked some up for a quarter in town yesterday). But I turned the sock upside down and covered my socks, then outside of my boots, my pants and then dumped some down my pants. I was taking no chances. 

We were 4 hours from home and I knew I couldn't get to a shower in time to wash any off that got on. So after each property I took my boots and socks off and scrubbed my skin with a bandana and as much of my leg as I could reach. Then at each property I put more powder on.

I believe we have a winner folks!! I got ONE, that's right ONE chigger bite. And it was a little bitty one in between my toes. I can handle the little ones no problem, a little chigger salve and it's fine for hours. It's the big ones that I really wanted to avoid. I usually would get like 20 or more bites (per property visit, so I was covered) and usually at least 5 or so were the huge ones that required poultice and gauze. I was also getting spider and ant bites and got none of those. I'm so happy!


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## Guest

Mix the sulfur with talcum powder as the other poster suggested and it'll come through the weave of the sock much better. It's sort of clumpy by itself.

.....Alan.


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## Sparticle

Ahhh OK. I don't have talcum powder so I might try the pantyhose. If it comes out too much, then I'll go buy the powder. Thanks for the tip!


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## Sparticle

I guess we're about at the end of chigger season. Just back to say that this stuff worked wonderfully for the rest of the season and the only reason I did get chigger bites after buying the stuff was when I didn't put it on. The talc powder in a sock worked great and I'm looking now for a cheaper amendment. Wonder if corn starch would work as well?


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## o&itw

Dreamy said:


> I was looking this up online and came across sulpher flakes. Is there a big difference between the flakes and powder?


Sulfur is usually purified by vaporizing it in the impure form and then letting it condense and recrystillize. The crystals are called "flowers" and actually are flakes with a crystaline pattern (ergo "flowers"). To make sulfur powder they simply grind up the flakes, or sift out the sulfur dust created when they scrape it off the condensing plates.


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## Woodpecker

o&itw said:


> Sulfur is usually purified by vaporizing it in the impure form and then letting it condense and recrystillize. The crystals are called "flowers" and actually are flakes with a crystaline pattern (ergo "flowers"). To make sulfur powder they simply grind up the flakes, or sift out the sulfur dust created when they scrape it off the condensing plates.


Thanks for the info.


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## Tricky Grama

Sparticle said:


> The pharmacy stopped carrying sulfur powder and every other store I called didn't carry it. Then I called my feed store to make an order and he said they had it. I ordered 50lbs.
> 
> We went to look at property again and I put some in a sock and took it with me. We're walking through chest high fallow fields and the woods in the middle of summer in Missouri. So it's a chigger fest let me tell you. I really wanted to test this stuff out so I didn't spray my boots with DEET (like I did the time before last and was still eaten up).
> 
> The powder doesn't come out of the sock, I tried dusting it on didn't work. Maybe the sock was too thick. Next time I'll try panty hose (picked some up for a quarter in town yesterday). But I turned the sock upside down and covered my socks, then outside of my boots, my pants and then dumped some down my pants. I was taking no chances.
> 
> We were 4 hours from home and I knew I couldn't get to a shower in time to wash any off that got on. So after each property I took my boots and socks off and scrubbed my skin with a bandana and as much of my leg as I could reach. Then at each property I put more powder on.
> 
> I believe we have a winner folks!! I got ONE, that's right ONE chigger bite. And it was a little bitty one in between my toes. I can handle the little ones no problem, a little chigger salve and it's fine for hours. It's the big ones that I really wanted to avoid. I usually would get like 20 or more bites (per property visit, so I was covered) and usually at least 5 or so were the huge ones that required poultice and gauze. I was also getting spider and ant bites and got none of those. I'm so happy!


This always works for us. Only time I got a lot of bites was squatting & scooping up hay in the 'back 40'. I shoulda dumped some down ALL my clothes I guess.


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## sarhound

We carry sulfur powder in the vehicles for search and rescue calls; I've always put in in a sock and pounded it everywhere where clothing fits close- ankles, waistband, etc. It works great. We've had a small bag that's lasted for years-- I'll stock up as soon as I can locate some more.

I can remember something we ate back when I was a teenager- it was some kind of a really nasty, big chewable sulfur tablet that Mom got through a pharmacy (I think.) We were out in the backwoods around the San Saba River on a camping trip, and nobody got chiggers. The tablets were gross, but they sure did work.


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## smwon

I am really glad to find and read this thread...


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