spanish moss and redbugs-rural legend of the south

I found these great new planters for the front of the store at Scott's last week!  I placed them in the precise position to maximize our curb appeal, I planted them with the loveliest tall, wispy palms to accentuate their industrial appeal, then, the icing on the planter was going to be a soft fluffy bed of spanish moss.  I have been waiting on Jay to take me to get my moss all week.  For some reason, he kept ignoring me till I tricked him this morning.  I can be quite stubborn and hard-headed!   Several hours later....we returned to Sasser with a truck load of moss.  If you want to get a southerner talking just pull into town with a load of "fresh" moss.  The first thing out of everybody's mouth is  REDBUGS.  Red bugs, harvest mites, scrub-itch mites, trombiculid mites, and my favorite, Chiggers.  What ever you choose to call these microscopic critters-folks from the south are not fond of them.  Most of us have spent  hours of endless scratching in awkward spots, suffered through bottles of nail polish painted upon these awkward spots( in order to suffocate the chigger which really does not burrow and live underneath your skin but only bites and sucks till you wash it off but it is so much more fun to let others believe that they burrow and live in your skin ), and endured unthinkable sensations as someone coated the bite in turpentine.  So, while most people ran,  my neighbor comes up and tells me that he saw survivorman make a bed out of the moss and tell everyone out in television land that chiggers do not live in spanish moss.  It got me to thinking....  What is the truth about redbugs?  Well, just to save you some time, Google has a plethora of information on Spanish moss and chiggers.  Some sites claim that the moss does not harbor the bug, some say that only the moss that has fallen on the ground will house the critter and if you gather it while it is hanging, it will be perfectly safe.  Another said to avoid the moss at all cost because you WILL be covered in bugs but it did recommend that you could microwave the moss after you remove all of the snakes, bats, and spiders and it would then be safe to use.
    Uses!  I didn't even know that Spanish moss had uses(other than icing on great planters).  Guess what??  It has lots of uses.  I remember that an older lady once made a tea out of it to keep my Father from developing diabetes(It must have worked because he's never developed diabetes!).  It was also a very popular matress stuffing at one time because it allowed air to flow through the bed(unfortunately, sleeping on these matresses caused odd red bites in awkward spots that itched endlessly).  Native American Moms used it for diapers because of it exceptional absorption abilities(probably the origin of "diaper rash").  It also has anti-bacterial properties that make it a great wound pack(especially for hemorrhoids!!).  And it is thought by the Japanese to reverse the toll of aging on our skin.  Gee whiz.  Who would have thought this. Maybe i should start selling moss.
     As for the chiggers, I will let you know in a day or so if jay and I start to itch.  And the moral to my story-  I can make a mountain out of any mossy hill you give me.
    

Comments

[Michael Malone in Orlando]

LOL we use spanish moss as mulch in a ground cover. It's great for inhibiting weeds. I pick it constantly and have never had an itch from it. .... wow my hand sorta itches now.