They have few friends -- and fewer manners. And they never travel alone.

The lowly chigger, unsurpassed in its ability to inflict misery, does inspire some interesting folklore -- but much of it is untrue.

I inherited an entire herd of the little devils the other weekend after my friend Mike wanted to show me his new hunting club.

The drive wasn't bad -- we bounced through a clear-cut to a ridge where twisted oaks nodded toward Brier Creek. Then, we got out and walked, so he could show me his favorite deer stand.

By Monday morning, it was like the voyage of Columbus -- and I was the New World.

"Try nail polish," one of my friends told me. "It'll suffocate them while they're down inside your skin."

I had also heard of other remedies, ranging from bleach to salt water. I decided to find an expert to help me sort out fact from fiction.

I always thought chiggers were tiny insects that laid eggs that hatched under your skin. Actually, I learned, they are the larval form of a type of mite -- a relative of ticks and scorpions.

And they eat people.

Their tiny size -- 1/50 of an inch wide -- makes them almost invisible. But once they've bitten you, there are things that will help.

Dr. Dennis Ownby, an allergist with Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics, is a leading expert in tactical warfare against chiggers and the painful, crimson sores that erupt soon after they begin feeding on you.

To start with, he said, you need to understand how they operate. Chiggers pierce the skin and inject powerful digestive enzymes that liquefy tissue and allow it to be sucked through flesh hardened into a "feeding tube" by the bug's secretions.

Although the chiggers themselves are easily removed and killed by a hot, soapy bath, those tubes remain in the body for a week or more. And they itch.

"The biggest problem, especially with children, is to try not to scratch the bites so much that it causes a secondary infection," he said. "There are all sorts of topical anti-itch medicines that help a little."

Fingernail polish and other such remedies, he believes, are ineffective.

But the use of meat tenderizer might actually have merit.

"Some people swear meat tenderizer really helps," he said. "I suppose there is some rationale in that if it can be used to break down some of the material, it may reduce reactivity a little."

Different people react differently to chigger bites, he added.

"It's similar to how very small children can have a giant response to mosquito bites, but by the time they are older, it's not nearly as intense."

Once they've bitten you, though, you're inevitably in for some pain.

From a preventative standpoint, Ownby believes using repellent that includes DEET and a prompt, hot shower upon exiting the woods will offer the most consistent protection.

SPORTSMAN'S LINK: One of Augusta's largest sporting goods stores was to reopen Saturday in preparation for a bankruptcy auction in which its remaining stock will be liquidated.

According to a spokeswoman for Rowell Auctions, of Moultrie, Ga., the 60,000-square foot Sportsman's Link store off Bobby Jones Expressway will auction its remaining inventory during a two-day sale Oct. 17-18, although items will be available for direct purchase through Oct. 12.

The store's owner, Sohail Abdulla, filed for bankruptcy in March 2007 after a long-standing dispute with the shopping center's owners, U.S. Properties Group, which wanted him to vacate the site to accommodate other tenants displaced by the Bobby Jones-Interstate 20 realignment.

According to an auction inventory, the items available include approximately 1,000 firearms and a host of other outdoor gear.

MONSANTO AWARD: Augusta's Monsanto plant was honored recently with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Sustainability Award for its efforts to restore an area of 640 acres that has become suitable bobwhite quail habitat. Monsanto also created a pollinator garden and built wood duck nesting boxes.

The award is given by DNR's Pollution Prevention Assistance Division, which also provides free technical assistance to help organizations reduce their impact on the environment by conserving water and reducing waste.