# Why do I always get itchy when I roll in the grass? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274 "2006-07-20T02:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TofuBlender\_and\_Germany](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@TofuBlender\_and\_Germany](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TofuBlender_and_Germany)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/1 "2006-07-20T02:38:16Z")
After I play around with my friends playing a game and I roll in the grass I get itchy! ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/2 "2006-07-20T02:39:28Z")
Um…your allergic to grass. Grass pokes you, you have an allergic reaction. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/3 "2006-07-20T02:56:13Z")
This seems like an incomplete answer. I, too, used to itch like crazy when I used to roll around, all sweaty, in the grass. As I grew older and did that less, I never had any other allergic symptoms when I was around grass. I used to mow lawns. I’ve studied prairies over the years. I’ve been around many different types of grasses, and never noticed any particular allergic type reaction to them. I wonder if we’ll get a different response or a more complete answer in time. I’ll be watching. ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/4 "2006-07-20T03:34:36Z")
It’s not allergies, it’s that you’ve given yourself many tiny cuts. Blades of grass can be sharp! Or, OP’s talking about the other grass (so a different kind of reaction altogether) and we’re being whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/5 "2006-07-20T03:36:00Z")
Tiny cuts. Or at least, that’s what I’ve always assumed. If you rub your finger on the edge of a blade of grass, it’s quite sharp, and in some cases serrated. When you roll around, you get jillions of little cuts in the surface of your skin. That’s my WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/6 "2006-07-20T03:37:29Z")
Argh! If I hadn’t stopped to look up the spelling of “serrated”, I’d have beat that pesky **Jake4**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/7 "2006-07-20T14:06:38Z")
I always figured it was a combination of tiny cuts plus some sort of chemical in the grass. Turf experts, please help! ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/8 "2006-07-20T15:09:05Z")
[QUOTE=First Amongst Daves] I always figured it was a combination of tiny cuts plus some sort of chemical in the grass. Turf experts, please help! [/QUOTE] I always thought it was tiny cuts plus sweat, actually - because sometimes it’s quite painful and irritated. I may well be wrong, however. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/9 "2006-07-20T15:46:19Z")
[QUOTE=First Amongst Daves] I always figured it was a combination of tiny cuts plus some sort of chemical in the grass. Turf experts, please help! [/QUOTE] I can attest to the fact that I got itchy from rolling in the grass in a lawn that had no chemicals on it, in an era before lawn chemicals. There was another yard in another town, still before lawn chemicals, where I rolled around and didn’t get as itchy. Maybe it was the type of grass. Maybe it was the lack of things like chiggers or other little bugs that live in the grass. I don’t know. It’s just that the chemicals thing is not a requirement since I had experiences with itching when I know the chemicals weren’t a factor. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/10 "2006-07-20T20:18:28Z")
If your’re getting tiny red spots it’s probably chiggers causing the problem. Also there are many thing in the grass we probably don’t know about and don’t want to know about that bite you. Ants and spiders come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/11 "2006-07-20T21:13:25Z")
I always thought it was chiggers, too. Amongst the chief weapons of grass are chiggers, tiny cuts, allergens, lawn chemicals, and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/12 "2006-07-20T21:51:34Z")
I expected the Spanish Inquisition. ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/13 "2006-07-21T15:03:44Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] I can attest to the fact that I got itchy from rolling in the grass in a lawn that had no chemicals on it, in an era before lawn chemicals. There was another yard in another town, still before lawn chemicals, where I rolled around and didn’t get as itchy. Maybe it was the type of grass. Maybe it was the lack of things like chiggers or other little bugs that live in the grass. I don’t know. It’s just that the chemicals thing is not a requirement since I had experiences with itching when I know the chemicals weren’t a factor. [/QUOTE] Sorry - I meant a natural chemical released by the bent or crushed grass. “Grass juice.” Grass cut by a lawnmower smells very sour, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/14 "2006-07-21T15:49:59Z")
[QUOTE=First Amongst Daves] Sorry - I meant a natural chemical released by the bent or crushed grass. “Grass juice.” Grass cut by a lawnmower smells very sour, after all. [/QUOTE] In that case, I can support the idea that “grass juice” might be a strong contributing factor. On the other hand, the grass I did most of my rolling around in probably hadn’t been recently cut. I’m thinking autumn football weather or wrestling maybe. My vote is still heavy on the bugs angle. Thanks for clarifying the chemicals thing, though. I remember the beginning of Chlordane use at our house and that stuff would gag a maggot. I guess that was part of the idea. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/15 "2006-07-21T17:11:19Z")
Another vote for “the grass is cutting you”. I used to get that badly enough to end up with little line-scabs all over my arms and legs. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/16 "2006-07-21T19:03:42Z")
Can’t sleep. Grass will cut me. …Sort of lacks that certain jenny say craw, don’t it? ---
**Author:** ![dmatsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@dmatsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dmatsch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-always-get-itchy-when-i-roll-in-the-grass/365274/17 "2006-07-21T19:25:36Z")
I don’t know about you, but every time I roll in the grass with my girlfriend I get hungry and want a cigarette. Oh, wait… Nevermind.