Stinging on skin after touching orange tree

[tricon7]

Both my wife and I, on separate occasions, experienced severe stinging on our hands/arms after merely brushing against our backyard orange tree. We just moved to the property, and the tree hadn't been watered or fertilized properly, but it seems to be recovering now. I was pruning some dead limbs off of it yesterday, hardly touching it, really, when I felt like I had fire ants on the back of my left hand. I saw no insects or bite marks, and the same thing happened to my wife after she brushed it the other day. I had to put a baking soda/water paste on my hand to stop the stinging.

Could this have been some kind of parasite, or was it a characteristic of orange trees in general? I would find that hard to believe, as popular as orange trees are. Btw, I believe that this is a Satsuma orange tree, but I'm not 100% positive.

Thanks.

 

[Crabbergirl]

Tricon,
Welcome to the forum.
The oil of citrus is often caustic to the skin and can cause irritation. Some people are very sensitive to the oils of citrus. It is very unlikely that it was a parasite, however , in Florida we have a gnat called a sand gnat, you often never see them nor will you see a bite, but the itch and sting is much like a stinging nettle. Orange trees are famous for gnats and that could be it as well. Not sure what area you are in but you could have an insect like that as well. But I am betting on the oil of the leaves and the tree being your irritant. Let me know if you find something different.

 

[tricon7]

Tricon,
Welcome to the forum.
The oil of citrus is often caustic to the skin and can cause irritation. Some people are very sensitive to the oils of citrus. It is very unlikely that it was a parasite, however , in Florida we have a gnat called a sand gnat, you often never see them nor will you see a bite, but the itch and sting is much like a stinging nettle. Orange trees are famous for gnats and that could be it as well. Not sure what area you are in but you could have an insect like that as well. But I am betting on the oil of the leaves and the tree being your irritant. Let me know if you find something different.

Yes, I know what sand gnats are, but this was much worse - like needles going into the skin. If it was the oils in the tree, I must be almost allergic to it, along with my wife, for me to react like this. If citrus affects us this way, I think I'd rather not have a citrus tree in our yard at all. It would be worse than a sticker bush.

 

[rockhound]

Have you ever had an allergic reaction to citrus fruits? If you can peel an orange then it seems strange to have this severe reaction to the leaves, altho they are different.

 

[tricon7]

I've never had a reaction to citrus that I know of. In fact, I'm sure I had to have brushed against this very tree several times when picking off the dead oranges after we moved here, and nothing happened then. It's weird.

 

[Crabbergirl]

Hmmm got no idea then. Hope it was an isolated incident for you.

 

[Wombat]

This is a strange one alright. The only thing I can think of is that it may have been a wasp. I have a few citrus trees and wasps seem to love them including the citrus gall wasp. These guys are tiny but pack a real punch and are very fast moving. I've been stung and by the time I've looked down there was nothing just pain. Maybe it was just bad timing on your part brushing the leaf or branch they were sitting on, as they're very hard to see unless they move, just a guess here......maybe check your tree (carefully lol) and see if there are any signs of them