Of all the little nasty ankle-biters, perhaps the worst are chiggers. These critters are so tiny you may not even realize the source of the blistery rash around your ankles.
Let’s take a look at how to get rid of these nasty critters, how to avoid them, then get to know just what they are. Finally, we’ll look specifically at how to identify and treat chigger bites.
Getting Rid of Chiggers
While chiggers are only a problem for a short period of time, that’s not to say they haven’t gone away when the bites stop. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to eliminate these pests when away from home, but you can still combat them when they’re on you or at home.
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Removing Chiggers
It’s not always easy to discover you’re carrying chiggers around until it’s already too late. Bite symptoms could appear within a few hours or not for several days, at which point the larvae have likely already detached.
The best way to strike first is to pay attention to whether you’ve visited any place where chiggers would likely be waiting for a host. In the event you have, throw your clothes in the washer or a dryer on high heat and hop in the shower. A good scrub will remove any that have managed to attach to you while any on your clothing will be killed.
Eliminating them in this manner not only helps reduce the chances of breaking out in a rash, it also means those chiggers will never reach adulthood to reproduce.
Chiggers on Pets
Use a soft cloth to wipe them away from areas with thin fur, such as the belly, ears, or around the eyes. A warm bath can help remove even more, although it won’t get them all. Pet treatments containing acaricides (e.g., medications for ticks and mites) will help eliminate any that remain.
You will also want to speak with your vet. They may prescribe prednisone to help ease the effects of scratching at bite areas. Once treated, it’s best to keep your pet away from the suspected area where the chiggers attacked for a while to ensure there’s no second wave.
Chiggers In the Yard
Pesticides are generally the best weapon against these pests. Be sure to use one where the active ingredient is bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, esfenvalerate, or permethrin. Talak 7.9% (bifenthrin based) is what I personally use.
Follow all instructions on the package carefully. You will likely have to repeat the treatment after a few weeks.
Chigger Prevention
While there’s no way to completely eliminate exposure to chiggers, there are several methods that can help reduce the risk of getting attacked.
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Clothing
Your first line of defense is clothing. Wear long sleeves and pants. Tuck the pants into your socks so the chiggers have no easy way to get to your skin.
Repellents
Insect repellents containing DEET (Repel 100 works great) can help deter chiggers from latching on. Be sure to treat places where your clothing ends, such as the waist, sleeves, or tops of your socks.
In theory, sprays made with the essential oils of citronella, eucalyptus, geranium, lemon grass, or tea tree may also repel chiggers. However the evidence is not yet conclusive despite some promising studies.
Lawn Care
Keep your yard tidy and grass short. While you can kill any sheltering adults by tilling the ground in freezing temperatures, this isn’t an ideal tactic. Filling a lawn sprayer with a neem foliar mixture and spraying the lawn at dusk or dawn can also help reduce the population.
Avoid Chigger Territory
Unless you’re going to a picnic or taking the kids to the park, it’s generally easiest to simply avoid places with lots of grass or ground cover. In the event you want to plan an outing, make sure to give both your clothes and yourself a good wash after to kill any hitchhikers.
Getting to Know Chiggers
Chiggers (Family Trombiculidae) are tiny mites that have a well-earned reputation. However, different life stages create different problems. They have a multitude of nicknames, including:
- Berry nugs
- Bush mites
- Chigger mites
- Harvest mites
- Harvest lice
- Red nugs
- Scrub-Itch mites
Chigger Identification and Lifecycle
Averaging at a mere .01 inches long, these tiny orange mites are almost invisible to the naked eye. As members of the arachnid family, they have eight legs as adults, although they start out with fewer. The average lifecycle is around 12 months, although this can vary based upon species and climate.
Adults and Eggs
Typically, adults overwinter by taking shelter below the frostline or in other insulated places. Females will emerge in spring, but won’t lay their eggs until temperatures remain above 60 degrees. Up to 15 eggs are laid per day in vegetation and require about six days to hatch. The resulting prelarvae have only three pairs of legs and don’t feed.
Prelarva and Larva
After another six days, the prelarvae develop into larval stage. Larvae are fast-moving, .008 inches long, generally light red, and quite hairy.
Known as chiggers in this stage, the larvae will congregate in places where potential hosts are most likely to pass by. This includes matted vegetation, low bushes, or clumps of dirt.
It’s typical for the larvae to seek tall grasses or similar vegetation during wetter seasons and hide in shady spots such as under brush in drier seasons. When they come into contact with a suitable host, the chiggers will latch on and remain attached for three to five days.
While ankles are common biting grounds, they prefer any place where clothing is most restrictive if given the choice.
Nymph
Once detached from the host, the larva reaches its nymph stage. There are three phases, but the chigger is only active during the second phase. This is also when it develops the fourth pair of legs and switches to a diet of arthropods, arthropod eggs, and plant matter. It resumes this diet as an adult.
Chigger Habitat
Found throughout most of the world, these critters prefer moist, grassy locations. These can include forests, fields, lawns, or near lakes or streams. In the US, they’re mostly found in the southeast, south, and midwest. However, there are small populations throughout the 48 continental states, Mexico, and southern Canada.
While they’re most active at temperatures between 77 and 86 degrees, a female will lay eggs in 60-degree weather. Chiggers can’t survive temperatures below 42 degrees and require warmer hiding spots to survive the winter.
Do Chiggers Bite?
While they do use their mouths to latch on, it’s actually the damage from their digestive enzymes that we commonly refer to as a bite. Only 30 or so species will actually attack humans, however, and only in the larval stage.
Chiggers vs Bed Bugs
The effects of a chigger bite don’t appear right away, leaving you to wonder what actually bit you. The most common scapegoat is the bed bug. However, these two critters have very different bites.
Chigger bites tend to be in clusters. These pests will remain attached for a few days or until you wash or scratch them off, but are about the size of a period, making them hard to spot. The resulting bites may look like small blisters, hives, or pimples. Unlike dust mites, these pests cannot survive indoors without a host.
Meanwhile, bed bugs are 20-30 times larger and mainly lie in wait in beds or other places their prey is likely to remain still for long periods of time. They leave little trails of bites, as they cannot adequately hold onto the skin.
The wounds will be red, itchy bumps similar in appearance to those of other blood drinkers such as fleas and mosquitoes.
Dealing With Chigger Bites
Approximately 30 species of chigger will feed on skin cells. They do this by latching onto a host with their pincer-like chelicerae and injecting a digestive enzyme into the skin. The enzyme will eat downwards, forming a hardened tube known as a stylostome, through which the chigger sucks out the digested cells.
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Chigger Bite Appearance and Location
Because these aren’t puncture wounds, but instead dissolved skin cells, it’s common for chigger bites to form blisters similar to hives or pimples. They’re most commonly associated with ankles, but can also appear in sensitive areas such as armpits, backs of the knees, or groin area.
Treatment
If you suspect you’ve been bitten by chiggers, apply an anti-itch cream to the affected area. Chiggerex is one of the better ones. Anything from benzocaine and calamine lotion to hydrocortisone or commercial products will work.
Hot showers will not only help dislodge any remaining mite larvae, it can also help reduce the itchiness. Don’t bother with common methods meant to suffocate burrowing critters, such as applying nail polish. These will only affect chiggers you haven’t dislodged, since they don’t actually burrow into the skin.
In the event of a secondary infection or allergic reaction, it’s best to consult with a doctor to ensure you get proper medication.
Bite Risks
North American species aren’t known to be disease vectors. However, excessive scratching could lead to an infection. Additionally, the saliva may cause an allergic reaction in some individuals.
North American chigger species don’t transmit diseases to humans. However, excessive scratching of bites can break the skin, potentially leading to secondary bacterial infections.
In some individuals, the digestive enzymes that chiggers inject may trigger allergic reactions, ranging from mild to severe. If you experience unusual swelling, spreading redness, or increasing pain, consult a healthcare provider asap.
Morgan is a certified entomologist and pest control consultant and a member of the National Pest Management Association.
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