Chigger Bites

Hello, I'm the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/

Here's your outdoor tip on preventing chigger bites.

Chiggers are found throughout the world in forests, grassy fields, and moist areas around rivers and lakes. Chiggers that bite humans are the juvenile form or larvae of a mite usually on plants that are close to the ground because they require moisture for survival. They are small wingless, six-legged creatures about the size of a period at the end of a sentence and can best be seen through a magnifying glass. They grow up to become mites or arachnids like spiders and ticks.

Chiggers are also called harvest mites or red mites. Their bites are not painful, but cause intense itching shortly after being inflicted and can result in hives or pimple-like bumps that may seem like poison ivy. They have tiny claws that attach to people and animals. They do not burrow into the skin or suck blood. They inject a person with digestive enzymes that break down the skin cells that the larvae eat. After the larvae feeds for about four days, it will be full and drops from its host leaving a red welt with a hard white center that itches and can develop dermatitis. The larva change into eight-legged nymphs which then become adult chiggers. In this stage, a good thing is that they eat the eggs of mosquitoes. They live for 50-70 days with females living up to a year.

Welts or fever from bites can continue for a week or more. Chiggers bite humans around the waist, ankles or in skin folds most often in the summer and fall months. Scratching a bite can result in a secondary infection, but they are not known to spread any major disease in North America.

Since they are almost invisible it is difficult to prevent yourself from being bitten. You can take a few steps that will make you a less likely host:

1. Stay on open trails and barren ground away from weeds, brush and undergrowth.

2. Wear long pants and sleeves to provide a physical barrier to keep them off. Tuck pants into your boots or socks so there is no exposed skin.

3. Use an insect repellent on your clothes and area of exposure to plants surfaces.

4. Shower or bath using soap several times and rinse thoroughly possibly washing the chiggers away before they can attach themselves.

5. Wash you clothing in hot water and soap.

Many home remedies for chigger bites are ineffective as they are based on incorrect information. The incorrect idea that they burrow into the skin has had people applying alcohol, nail polish, or bleach to bites in an attempt to kill the chiggers. These remedies are not effective. The best treatment of chigger bites is to wash down your body with hot water and soap. Lotions and antihistamines can be used to provide relief of itching and inflammation of the skin. The bites themselves should not cause any long-term complications.

This is the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/

References—Additional Reading

What caused this bug bite?
http://www.healthline.com/health/bug-bites

Chiggers
http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/first_aid/chiggers.html

Chiggers, Medline Plus
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001333.htm

How Chiggers Work
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/chigger4.htm

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