Chiggers - tiny six-legged larvae that mature into mites - are so small that you can't see them with the naked eye. They're most active in the American southeast in late spring and early summer, and chigger "bites" cause intense itching and raised, red spots that signal their presence in your skin. Unlike other seasonal pests such as mosquitoes and ticks, chiggers don't draw blood or burrow into skin, they sink their tiny mouthparts into a skin pore or hair follicle and inject a digestive enzyme that liquefies skin cells and hardens the surrounding flesh. This forms a feeding tube through which the larvae suck the liquefied skin cells. After about four days of feeding, the larvae drop off, leaving behind red welts that can continue to itch for a week or longer.
If this disturbing scenario is enough to make you want to avoid chiggers, take the following precautions:
- Avoid grass, weeds, wild berry patches and woodland underbrush in damp, shaded spots, areas where chiggers are most present.
- Wear loose clothing, as chiggers tend to attach to parts of the body where clothing fits tightly, such as around the waistline or under socks.
- Protect areas of the body to which chiggers are attracted: where skin is wrinkled or thin such as the ankles, armpits, back of the knees, in front of the elbow or the groin.
- Avoid sitting or reclining on the ground when camping, picnicking or working outdoors.
- Consider using a natural insect repellent such as a geraniol-based product.
If you think you may have been exposed, launder clothes in hot (125-degree) water as soon as possible, and shower with plenty of soap several times. Bathing in hot water after exposure may help dislodge the chiggers themselves but won't get rid of the itchy welts that formed where they were feeding. Tea tree or tamanu oil can help minimize the itching, which is important for more than just comfort - while chiggers themselves don't transmit disease, scratching the welts can lead to infection.
