When Chiggers Bite: Itch, Itch and More Itch
 Courtesy of Missouri Dept. of Conservation |
The MyBugBites.com staff is seeing more and more stories about chiggers, their bites and their excruciating itch.
In South Carolina, Bryce Donovan of the Post and Courier details his encounters with chiggers and says that if you haven’t experienced chiggers, well, he hates you… because he wish he’d never experienced them either.
Chiggers are actually very tiny creatures even if they look huge and scary in this magnified pictured and measure 1/150th of an inch in diameter in real life - nearly invisible. Also, chiggers aren’t bugs or insects in the strict sense of the words all - they’re mites according to MDConline.com.
“Chiggers are the juvenile (or larval) form of a specific family of mites, the Trombiculidae. Mites are arachnids, like spider and scorpions, and are closely related to ticks.”
Ironically, chiggers are only a problem for humans in their childhood - known as the larval stage, when they like to bite our skin and inject a bit of their saliva which causes a chain reaction of events leading to an annoying itch.
MDC makes the following recommendations to avoid the mite-y itch of the chigger:
- A warm, soapy bath of water will remove the little devils.
- Use a towel or cloth to wipe your body clean of chiggers. Chiggers don’t stand up well to the lightest brushing.
- Do not use any strange chemicals like rubbing alcohol or gasoline or salt or dry cleaning fluid. Not only are they not necessary (use a warm bath!), they’re potentially dangerous.
So what if you do get bitten by chiggers.. then what?
- Certain lotions can help.
- Anesthetic products like enzocaine, camphor-phenol and ammonium hydroxide can provide some relief when applied to the affected area according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
In rare cases, people can have allergic reaction and should see a doctor about what medicine will be best to overcome the symptoms.
Hopefully, this information is useful to our readers - it comes too late for Mr. Donovan whose waistline “burned like a forest fire.” Yikes.
September 2, 2008 – 4:43 pm
3 Responses to “When Chiggers Bite: Itch, Itch and More Itch”
Can chigger bites on top and sides of feet cause swelling of the feet and ankle area?
[Reply]
Ev Reply:
October 10th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Same problem. While camping in Yellowstone, I was bitten around my ears and neck. It was cold so I kept my sleeping bag up tight around my neck. The following night was warmer. I then was bitten 18 times on one leg (under 2 pair of long johns!)
Today while at the doctor for an unrelated problem, I showed her my leg and she said “chiggers!” Great!!
Benedryl cream did help a bit. Thank goodness I had some with me on the trip. Notice I said “a bit”.
Now I need to figure out what to do with my beautiful, expensive down sleeping bag and down camping pad. Bummer.
The doctor suggest spraying them with RID, which is a product for head lice. Great.
She said that washing clothes in hot water and drying them in a hot dryer will kill the little buggers. Obviously that is not a possibility with a down sleeping bag.
Any ideas?
E
Yuck!!!
[Reply]
By Susann Pappas on Sep 13, 2008
can chiggas be past on to others even after you take a shower or soap bath.
[Reply]
By steve on Sep 14, 2008