A MICROSCOPIC BITING PEST-CHIGGERS
Recently I had a couple come into the store who were staying at a campground south of the The Wagging Tail on Route 9. They were being bitten and so was their dog, but they saw no evidence of fleas. A few days later a woman came in with a similar problem. I suggested to both that the cause of their discomfort and confusion could be the result of chiggers. Chiggers have nicknames such as scrub-itch mites, harvest mites, mower’s mites, red bugs or berry bugs.
Chiggers cannot be seen with the naked eye. They are six-legged wingless organisms that are considered similar to a mite. They are also related to the tick and spider. They are found in moist areas like tall grasses, weeds, fields, forests, lawns, gardens and near water. Chiggers are most prevalent when it is hot and humid (like much of this summer has been) but are around spring through fall. They thrive in temperatures between 77-and 86-degrees F, dying in temperatures below 42. My husband has been taking his one-two mile walks behind our development where there are many fields, or at the trails by the lighthouse in Cape May Point. He has been complaining of tick bites and I told him that they were not because a tick latches on and must normally be pulled out of the skin. Ticks you can see, but chiggers are only .3 millimeters. The chigger larvae (hatched from eggs) don’t fly or travel far, mainly converging on nearby leaves or grass usually a foot off the ground, waiting for prey.
They use their sharp, jaw-like claws to poke the skin. As the babies feed on human or animal tissue, they’re releasing a liquid chemical into the skin. This dead skin forms a “straw” by which the larvae drink your skin tissue.
As you scratch, the chigger, now an adult, falls off. You may not start itching immediately- it may take a few hours. Intense itching will occur in the first 24 to 48 hours. I told Bob to spray himself for protection when walking on trails. I advised him to take an antihistamine to calm the itching. If your “skin turns red and has bumps, blisters or a hive-like rash” healing may take a week or two. What I learned with this research is that these bites can become infected from vigorous scratching, and it is recommended to see a doctor if the itching and swelling continue for more than a couple of days. A steroid, or antibiotics may be needed. In retrospect, I think Bob should have gone to Urgent Care. Be advised that if you travel to northern Australia, or to Southeast Asia, Japan, China, India or Indonesia, you may contract scrub typhus (bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi) from infected chiggers.
The spray that will protect you the most will have DEET, or a permethrin spray (like one used on dogs) and it can be sprayed all over your clothing. Wear long sleeves and tuck your socks into your pant legs. (Bob wears shorts year around!) Chiggers will go to areas like your ankles, thighs, neckline, waist, and cuffs, bra line, behind knees, and groin; any areas where clothing is tight. So, spray those areas fully.
One article suggests spraying certain natural oils like tea tree, citronella, jojoba, geranium, eucalyptus, or lemon grass. When you return from an area where you could have been bitten, take a hot shower. Wash your clothing in hot water using a pyrethroid insecticide. Wash the bites with soap and water regularly, using a corticosteroid cream or lotion or calamine lotion may help, take an antihistamine and an anti-parasitic medication, and cold compresses to alleviate some discomfort.
The same pretty much applies to your dog. Bathe your dog in a pyrethrin based shampoo or add a small amount of dish soap to bath or use a rinse of diluted steeped green tea. Calamine lotion or topical steroid, hydrocortisone cream or spray can be used on the affected area (usually reddish rashes or bumps) generally on the stomach and inside of the legs, anywhere where there is less hair. See your vet if itching continues or gets worse.
