Article by: Ben Adams, fromthepeavine.com
Now that the weather has warmed up and the woods have greened up, many people are getting out and enjoying Mother Nature. One downside to getting out is having to deal with pests…mainly chiggers. On my recent hike up Pinnacle Mounting (that you can check out here) I forgot to spray down with bug repellant and ended up having a few chiggers tag along for the ride home. Since I brought some of the pests home, I thought I would do a little research and share it with you.
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| Image from Animal Planet |
Here are a few facts about chiggers I pulled from Animal Planet:
- They go through three biological stages: eggs, larvae, nymphs/adults
- The nymphs/adults feed on plant life and don’t bother people
- The larvae stage are the ones that are parasitic
- Chiggers do not burrow under the skin
- They are too small to be seen with the naked eye
- In North America, they do not spread diseases to humans
- Chiggers are attracted to areas on your body wear the clothing is tighter (this allows them to hang on and not fall off)
Over the years I have tried several remedies to get rid of chiggers, clear finger nail polish, PRID, calamine lotions, green tea tree oil and I have even seen people placing a burnt match on the bite. Since chiggers do not actually burrow under the skin, these simply seal off the chigger bite and keep the larvae from feeding and keep the bite from itching.
You can follow these easy steps to help prevent getting attacked by these ruthless creatures:
- Use bug repellant
- Wear loose fitting clothing
- Bathe as soon as you get home
Do you have any home remedies that are better than the ones I mentioned above? If so, leave me a comment and share it!