How to Get Rid of Chiggers
Chiggers, also known as red bugs or harvest mites, are tiny parasitic mites that can cause intense itching and discomfort when they bite humans. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to encounter these pesky creatures, you’re probably eager to find effective ways to get rid of them. Here are a few tips that I have used to learn how to get rid of chiggers. Suggestions, Benedryl Gel Tablets, and Permethrin Spray may help protect or soothe your skin from the bites.
How to Identify Chigger Bites
Before I talk about the methods of getting rid of chiggers, it’s important to be able to identify their bites. These nasty chigger bites usually appear as small, red, intensely itchy bumps or blisters. The bites often occur in clusters or groups like a rash, commonly found in areas where clothing fits tightly against the skin, such as ankles, waistbands, the groin area, and armpits. They also appear on your body in areas that are more generally exposed, particularly in locations with vegetation you walk through. That would include your knees, calves, and ankles.
If you suspect you have chigger bites, it’s essential to take immediate action to alleviate the itching and prevent further discomfort. Now, seeing a chigger with the naked eye is hard, but you should have no problem seeing the bites!
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Treating Chigger Bites
- Topical creams or lotions: Applying over-the-counter ointment, cream, or lotions containing ingredients like calamine lotion or hydrocortisone can help reduce itching and inflammation of your skin cells caused by chigger bites. The chemicals in these products provide temporary relief and can be applied multiple times a day as needed. Uses for Cream of Tartar
- Antihistamines: Taking oral antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl®), can help alleviate itching and reduce allergic reactions caused by chigger bites. It’s important to follow the recommended dosage instructions and consult a healthcare professional if you have any underlying medical conditions. How To Stock Your Home Pharmacy
- Cold compresses: Applying cold compresses or ice packs to the affected areas can provide temporary relief from itching and reduce inflammation. Wrap the ice pack in a thin towel or cloth to prevent direct contact with the skin. What’s In Your First Aid Kit?
- Avoid scratching: As tempting as it may be, avoid scratching the chigger bites, as it can lead to further irritation, and infection, and slow down the healing process. If scratching becomes unbearable, consider wearing gloves or trimming your nails short to minimize skin damage. Infection Prevention: Tips to Stay Healthy
Preventing Chigger Bites
- Protective clothing: When venturing into areas where chiggers may be present, wear long sleeves, long pants, and closed-toe shoes to minimize skin exposure. Tuck your pants into your socks or shoes to create a barrier.
- Insect repellent: Apply insect repellents that contain DEET or picaridin to exposed skin. Follow the instructions on the product label for proper application. Natural Ways to Get Rid of Insects in Your Home
- Avoid high-risk areas: Chiggers are commonly found in tall grass, weeds, and wooded areas. Avoid walking or sitting in these areas if possible. Natural Ways to Get Rid of Insects in Your Home
- Shower after outdoor activities: After spending time in chigger-prone areas, take a shower using warm water and soap to remove any chiggers that may be on your skin. 10 Ways to Utilize Old Bath Towels for Preppers
Getting Rid of Chiggers in Your Environment
- Mow your lawn: Keeping your grass trimmed short can help reduce the habitat for chiggers in your yard. Regularly mowing your lawn can make it less appealing for chigger larvae to thrive. Prepping Tips for Spring
- Remove brush and debris: Chiggers often hide in tall grass, brush piles, and leaf litter. Clearing away these potential hiding spots can help reduce chigger populations in your yard.
- Treat your yard with insecticides: If chigger infestation persists, consider using insecticides specifically formulated to target chiggers. Follow the instructions on the product label and take necessary precautions to protect yourself and the environment. 8 Reasons Why Your Garden May Be Struggling
- Wash and dry your clothing and bedding: If you suspect that chiggers have come into contact with your clothing or bedding, wash them in hot water and use a hot drying cycle to kill any remaining chiggers. 9 New Ways for Using Laundry Baskets
Natural Remedies for Chigger Control
- Diatomaceous earth: Sprinkling food-grade diatomaceous earth in chigger-prone areas can help control their population. Diatomaceous earth is a natural substance that can pierce the exoskeleton of insects, including chiggers, leading to dehydration and death. How to Use Diatomaceous Earth in Your Garden
- Essential oils: Some essential oils, such as tea tree oil and lavender oil, are known for their insect-repellent properties. Dilute the oils with a carrier oil and apply them to your skin before going outdoors. If you have a small container with a spray attachment use it to keep from getting the oils on your hands. 21 Essential Oils Everyone Should Stock Up On
- Herbal repellents: Certain plants and herbs, such as garlic, neem, and marigold, are known to repel chiggers. You can create a natural repellent by crushing or grinding these plants and applying the extract to your skin. The Best Herbal Plants to Grow for Homemade Tea If you notice an allergic reaction of any kind stop the application.
- Sulfur powder: Applying sulfur powder to your skin and clothing can act as a deterrent for chiggers. However, it’s important to use caution and follow the instructions carefully, as excessive use of sulfur can cause skin irritation. This one would be my last resort.
Time to Call Pest Control
If your chigger infestation keeps happening, despite your best efforts, it may be necessary to seek professional help. Pest control experts have the knowledge and resources to get rid of chiggers from your home and yard. They can provide targeted treatments and advice on long-term prevention strategies. 12 Natural Pest Remedies
When are you most often going to experience chiggers?
You’ll tend to notice the bites in late spring, summer, and early fall. They love warm temperatures in the 77 to 86-degree range.
What are chiggers?
Chiggers are a species of mite and are actually related to common spiders and ticks. From a technical standpoint, they are arthropods. They feed on the skin of small mammals, reptiles, and birds. They are so small they seem to be invisible to the naked eye.
Chiggers are known by various names, such as harvest mites, harvest bugs, harvest lice, mower’s mites, and redbugs.
What are the stages of development of chiggers?
The stages of development are egg, larvae, nymph, and adult. Usually, the eggs are laid in the soil and then hatch into the larvae stage within just a few days. The larvae naturally climb on vegetation located nearby and wait for the “host” to come close so they can attach themselves, then the feeding begins. The name chigger actually relates to the larval stage of development and the stage when they cause chigger bites. When the chigger larvae bite you they release a digestive enzyme into your skin that kills your skin cells and causes the irritation you notice and feel.
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Final Word
Dealing with chiggers can be frustrating, but with the right approach, you can get rid of them. Remember to treat chigger bites right away to alleviate red welts, severe itching, and red bumps. Take preventive measures when venturing into chigger-prone areas, including wearing protective clothing and using insect repellents. You can get rid of the chiggers in your environment by taking care of your yard and consider using insecticides or natural remedies. May God Bless this World, Linda
Copyright Images: Chigger Bites on Man AdobeStock_284434813, Chiggers or Berry Bug or Red Mite AdobeStock_315859679
Yup had me some the other day. I put rubbing alcohol on them. It does pretty good.
Hi Matt, I heard they itch like crazy! Thanks for the tip on rubbing alcohol! Linda
Yeah they get pretty uncomfortable. A good bath don’t hurt either but ain’t no guarantee to stop them. They like the tight areas where your belt line is, sock top etc. they rarely travel beyond the waist which is odd but my experience
HI Matt, oh I can’t imagine the itch from those darn chiggers! We don’t have them here in Utah that I know of anyway. Linda
chiggers and ticks prevail in the mountains, especially brushy areas.
in a pinch, they do not like the smell of diesel fuel.
Hi Blair, thank you for this tip, we need every idea we can hear about! Thank you, Linda
Had a small bout of them recently. I found that the best relief from the itching is slathering the area with Benadryl gel several times per day. Being topical, there is no drowsiness like with oral diphenhydramine.
It’s important to note that North American chiggers differ from similarly named tropical pests. Ours do NOT burrow into the skin as do that species. So Grandpa’s remedy of holding a lit cigarette close to it won’t kill it or make it pull out. However, a poultice of wet, chewed tobacco may help.
That being said, once the itching begins, the pain can be eliminated by neutralizing the effect of the saliva/enzymes by using … wait for it … household ammonia, or ammonium hydroxide. It’s the same active ingredient as contained in the OTC product in the plastic tube that you rub on mosquito and chigger bites.
No, it doesn’t burn, irritate or blister, though I would use caution if I had open owies from too vigorous scratching. And, in a nod to an older movie, “Yes, Windex (or similar product) will work”. It seems to be the ph that matters. Thus, we have achieved some limited success making a poultice of saliva and wood ash, creating a super weak lye solution.
Mark Twain once said that if Noah had any sense, he would have swallowed those 2 mosquitoes. The same goes for chiggers in my book.
HI Jordan, yeah why didn’t Noah swallow mosquitoes and chiggers? That was a good one! LOL! Great ideas on how to help with the itching. Thank you for your tips. Linda
Jordan, now I have the giggles, what movie was this line from: “Yes, Windex (or similar product) will work”? I can’t remember the title. Linda
As to your last line, here in Texas we would have added fire ants to the mosquitoes and chiggers. LOL! Actually, I am not real susceptible itch-wise to chiggers. Hence, the Benadryl Gel works fine for me.
Hi Harry, oh Mark walked right into an fire ant pile without knowing it years ago, YIKES! I just added the Benadryl Gel to the post and will be ordering some, thank you!!! Linda
Hi Harry, what? They have Benadryl Gel? I’m going to order some. Where have I been all these years? Thanks for the tip! Linda
Matt, and Linda,
Get some Permethrin and put it on your clothes. Kills ticks, mosquitos, and any other insect and doesn’t absorb into your bloodstream like DEET does. Jane and I used it to keep ticks off us when we had our Colo mtn property. We ignored the label and applied it directly onto our skin with no problems at all. I also sprayed it around door and window frames to keep spiders and other bugs out of our cabins.
If memory serves, Permethrin will still be effective on you clothes after several washings. Best stuff I even found. We still use it to this day here in AZ to keep our house bug free.
I don’t use it near our garden areas as I don’t want to kill our bees.
Hi Ray, oh I am ordering some of this today as well. I love tips like this, thank you! Linda
I spray permethrin bout daily on cattle for fly control. I do spray it in my boots n pants legs. It’s definitely good stuff
Hi Matt, oh spraying that stuff in your boots and pant legs as well as cattle for fly control, I need to add it to my post. I know Ray talked about. Plus Harry mentioned the liquid Benadryl, I need to add. Thanks you!! Linda
I put clear nail polish on the bites. Does wonders. Chigger bites are the worst.
Hi Janet, clear nail polish, who would have guessed? I love hearing stuff like this, thank you, Linda
Yup that definitely works too.
Janet, I agree. Been using clear nail polish on redbug bites since I was a young woman. It smothers the bug. My mother had such good eyesight that she would take a needle to us children and dig the bug out, then show it to us. It was tiny on the tip of the needle. After I married and left home, there was no eagle eyed mother to dig out redbugs, so I have used the nail polish. I am very susceptible to redbug bites. They just love me.
Sorry to hear that they love you. Your mother must have had exceptional eyesight. Wow.
HI Angela, dang, they love you, that is not fun. Thank goodness for nail polish. Linda
Living in Missouri, we battle chiggers every summer. I spray myself with homemade insect repellent (made with essential oils) but still get some bites unless I scrub myself down in the shower as soon as I come in the house.
I deal with the bites by scratching the top off and dabbing it with lavender oil on a q-tip. Bites stop itchy in a couple of days. Otherwise, they can itch for over a week.
Hi Eileen, oh I love lavender essential oil for so many things, great to hear it work for bug bites! Linda
I have a remedy for chiggers, fingernail polish. A man with masculinity issues may find this repulsive, but my aunt taught me to apply fingernail polish liberally to the area, and it will suffocate the chigger in less time than you would think. Fairly cheap and no drugs. Don’t take my word for it, give it a test run.
Roland, Drudge
HI Roland, when push comes to shove we use what we have to use, right? Nail polish is it! You and Janet nailed it! Thank you, Linda
You took me down 52 year memory lane Boyfriend (now hubs) took me for 1st & last time wild blackberry picking on family farm. Became up close and personal with his mom! Years later always kept a cigarette in my Girl Scout leader first aide kit for wet tobacco drawing.
Hi Marilynne, oh my gosh, I was trying to think about where I would get tobacco, you nailed it! Thank you for this great remark! Keep it in you to go bag! Congrats on 52 years, my sweet friend, Linda
Skin So Soft by Avon keeps them away. 100%! Was a lifesaver for my toddlers when we move south.
Hi Karen, oh my gosh, I remember that Skin So Soft by Avon!!! Great reminder, thank you! Linda
When we moved to Florida, we bought some of this and it didn’t help us. I wonder if I was using it wrong. lol
Hi Jess, I think you are talking about the Avon Skin So Soft. I haven’t bought it for years, luckily we have other options, Linda
Linda:
I have been lucky there have never been any Chiggers where I have lived. I have heard that chiggers are really nasty. But like you I live in a State that does not have them as far as I know. With my allergies I don’t need them.
Hi Jackie, this is so good to hear, you do not need them!! Linda