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Ticks are awful, but chiggers in many ways are as bad if not worse.
You can see ticks, even in the tiny larval phase to which we often refer to as seed ticks. It's easy to hate a malignancy that we can see. An adult chigger has an orange hue and eight legs. It eats only plant material and is harmless. Unless you are looking for it, you are not likely to ever see one.
Chigger larva, the troublemakers, are nearly microscopic. Chiggers belong to the Thrombiculidae family of mites. You don't know they are on you until their damage is done, and believe me, they can do a lot of damage.
Chiggers are a particular scourge in the South, and their reputation in Arkansas is so vile that several schools in south Arkansas have adopted the chigger and its variants as mascots for their sports teams. Larry Lacewell, former football coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Oklahoma Sooners and Arkansas State Red Wolves nee Indians, talks about them in a commercial for a local pest control company.
In his playing days, Lacewell says, he was a chigger and a redbug, which is another name for a chigger. You can fend off a lion, tiger or bulldog, but if you tangle with a squad of chiggers, you are in for a very bad week.
I became reacquainted with chiggers last weekend during the early buck archery season in Washington County. I eschewed all of my normal anti-tick protocols and ventured into the woods unprotected. Today, I am a patchwork of welts. The affliction is so engrossing that it knocked me down a couple of pegs.
As mentioned, a chigger is similar to a tick. Contrary to myth, a chigger does not burrow into your skin. It bites the skin surface and secretes a digestive enzyme that breaks down skin cells into a liquid. This creates a hole in the epidural layer that gives a chigger access to the tender tissue below. There it feasts on its enzymic mush, causing extreme irritation. However, itching might not occur until 24-48 hours after the bite.
That's when the red welts or pimple-like eruptions occur. Rural lore holds that these welts are depositories for a chigger's eggs. That is false. It is a physiological response to the bite, similar to your response to a mosquito bite.
We are cautioned against scratching chigger bites. Unless you slather dab hydrocortisone cream on the bites, that is impossible. Few things itch worse. The problem is that a chigger bite is a complex wound that combines enzyme damage and actual mechanical damage from the chigger's razor-like mandibles.
When you scratch, you will break the thin scab over the bite and introduce bacteria into the wound. This can lead to a condition called impetigo. This causes a pronounced red rash covered by honey-colored crusts. Impetigo is very nasty and requires medical treatment.
I experienced flu-like symptoms in the aftermath of my chigger infestation. According to the literature that I read, flu-like symptoms are consistent with a massive infestation. Symptoms did not appear until late Sunday, and the three subsequent days were rough.
Unlike ticks, chiggers do not transmit Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other tick-borne illnesses. However, research suggests that chiggers might carry the pathogen that causes alpha-gal syndrome. Alpha-gal can cause severe allergic reactions to ingesting red meat and dairy products for some victims.
Fortunately, you can protect yourself against chiggers with the same preventative measures you use for ticks. First, douse any garments you intend to wear in the woods with permethrin and let them air dry. Wear high boots and treat them with permethrin, as well. Chiggers tend to concentrate around the ankles, legs, groin, waist, and also behind the knees. Make sure these areas of your garments are treated. Spray uncovered skin with mosquito repellent.
When your outing is finished, shower immediately. Scrub with a soapy cloth or loofah.