How to Get Rid of Chiggers
While summertime is the perfect season to be in touch with nature as you roll on the grass, hit the beach and get that skin tan you’ve been dreaming of, the annoying red bugs called Chiggers could ruin all the summer fun. These tiny pests are most commonly found guarding the lush grass and meadows. One bite from these red bugs leaves a human host with small and intolerable itchy wounds.
As compared to other insect bites, a chigger’s bite brings about an extreme irritation and discomfort. However, as opposed to what most people believe in, these tiny red bugs do not burrow under a human host’s skin and neither do they suck blood like mosquitoes. While these pesky pests can be located all over the world, chiggers are often found in places with humid weather amidst thick vegetation such as in the Midwest and Southeast. Chiggers may be bothersome to human but they do not cause harm to crops.
During World War II, there were several servicemen who became ill with scrub typhus because they had been bitten by tropical Asian chiggers. The servicemen experienced headache, swollen lymph glands, and fever. Chiggers that are found in North America, however, do not spread diseases as seen in the research studies conducted. They only feed on birds and reptiles, thus, human beings are preyed on upon accident. Even though these tiny red bugs cause no harm to the environment, it is still safe if they are not found around the play area of your kids.
Luckily, you can do some things to eliminate chiggers and keep yourself safe from their bite. Below are several things you can do:
- Avoid shady areas
To prevent having shady areas in your lawn, regularly mow it to refrain from having tall grass. You should also prune your bushes, trees, and other shrubs. Chiggers will find it hard to hide in short grass, especially during daytime or when there is too much sunlight.
- Stinky odor
Chiggers do not like stinky odor. Residents of Gulf Coast proved this by trying to smear themselves with alligator grease to drive away chiggers. Nowadays, you can buy repellants from pharmacies that contain Sulphur or DEET. Simply apply the repellant to your skin or rub it on your socks to get rid of the chiggers.
- Dress-up
Know how to dress-up properly when going into places infested with chigger. Experts recommend putting on tall boots and long sleeves and tucking your pants into your socks. As soon as you return home, make sure to wash your clothes immediately and take a shower. This will ensure to wash off chiggers that you caught accidentally from the infested area. If the weather is too hot to put on those long sleeves and tall boots, stop after every thirty minutes to rub your skin, including the tender soft spots such as your underarms and waistbands. While chiggers are not that hard to brush off, they are too little, that’s why it is important to rub yourself to make sure one will not get the itch.
- Stop chigger hosts from coming to your yard
Reptiles and small mammals are the common hosts for chiggers. If you drive away chiggers’ favorite host from your yard, it will help reduce chigger infestation, as these pests will surely follow their food source. Make sure that the lids of your trashcans are properly shut. It will also help if you put up a fence around the area to keep the possible hosts for chiggers from getting in your yard.
- Sprinkling organic pesticides
You can use natural organic pesticides when you confirm that there is a chigger infestation in your yard. The organic pesticide will repel chiggers as well as other lawn pests. You need to focus on applying the pesticide on briars, weeds and tall grass where chiggers are most likely found.
If you are bitten by a chigger, bright red bumps will appear on your skin that will typically last for two to three weeks. To relieve the itching, you may apply some hydrocortisone creams and antihistamines on the bitten area. There is a topical antihistamine that you can use called Benadryl that comes in various forms such as itch stick, spray, cream, and gel. In order to be reminded not to scratch, a home remedy such as applying a fingernail polish in the bitten area. However, this will not cure the itch but will only serve as a reminder.