Nymph and adult harvest mites feed mostly on plant life and don't bother people or other mammals, but in the larval stage, many of the species in the prostigmata suborder are parasitic. After a parasitic chigger hatches, it finds a good position on tall grass or other vegetation so it can spring onto a passing animal. When it finds an animal, it attaches to the animal to gather the protein it needs to grow into the nymph stage.
Chiggers do not burrow under your skin, as many people believe, nor do they feed on animal blood. They actually feed on the fluids in skin cells.
To get the fluids, they attach themselves to a skin pore or hair follicle and inject a digestive enzyme that ruptures the cells. The enzyme also hardens the surrounding skin tissue, forming a sort of straw for sucking the skin cell fluids.
The whole process irritates the skin, causing an itchy red bump that continues to cause discomfort for several days. This invisibility is the reason so many people believe chiggers burrow under the skin. You might encounter chiggers in any number of environments, but they are especially concentrated in damp areas with a lot of vegetation. They are attracted to concealed, moist conditions on hosts, too, so they tend to attach to skin under tight clothing, such as socks and underwear, or in concealed areas of the body, such as the groin and the armpits.
One way to decrease the chance of chigger bites is to wear loose clothing when you're in the woods or other infested areas. You should also take a shower as soon as you get home from an outdoor expedition, to remove any chiggers before they attach to your skin. Instead, chiggers feast on skin cells and tissue, Townsend explains.
But much like mosquitoes and ticks, chiggers can induce a nasty skin reaction. But there are bite characteristics that can show up that can help differentiate chiggers from other bugs. For one thing, chigger bites tend to take itchiness to a whole new level.
But you may feel some irritation when they first start feeding. And the resulting bites often appear as clusters of red welts — as opposed to a single itchy lump or a red rash. Another characteristic of these bites: chiggers like to gather in areas that are hot and sweaty — like the insides of socks, at beltlines, inside armpits, or behind the knees, Dr.
Merchant says. While itchy and uncomfortable — not to mention unsightly — chigger bites tend to resolve on their own within a week — and often within a few days. He recommends taking a hot shower and soaping the area thoroughly. Applying topical calamine cream can also help reduce the itch, he adds. So can cold compresses, oral antihistamines like Benadryl or Zyrtec , and rubbing alcohol. Do you need to see a doctor? In most cases, no. Early summer is prime time for chiggers as vegetation is heaviest.
They are also present and active during summer and early fall. Ground temperatures need to range from 77 to 86 degrees for the insects to be active while temperatures colder than 42 degrees result in chigger mortality.
They undergo a 4-stage life cycle: egg, larva, nymph and adult. The adults have eight legs and feed on plants, presenting no problems to humans. It is the larvae that foresters are so familiar with.
The tiny red larvae are nearly microscopic. Larvae are six-legged and feed on skin cells. Mammals, toads, ground-dwelling birds, box turtles and even some insects suffer from the scourge of chiggers. The larvae attach themselves to the clothes of people as they come into contact with infested vegetation then crawl onto a patch of exposed skin. The digestive enzymes in the saliva dissolve skin cells which the chigger consumes.
Skin surrounding the feeding hole hardens and forms a feeding tube called a stylosome that is actually beneath the skin surface.
This is the part that itches so much and makes one want to. This contributes to the misunderstanding that chiggers reside beneath the skin.
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