Chigger bites are not fun. They’re intensely itchy and can keep you up at night. You’ll see bumps on your skin. Yet you may wonder how exactly you got these. This is because chiggers are barely visible to the unaided eye. Learning more about chiggers is helpful in treating chigger bites.

What are Chiggers?

Chiggers are small mites that bite animals, including people. They’ll create an itchy rash that can cause infection. We don’t know them to spread disease, so that’s a relief. Infection at the chigger bite site comes from scratching and more typical exposure. Yet for relief from the itching, you need to get rid of the chiggers in the first place, or it will only get worse.

Treating Chigger Bites

Treating chigger bites is easy enough. Take a bath. Soap and rinse thoroughly, at least twice. This will kill unattached chiggers. Once they have already sunk into your skin and start to feed on you they will need to be addressed more directly. For these, apply an antiseptic to the areas of any welts and bites. This has a twofold purpose: killing the chiggers that are attached to you and to prevent any infection from their bites.

You can also apply ice or baking soda, though these are only stopgaps. Use antiseptic as soon as you can.

Wait…Feed?

Yep. Chiggers don’t suck our blood like a boring mosquito, though. They do something much more complicated. They secrete saliva that breaks down the cells of our skin. Then they chew on the inner layer of our skin. They suck this up through the hole they’ve created. Lovely, right?

How to Get Rid of Chiggers

Ewe. Chiggers don’t sneak into homes and then infest you like other bugs may. You pick them up outside and bring them in with you, on your body. This can lead to a chigger infestation, though it’s rare. It’s much more common that you have a part of your yard or garden that’s infested with chiggers. Slug-A-Bug lawn care service with a focus on chigger remediation can solve this for you. As we provide both pest control and lawn care service, we can both inspect your home and property to make sure you get rid of chiggers.