How To Get Rid Of Chiggers (2024)

Chiggers (Trombiculidae) are a type of mite from the arachnid family. They are sometimes known as berry bugs or red bugs—just don’t call them jiggers, which are a type of flea.

When chiggers mature into eight-legged adults, they are more interested in feasting on vegetation. Humans need to worry more about them when they’re in their six-legged larval phase. That’s when they prefer to dig into human and animal flesh; they’re attracted by the carbon dioxide from exhalation. They’re not poisonous, though that’s a small comfort when their bites have you scratching up a storm.

You won’t be able to without a magnifying glass, but you’ll know them by their bite. Chigger bites make mosquitos look like amateurs. Despite their diminutive size, chigger bites make quite the impression, or rather a wheal, a pale red bump with a round or flat top that will likely cause intense irritation or itchiness for a couple of days.

Where Are Chiggers Usually Found?

Chiggers are found throughout the world. They thrive in grassy and wooded areas—including your lawn and garden—as well as by marshes and lakes. In the U.S., they are prevalent in the South and the Midwest, where there is warm or humid weather throughout the year. They are found in other parts of the country during the spring and summer when it’s warm and humid, and then they will disappear at the first frost.

Unlike other insects and arachnids that leave plenty of evidence of their presence through their droppings and damage to plants, crops and even your home, chiggers aren’t capable of that level of destruction. They prefer to live among grass and vegetation, so they would unlikely choose to move indoors. However, they attach themselves to hosts, like yourself and animals, and the itching will commence when they do.

Unlike mosquito bites that look like raised welts, chigger bites leave behind small light red bumps or blisters known as wheals. They bite by injecting a fluid into the skin, which liquefies skin cells so they can digest them; they do not feed on blood. While chigger bites might look inflamed, they are not contagious.

The red dots left by chigger bites can take time to fade. They’ll take only a few days if you’re lucky, but it can take up to a couple of weeks for some. It’s important to treat the affected area with cream or ointment containing hydrocortisone to tame the itching—scratch too hard, and you risk getting those bumps (some might resemble blisters) infected.

You don’t have to worry about damage to your home and garden like you would with termites, carpenter ants or other destructive insects. And unlike bedbugs and other pests that can easily spread throughout a home, you don’t have to worry about that with chiggers.

Chiggers do latch on to human hosts, but they do not embed themselves or lay eggs. Chances are, you’ll wind up scratching them away or washing them off the next time you shower.

Natural Ways to Get Rid of Chiggers

• Maintain your landscape: Mow grass regularly and keep it short—chiggers like to hang out in tall grass, waiting for a human or animal host to come by. Tend your garden often so they can’t settle in among the weeds.
• Keep small animals out of your yard: As with most pest control methods, cutting off the food source of the offending critter is usually a good strategy. Aside from human hosts, chiggers will jump to animal hosts that are flitting or scampering about the same grassy areas they are living in. The odd squirrel or chipmunk is fine, but if you find groups of them frolicking in your yard, you’re creating a chigger buffet.
• Wear long, loose-fitting clothing: Long sleeves and pants can help prevent chiggers from biting, but the key here is keeping your wardrobe loose, too. You might think tighter clothing would keep chiggers from biting through, when in fact you’re just giving them easier climbing access if you wear slim-fit pants or leggings.

Extermination companies offer many types of pest removal, including spraying for chiggers. Contact a national pest control company—you could also try a local or regional exterminator, too—for a free quote or consultation.

According to a handful of pest control websites, mosquito spraying costs between $400 and $600 on average per season. However, the actual price will depend on two important factors: the size of your property and the extent of the infestation.

Types of Treatment

If you hire a professional exterminator, they will likely spray a pesticide in your yard to get rid of chiggers and other problematic critters. The professionals know which pesticides are strong enough to do the job without causing damage to your lawn and garden.

If you want to take matters into your own hands, there are natural methods you could try. Chiggers hate apple cider vinegar, so you could mix some with water and spray it along the perimeter of your home—just be sure not to let the mixture touch any plants, as it can cause them to shrivel up. They also hate essential oils like lavender, citronella, peppermint, thyme and tea tree. Mix these up with water and spray. They’re gentle on plants; you might even smooth some of them onto your skin as a natural repellent.

Habits

Chiggers prefer to eat vegetation, which is why they usually camp out in tall grass or wooded areas. They jump to animal and human hosts, feeding on skin cells that they liquify for consumption by injecting fluid into the animal or human.

Environment

Chiggers thrive in wooded areas, tall grass, forests and swampland. They prefer warmth and humidity and will be especially prevalent in regions where the weather is like this all year round. However, they are known to come out in the late spring and summer in other regions, though they will not stick around for the cold months.

Threats

Other insects are the natural predators of chiggers, along with ants, centipedes and lizards. While you might not relish having any of these on your property, they can help control chiggers.