Summer is here, and just as we are shedding layers and welcoming the sunshine, insects are lining up to feast on our flesh.
While ticks and the scary diseases they carry are among the most fearsome of warm-weather insects, another tiny pest is making a meal out of mankind in a truly horrifying fashion.
Chiggers, miniature mites that live in grassy, wooded areas or near water, come alive in the summer season when warmer temperatures create ideal conditions for feeding and breeding.
Related to spiders and ticks, chiggers are petite parasites that are nearly invisible to the naked eye. Though they be but small, their effects are mighty and their approach to growth truly disturbing.
The creepy life cycle of a chigger begins when it hatches from an egg. These juvenile larval mites (band name) then feed on the skin of an animal or human host before falling off and transitioning into their adult form.
These six-legged larvae rely on the flesh of their hosts to supply the nutrients they need to grow into their eight-legged, non-parasitic best selves.
Typically, chigger larvae attach to clothing, favoring areas such as waistbands, bra lines and sock lines where skin and clothing are in close contact.
To satisfy their appalling appetites, chigger larvae move from clothing to skin, releasing a powerful digestive enzyme to make our cells slurpable.
As the enzyme liquifies skin cells, it hardens the surrounding tissue, creating a straw-like tube — known as a stylostome — that allows the chiggers to drink from our dermis like a morbid milkshake.
Because mites have mouths that can pierce but not tear or consume, this skin straw enables them to suck up liquified skin cells and, in some cases, blood for their gnarly nourishment.
Bottoms up.
The enzyme that kills skin cells also causes the intense itching that we associate with a chigger attack. The irritation peaks during the first 24-48 hours after contact, then subsides over the following two weeks.
The most common areas for chiggers to attach and attack are the ankles, lower legs, backs of the knees, waist and groin.
Chigger bites are not immediately apparent, as symptoms can take up to 3 hours after contact to appear.
Symptoms include red spots or pimples on the skin and severe itching.
Because chiggers feed on the skin rather than burrow into it, a rash usually appears only after the mites have detached, and treatment focuses on alleviating itching rather than parasite removal.
Treatment options include cleaning the affected area with soap and water, applying calamine lotion, cold compresses, and permethrin, and/or taking antihistamines.
You can prevent becoming chigger lunch by wearing protective clothing, using insect repellent, treating clothing with insect repellent, and avoiding outdoor activity in grassy, wet, or wooded areas during the summer months.
