Chiggers are the bane of most people who live in the Southern United States. My first encounter with the little bloodsuckers was as a teen at Mammoth Caverns in the lovely, extremely humid state of Kentucky.
As we exited the caves, I innocently sat down on the nicely manicured lawn. As I was relaxing in the sun, I noticed something wasn’t quite right.
My arms and legs began to feel like a million tiny mouths began to take bites out of my skin. The itching was pretty intense. And I was not a happy camper.
My dad laughed. “Oh! Those are chiggers!” he gaily said.
“CHIGGERS? What the heck are THOSE?” I said between intense scratching and a few curse words under my breath.
“They’re just little red bugs that bite.”
HAH! I should have known better.
Contrary to popular belief, they don’t suck your blood. They eat your skin after injecting digestive enzymes to break it down and form a hollow tube inside your skin. Then they feast for 2-3 days, while you begin to itch yourself to madness. That’s when the games begin. Lovely!
Rediscovery…
Moving from the west coast to the southern coast, I rediscovered my hatred of the little creatures.2
We lived along a long dirt road one year, and went berry picking. No one forwarned me to use insect repellent. (Deep woods Off DEET, specifically, unless you have essential oils like Yarrow.) So the kids and I grabbed our baskets and pulled all the juicy, wild blackberries that lay within reach.
Two days later, I was awakened by an intense, inquenchable itching around my waistline and all down my legs. The spots that arranged themselves across my pale body were over 100.
And, for those of you who haven’t experienced the gifts left behind from this little critter, CORTISONE DOESN’T WORK!!!!!!
Sleep for the next month or more didn’t happen. Exactly 2-3am every morning, I was awakened by the urge to rip my skin off trying to get the itching to subside.
In vain, of course.
Life lesson…
Over the years that followed, I learned of the natural plants that prevent them from attacking, as well as the remedies applied herbicides kill. The lowley Plantain has become my hard and fast friend – along with hot showers and Calamine lotion.
I never took “weeds” for granted again. There are cures in them thar lawns!!
- https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=6431456&id=710d32ba-158f-477a-9b68-7a13eb5166fd&gid=3CDB5B65-5954-49BB-A2FE-AEA32F56FC03 ↩︎
- Just as an FYI. They don’t just live in the lovely states of the Midwest or Southeast. They pretty much cover the entire world! ↩︎
