And the resulting bites often appear as clusters of red welts - as opposed to a single itchy lump or a red rash. But you may feel some irritation when they first start feeding. You won’t be able to see them without the aid of a magnifying glass. “I don’t know of many things as intensely itchy as a chigger bite,” says Michael Merchant, PhD, a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University in Dallas.Īlso, chiggers tend to latch onto a person’s skin in groups. For one thing, chigger bites tend to take itchiness to a whole new level. Especially if you’re bitten by a lone chigger, the red welt that forms may look more or less identical to a mosquito bite.īut there are bite characteristics that can show up that can help differentiate chiggers from other bugs. “Different people react differently to bites, so it can be really difficult to tell the difference between bites of things like mosquitoes from chiggers,” Townsend says. RELATED: 7 Skin Conditions That Look Contagious, but Aren’tĪs with all bug bites, there’s some person-to-person variation when it comes to chigger bites. That reaction, he says, comes from the chigger’s saliva, which they use to break down and digest the cells and tissues they devour. But much like mosquitoes and ticks, chiggers can induce a nasty skin reaction. Instead, chiggers feast on skin cells and tissue, Townsend explains. Unlike mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting bugs, chiggers don’t attach themselves to mammals in order to suck blood. “Not all mites are chiggers, but all chiggers are mites,” he adds. It’s these that are referred to as chiggers. Townsend says that there are many different species of mites, but only a few types that bite during their larval stage. “Chiggers are a type of immature mite that spend time feeding on small mammals, and also on humans,” says Lee Townsend, PhD, a professor emeritus of entomology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Though they’re often bright red in color, chiggers are only about the size of a grain of salt - making them almost impossible to spot either in the wild or on a person’s skin. Rash 101 in adults: When to seek medical treatment.Sometimes called “berry bugs” or “red bugs,” chiggers populate large sections of the United States - including all of the South, the Great Plains, and the Mid-Atlantic. How to relieve itchy skin.Īmerican Academy of Dermatology. doi:10.7573/dic.Īmerican Academy of Dermatology Association. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Genetic-morphological peculiarities of response to standard therapy in patients with dyshidrotic eczema of palms and soles. ![]() Vozianova SV, Dyadyk OO, Boyko VV, Radkevich YS. ![]() ![]() A series of in vitro and human studies of a novel lip cream formulation for protecting against environmental triggers of recurrent herpes labialis. Gfeller CF, Wanser R, Mahalingam H, et al. ![]() Urushiol compounds detected in toxicodendron-labeled consumer products using mass spectrometry. Zhang AJ, Aschenbeck KA, Law BF, BʼHymer C, Siegel PD, Hylwa SA. HPLC and ToF‒SIMS analyses of Toxicodendron vernicifluum tree sap mixed with other natural lacquers. Toxicodendron contact dermatitis: a case report and brief review. What do I do?Ĭenters for Disease Control and Prevention. Chickenpox (varicella): signs and symptoms. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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