How To Treat Lawn For Chiggers

Foolproof Organic Way To Treat Lawn For Chiggers

This is probably common knowledge âround these parts, but I donât know it yet. Is there a foolproof organic way to treat my lawn for chiggers? I got about ten bites in all last year, so theyâre not a big problem, but I must be super-sensitive to them or something. The welt gets really big and red and angry and ITCHY and stays like that for a full week until it finally starts to subside, despite all treatments, including Chiggerrid . Nobody else in the family seems to get bitten at all, or if they do, theyâre not as sensitive.

All of us, including the puppy , play in the backyard everyday, so organic is important.

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How To Get Rid Of The Chiggers In The Yard

Start by mowing the lawn neatly, keeping the length of the grass short. Trim and prune and weed the yard regularly. Please keep it clean, get rid of the leaf litter, unwanted moisture accumulating logs, and tree stumps. If you have observed that the area getting good sunlight has lesser infestation than one in the shade, allow sunlight in the yard. Get rid of the shade temporarily. This will work, but it will require patience.

But if you want a more prominent solution or there is quite a heavy infestation, you can try some of the following things. But remember to use it in areas most likely to offer ideal conditions for chiggers to live in, as we have discussed above. It would help if you observed the habitat closely because some species also like the dry areas, but most commonly, it is in the moist and dense areas. These are some natural ways to get rid of the chiggers in the yard or garden.

Does Diatomaceous Earth Kill Chiggers

Yes, diatomaceous earth kills chiggers, it can eliminate a chigger infestation.

The solution to many pest problems, diatomaceous earth is made up of fossilized diatoms and works by sucking dry the insects. The substance kills chiggers by absorbing the waxy coating found on the exoskeletons of insects and damages their shells. It is kind of a natural way of killing chiggers in your yard!

Food grade diatomaceous earth is also safe it doesnt affect pets or humans.

Application, by sprinkling or dusting it across affected areas on your lawn, can help banish chiggers by damaging the exoskeleton of adult chiggers. As a bonus, youll also be bidding adieu to any flea, cockroach and tick problems. But it is important to remember that diatomaceous earth will also harm beneficial insects, so use it with caution.

While you can just attack specific spots, a broadcast application all over the area is a better idea.

The horrible thing about chiggers is that they can migrate indoors, but the great thing about diatomaceous earth is that you can also use it indoorsyou can lightly dust the substance around windows, doors and other entry points, as well as your couch, to target adult chiggers and thereby eradicate chiggers inside your home.

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Sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth To Your Home Or Yard

In sprinkling Diatomaceous earth, make sure to use the food-grade DE to ensure your safety. Sprinkle this into your lawn to prevent chiggers from infesting your place.

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You can also dust a small amount of food-grade DE on the bottom of your pants, shirt sleeves, and your socks around your ankles.

The ideal measurement for this method is 5 pounds per 1000 square feet. Chiggers dislike this as this causes them to dry out and die.

Can Chigger Bites Make You Sick

Chigger bites dont carry or transmit diseases. This is because they feed on skin cells, not on blood.

Never scratch the chigger bites as they may lead to impetigo, a bacterial skin infection with crusts and pus around the bites. It can also increase the swelling, redness, and warmth, called cellulitis.

Make sure to keep fingernails short to prevent skin damage due to scratching. When this happens, you might need to take antibiotics for skin infection, as prescribed by your doctor.

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Best Inside Spray For Chiggers ^

For small amounts of activity in the home, FS MP AEROSOL is well suited for reaching them where they might be entering. It features a deep penetrating chemical structure which reaches hard to access spaces chiggers like to use for nesting. Each can comes with a straw injecting tube use it to treat around windows, baseboards and any crack you can find where you see them active.

For large areas, spray BITHOR using a good PUMP SRAYER to treat carpeting, crawlspaces and other areas they might target. Typically when they get inside, theyll be focused in one room or one area so the aerosol can be enough. But if theyre all over youll need to be more thorough focusing more on surfaces out in the open.

Bithor is labeled for all sensitive areas like carpeting, furniture and even bedding. It will kill them quickly but like Maxxthor EC, youll need to use it once every two weeks for the first month to ensure you kill all activity.

Add 1 oz of Bithor to a gallon of water and use the mixture over no more than 1,000 sq/ft of surface area. Bithor is odorless and safe enough to be sprayed on carpeting, couches and even mattresses where chiggers might be nesting.

Use a good PUMP SPRAYER to apply the Bithor. Set the nozzle on a full swath setting when spraying carpets to ensure it covers a wide 3-4 foot band.

How To Identify If There Are Chiggers In Yard

The most obvious tell-tale sign that there are chiggers in your yard is if you have noticed large, red, itchy bumps appearing on your skin after spending time in the affected area. To find out for sure whether youre dealing with these pests, follow the method below.

1. Wear Protective Clothing

Wear clothing that covers your whole body, making sure no areas are exposed and vulnerable to being bitten by the chiggers.

2. Find Chigger Hotspot

Find a spot in your yard where the chiggers are likely to be in high concentration. This will be a part of your yard thats moist, in the shade, and has tall, thick vegetation. Chiggers will avoid places that are hot and sunny, and cant be found in dry ground or mowed grass.

3. Place Cardboard on Hotspot

At this step, it should be noted that you wont necessarily find chiggers in all areas of dense vegetation throughout your yard. The adult female mites tend to lay their eggs in one location, which is why the larva often seem to be clustered in one concentrated area. So, if your test shows that you dont have chiggers in one shady, humid, overgrown spot, repeat these steps on the other potential hotspots in your yard to make sure they arent gathering anywhere else.

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Identify Chigger Hot Spots In Yard

If you havent done so already, identify the areas of your yard where the chiggers are clustering. This is a key step before the application of any natural or chemical insecticides, as you should only use these substances to treat the hotspots instead of the entire yard.

Method: You can determine these areas by propping up 6×6 inch pieces of black cardboard throughout your yard in every overgrown, damp, and shady spot. Wait for 15 to 30 minutes, and then check which pieces have clusters of chiggers on them take note of where these hotspots are in your yard.

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How To Prevent Chigger Bites

To reduce the chance of these pests biting you, wear closed-toed shoes or boots, thick socks, long pants, and long sleeves.

Tuck your pants into your socks, and button up your collar and sleeves. Clothing made of tightly woven fabric helps keep you safe from chiggers.

Avoid brushing up against undergrowth or sitting on the ground. Before going inside, brush off your clothes, including possible chigger hiding places, like the top of socks.

As soon as you get inside, have a shower or bath with soapy water to rinse away chiggers. To kill chiggers, launder your clothing and any blankets or towels that touched the ground on the hottest possible setting.

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Tickbanz Ankle Band Review

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Before you head out in your lawn to deploy any of the below solutions to get rid of chiggers in your lawn, you should stay well protected to prevent chigger bites. The TickBanz ankle band is a proven way to repel ticks and chiggers and can fit individuals up to 17-inches.

It is backed by proprietary registered repellant technology, and is EPA registered and approved. Further, TickBanz is effective for approximately 70 washings, and features an integrated insect shield to keep chiggers and similar mites and bugs at bay.

It can be worn over your ankles, pant legs or boots, and offers all day protection. Adding to this, it can be used by young and old and everyone in between, and is a comfortable, and durable solution to keep chiggers and ticks away.

How Long Do They Stay On Clothing

Chiggers use clothing to latch onto the skin. They have nothing to eat on your clothes, so theyre not interested in staying on that.

After they latch on your clothing, pants, socks, shoes, belt, or pants, theyll find your skin and start penetrating it by biting it. This is when youll feel the itch.

Typically, theyll leave the clothing after a few hours when theyve come into contact with your skin.

However, if you take the clothing off before they can reach your skin, be sure to wash and launder your clothing right away if you suspect chiggers to be present. The hot water and laundry detergent will kill them.

Of course, you probably wont be able to stop them all from reaching you in time. But you can reduce the amount of bites and infection site you get from chiggers.

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What Are Chigger Mites Harvest Mites

Chiggers scientific name: Trombiculidae, aka harvest lice, red bugs or harvest mites, are found in every state in the United States but are more of a nuisance in the southern and Midwestern states, aided by the constant heat and humidity.

Chiggers belong to the arachnid family , which means that theyre related to spiders. Like spiders, they cant fly and also have eight legs.

Chiggers are deceivingly colored, in warm tones such as red, orange, yellow & straw and, up close, resemble a cross between an extremely small spider and an extremely small crab. The red version should not be confused with clover mites, which are also red.

Chigger larvae emerge in their larval form from their shells about a week after theyre laid. The only parasitic form in the life stages of a chigger is the juvenile form/larvae which has six legs when in its larval stage, growing an additional pair once they mature into nymphs and adult mites. Only the larvae will feed on hosts.

Chiggers are barely visible, measuring merely 1/150th of an inch, excluding their eight legs, and while this means that theyre generally impossible to see with the naked eye , its certainly not impossible to feel their bite!

These digestive enzymes then break down the host tissue/your skin cells, so they can suck them up as food.

This saliva, which dissolves skin, is the reason behind the painful welts left behind on your skin after chiggers burrow their way in.

Keeping Chiggers Off Of You

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Eliminate Their Preferred Habitat From Your Yard

To prevent a chigger infestation, mow the lawn often, pull out weeds from the landscaping, and rake up leafy areas to get rid of humid spots and cover. A chigger infestation accumulates at the base of tall grass and waits for potential hosts to pass by so they can attach themselves.

Straw piles, wood chips, mulch, tall gardens, tall grass, shady areas, and thick vegetation conceal chiggers and should be handled as hot spots if they cant be completely avoided. To prevent a chigger habitat, you can use purchased compost or hardwood mulch for your garden instead of pine needles which are like home to chiggers.

Don’t Worry The Welts Won’t Hurt You

Unlike ticks, chiggers in the United States don’t transmit any known diseases. The nymphs and adults don’t even bother humans either, choosing to feast on plant material and other insect eggs instead. So although they’re annoying and uncomfortable, those red bumps won’t last forever.

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How To Prevent Bites

When you spend time outdoors in grassy areas, use an insect repellent that has DEET or wear clothing treated with an insecticide like permethrin. As you put on bug spray, pay special attention to areas where chiggers might travel from clothing to skin, like cuffs, necklines, and the top edges of socks.

Some studies show that natural sprays may help keep chiggers away. Try ones that have oils made from citronella, tea tree, jojoba, eucalyptus, geranium, or lemon grass.

And of course, dont make yourself an easy target for a hungry chigger. Wear long sleeves and long pants, with your pant legs tucked into long socks.

These simple tips lower your odds of getting chigger bites. Then you can enjoy the great outdoors itch-free!

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How To Treat Chigger Bites

The bites may appear as red welts, blisters, pimples, or a rash. Despite what you might have heard, you should not cover them with clear nail polish, gasoline, alcohol, bleach, or turpentine. Any chiggers are long gone, so you would not be smothering the pests.

Try to avoid scratching since that can lead to an infection. To relieve the itching, take an antihistamine and apply calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream. You could also spread an antiseptic cream to protect against infection.

A bath with baking soda or oatmeal is soothing. However, avoid overly hot water. In fact, a cool shower or cold compress may lessen the itching. If the itching persists for several days, or you think you might have an infection, see a doctor.

Chigger control options abound, from maintaining your lawn to spraying a repellent or insecticide. To protect yourself from these pests, follow precautions like wearing long pants in tall grass and showering when you get inside.

Repel or kill chiggers in your yard to make use of your outdoor space without worrying about chigger bites. Discover how to get rid of chiggers in your yard to increase your chances of enjoying a chigger-free summer.

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Did You Get Rid Of Your Chigger Problem

Well, thats about it!

I hope this bug guide really did help you out and you benefited from it. If you have any other questions, please leave a comment below and Ill check it out.

Be as detailed you can be for a better and more accurate response.

Or if youve dealt with chiggers before, share your words of wisdom and help someone else in need!

Lastly, if this guide has helped you, let me know! Your comments are what keep me going to write these for the public! Share it with a friend =]!

Thanks for reading!

How To Get Rid Of Chiggers In Your South Florida Yard

Have you recently seen tiny red bugs on your lawn or your clothes? Unfortunately, you may be suffering from chiggers in your grass. While chigger bites are not dangerous, they can cause red bumps that lead to intense and uncomfortable itching. If you own a property in South Florida and are interested in learning more about these tiny red bugs and how to get rid of chiggers in your yard, keep reading. Well cover everything you need to know about these insects and how to get rid of chiggers from your property.

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