What Do Chigger Bites Look Like?

Chigger bites are one of the most common bug bites during the summer and fall months. Chiggers (Trombicula alfreddugesi), commonly known as "red bugs," are the parasitic larvae of mites. These bugs are small, about the size of a pen tip, and are normally red or orange. Chiggers typically become yellow after feeding on a host.

What do chigger bites look like? You might not even notice a chigger bite unless you have several, typically on the ankles, waist, and warm skin folds. These bites are small, red bumps or hives. Read on to learn about chigger bites, including how to identify, treat, and prevent them.

What Are Chiggers?

Chiggers are six-legged larvae with hair bodies that are normally red or orange. A chigger will typically become a yellowish color after feeding on a host. These bugs are about 0.15–0.3 millimeters (mm) in length, so you would need a magnifying glass to see them.

Humans are not a chigger's preferred host. These bugs usually feed on small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Humans can become accidental hosts if they come into contact with chiggers in areas with weeds and tall grass, usually during the summer and fall months.

Identifying Chigger Bites

You likely will not notice if one takes you as its host. The bugs will pierce your skin and inject saliva into the bite. The saliva contains a powerful digestive enzyme that essentially breaks down the affected skin, allowing the chigger to feed on it.

Where They Bite

Chiggers typically target the ankles, waist, and warm skin folds. These bugs attach to your clothing and then travel to your skin. Keep in mind that a belt or elastic waistband might prevent a chigger from accessing your skin, resulting in a cluster of these bugs on your clothing.

Symptoms

A chigger bite looks like a small, red bump or hive. You may not even notice it on your skin unless you have quite a few on your body.

"Chigger bites are actually pretty nondescript. They tend to be small, red bumps, hard-to-see, kind of welts," John Anthony, MD, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic, told Health.

Chigger bites usually cause intense itching that develops within several hours and generally subsides in a few days. The area around the bite might also become inflamed, and some people develop skin rashes. The rash will typically stop where your underwear meets your legs.

Chigger Bites vs. Other Bites

There are a few ways to distinguish between chigger bites and other common bug bites:

• Bed bug bites: These are welts that make clusters of zigzag patterns on your skin and itch. In contrast, chigger bites usually appear on skin that's near the edges of your clothes, such as your ankles and waist.
• Flea bites: Like chigger bites, flea bites are small, red bumps that itch. Chigger bites may blister or cause red or violet skin discoloration near the bite.
• Mosquito bites: These are pink or red itchy bumps that are typically larger than chigger bites, or 2–10mm.

How Do You Get Chigger Bites?

Your risk of chigger bites increases if you spend time in tall grasses and weeds, especially during the summer and fall months. Chiggers also live in outdoor spaces like berry patches and the edges of woodlands. The bugs will attach to your clothing to access your skin.

How Do You Treat Chigger Bites?

Chigger bites do not pose a significant health risk. The main concern is simply getting the inflammation and itching under control. You may develop a skin infection that requires antibiotics if itching causes breaks in your skin.

Treatments for chigger bites include:

• Apply a cold compress: This helps reduce discomfort and inflammation.
• Avoid scratching chigger bites: Try using over-the-counter (OTC) oral antihistamines or a topical anesthetic like pramoxine, which is available in gel and spray forms. Other topical anti-itch medicines include benzocaine, calamine or menthol lotion, and hydrocortisone.
• Wash your clothing: Make sure that you wash exposed clothing with hot water and dry it in a hot dryer to get rid of chiggers.

Although rare, you might require intralesional corticosteroid injections. Healthcare providers typically reserve this treatment for those with severe bites that do not respond to at-home treatments.

How Long Do Chigger Bites Last?

Chigger bite symptoms, such as itching, usually subside within 72 hours. The red bumps or hives might last as long as two weeks. Repeated exposure to chiggers may prolong symptoms.

How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites?

There are a few easy ways to lessen your risk of chigger bites, such as:

• Dress appropriately: This means wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and shoes if you are in an area where chiggers normally live.
• Place a piece of black cardboard upright in a section of your yard: Chiggers will flock to the cardboard if they live in your immediate area. You will see the bugs as tiny dots moving across the cardboard. You can then figure out the best extermination method with a licensed pest control operator.
  
• Simply keep your eyes open: Pay attention to where you walk and sit anytime you are outdoors.
• Treat your clothing with permethrin: You may consider using this insecticide if you walk to and from your backyard pool a lot or hike frequently. You can buy products that contain permethrin at outdoor gear stores. This treatment usually stays effective for a couple of washing cycles, said Dr. Anthony.
• Use a DEET-containing repellent: Make sure that your insect repellent is appropriate for the activity you have planned, Tania Elliott, MD, chief medical officer of Virtual Care at Ascension, told Health. For example, consider a bug repellent like Cutter Backwoods Repellent if you are hiking in the woods.

A Quick Review

Chigger bites, while not necessarily harmful to humans, can be severely itchy and frustrating. These bites typically look like small, red bumps or hives. Oral antihistamines and topical corticosteroids usually help reduce itching.

You can take steps to prevent chigger bites, such as being mindful in areas where chiggers live, treating your clothes with permethrin, and wearing insect repellent. Whatever you do, do not let chiggers, or any bug, prevent you from enjoying time outside. You can have a pest-free time with some awareness and preparation.