Chiggers Are Everywhere in Michigan - and Boy, Do They Bite

I’ve heard enough about ticks, mosquitoes, and stinkbugs...but there’s another critter that could be even more annoying. The scientific name is Neotrombicula Autumnalis; they are also called berry bugs, red bugs, and a host of other names. But these pesky critters are best known as ‘chiggers’.

Chiggers seem to live everywhere during the summer months. I remember swimming in the Huron River and emerging with a mass of chigger bites on my legs, back, arms, and stomach. These little micro-beasts are nasty...and make you itch like crazy.

How many times have you had an unbearable itching under your sock, or beneath your belt on your waist? It's probably due to chigger bites.

Get our free mobile app

These things are so small, that you can see them with the help of a magnifying glass. However, those are the baby chiggers – the only ones that bite. You can see adult chiggers; they are usually bright red and look like ticks with eight legs.

They act just like ticks: they cling to weeds and grass and wait for you to walk by then latch on.

Doesn’t matter where in the world you go – chiggers are everywhere, in every country. Fields, grass, woods, rivers, lakes...and in your yard. When the temperature gets below 42 degrees, the threat of chiggers goes away.

When chiggers find a tasty spot on your body, they’ll bite, pierce the skin, and inject spit that turns your skin cells all mushy...this is what they eat. After several days they may get full – when they do, they drop off your body. These little SOB’s will latch onto your pets as well.

If you have more than one bite, then guess what? It’s not just one chigger. Chiggers can only bite you once...so you probably have a number of them feeding on you.

Welcome to summer.