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9 Effective Remedies for Chigger Bites (You Have at Home)

September 6, 2016 by Katie Wells
9 Effective Remedies for Chigger Bites
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • What Are Chiggers?
  • Chigger Bites Are Not Bites at All...+−
    • Symptoms of Chigger Bites
    • Our Experience With Chiggers
    • Remedies That Don't Work
  • Natural Remedies for Chigger Bites+−
    • 1. A Hot Shower
    • 2. Baking Soda Scrub
    • 3. Rub Salt in the Wound
    • 4. Or Spray It On
    • 5. Castor Oil
    • 6. Diatomaceous Earth
    • 7. Natural Itch Cream
    • 8. Cooling Aloe Vera
    • 9. Magnesium Baths
  • How to Never Get Chigger Bites Again

Ticks, chiggers, and lice… oh my!

These critters are some of our least favorite, and for good reason.

Imagine for a moment that there was a tiny monster from the same family as scorpions and spiders. It was so tiny, in fact, that you could barely see it without a microscope. Yet, this tiny creature was capable of causing insanity-inducing itching by spitting on your skin.

These creatures exist and while the name “chigger bites” are a misnomer, these horrific little creatures can certainly cause intense itching with their spit. Read on to find out what you can do to avoid them or get rid of them (and the old nail polish trick won’t help!).

What Are Chiggers?

Their scientific name is Trombiculidae or trombiculid mites. You may hear them referred to as chiggers, harvest mites, mowers mites, harvest lice, red bugs, berry bugs and a host of other names. They are so tiny that you almost can’t see them without a magnifying glass or microscope. Chiggers tend to congregate in shady areas with a lot of vegetation and can be found in fresh cut grass, tall weeds, overgrown and wooded areas.

One female can lay hundreds of eggs, and once hatched, they all tend to stay in the same area. For this reason, you may encounter hundreds of chiggers in one general area and not find any just a few yards away. Full grown, these tiny mites (that are cousins of scorpions and spiders), measure only 1/150th of an inch, making them very difficult to see or avoid.

If you’ve ever had a run-in with these little guys, you are probably well aware of the uncomfortable affects they can cause. They leave itchy welts sometimes called chigger bites, though in reality, they don’t bite at all.

Chigger Bites Are Not Bites at All…

The itchy welts left behind by these little red mites are commonly called chigger bites, though they aren’t actually bites at all.

A chigger larvae can attach itself to a human host, though it isn’t biting. It may latch on to the skin, which a person won’t even feel due to its small size. Contrary to many assumptions, don’t lay an egg in the skin or even bite the skin.

Instead, chiggers drill microscopic holes into the skin with their mouth and then secrete specialized salivary enzymes (aka- spit) onto the skin. See… not technically a bite (I know, I know, too-may-toe, to-mah-toe).

These enzymes cause the skin to break down, so the chiggers can essentially slurp up the decaying skin through a straw-like tube. Disgusted? I was too.

Symptoms of Chigger Bites

Many insects and plants can cause an itchy red rash so it can be tough to know if it is actually chiggers or something else. Here’s what to look for to know if you’ve been attacked by these pesky larvae:

  • Initial itching in areas that may have been exposed to chiggers in tall grass, woods or shady areas
  • Chiggers tend to target more delicate skin around ankles, waist, groin, and behind the knees
  • The itchy blisters are most common around the waist and lower legs, as these are the easiest for chiggers to reach
  • What starts as itching soon becomes red bumps that can look like small blisters
  • These itch intensely for several days before crusting over and may have a scab for several weeks
  • The initial itching may be bad enough to keep you up at night (I can vouch for this!)

Our Experience With Chiggers

I vaguely remember getting chiggers a few times as a kid, but we recently had an experience with them that trumped any of my past experiences.

On our family camping trip, all of our kids were exposed to chiggers. They didn’t notice them the first day, but by the next morning, their legs were covered in itchy red welts.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal, as chiggers aren’t dangerous and don’t transmit disease (that we know of). But the itching was so bad that it kept the kids up at night and I was afraid they would end up with scars all over their legs from scratching.

Since I was hoping to eventually sleep again, I started researching ways to get rid of these itchy bumps. I even called a local entomologist for some professional recommendations.

Remedies That Don’t Work

Thanks to my six more-than-willing test subjects, I discovered natural remedies that work for chigger bites (and many that don’t). But first, here’s what didn’t work:

  • Nail polish– I couldn’t find where it originated, but the common advice given for chiggers is to paint the bites with nail polish as this “suffocates” the chigger. As I now know, this doesn’t work because it isn’t a bite and nothing is remaining in the skin at this point. At best, this doesn’t work and at worst, we are putting toxic nail polish directly into an open wound.
  • Aspirin– We didn’t actually try this remedy, and I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not without a doctor’s oversight. I found no evidence that this works and since substances can be absorbed through the skin, this could actually be dangerous to kids, pregnant women, or anyone with a medical condition.

Natural Remedies for Chigger Bites

If you’ve ever experienced the awful itching caused by chigger larvae, you know that you’ll do almost anything to make it stop. Thanks to our recent chigger infestation, we had plenty of opportunities to test natural remedies for the itching. These are the remedies that actually worked:

1. A Hot Shower

The best way to stop chiggers is to get rid of them before they attach and start spitting on the skin. This avoids the itching completely. I think this is also the reason that the baby and I were least affected by chiggers. It can take chiggers a few hours to find a place to latch on to skin and start drilling. If you can remove them during this window, you can often avoid the problem completely.

Our family was exposed to chiggers on a recent camping trip. We were camping close to town, so when our two youngest kids got grumpy, I brought them home, gave them a bath and we slept in our own beds. I also showered that night, and in the morning, all three of us all had only 1-2 bites each. The rest of the kids and my husband stayed overnight and had dozens of itchy bumps.

If you think you may have been exposed to chiggers, a hot shower within the first hour or so can help remove them from the skin. Obvious other steps like using soap and scrubbing the skin can help too.

2. Baking Soda Scrub

These work best shortly after exposure but can help even once the severe itching sets in. It is also super simple. Just make a paste of equal parts baking soda and water and rub on skin in the shower. Leave on for a few seconds before showering off.

Fair warning- this will sting like crazy, but it really helps stop the itch and beats staying up all night itching.

3. Rub Salt in the Wound

Just like the baking soda solution, this will sting, but it helps. The traditional advice is to mix some salt into some vapor-rub. I’d recommend using a natural or homemade vapo-rub salve instead (like this one) to avoid the petroleum byproducts though.

The theory is that the menthol in the vapo-rub helps calm the itching and the salt helps neutralize the spit causing the itch.

Whatever the science, this seemed to work the best. I mixed some Real Salt into my pre-made vapor rub and it offered some relief for the kids.

4. Or Spray It On

A salt water and herbal tea spray also seemed to help. I made a strong chamomile tea and added a few tablespoons of natural salt. I kept this in a glass spray bottle in the fridge and it offered some cooling and calming relief for itching.

5. Castor Oil

This is an old remedy that the entomologist suggested. It seemed to work, though it wasn’t the most effective remedy we tried. If you have castor oil around it could be worth a try though. We dabbed small amounts on the bumps and it did offer some itching relief.

6. Diatomaceous Earth

A remedy I tried before I realized that chigger bites are not actually a chigger larvae embedded under the skin as is often claimed. Still, this worked remarkably well. My theory is that it does kill any remaining chiggers and dries out the bumps to reduce the itching.

I’m also now using this as a preventative measure. Diatomaceous earth has many uses and can kill many small pests naturally. I’ll be sprinkling it in our socks and on our boots next time we camp!

7. Natural Itch Cream

Many sources also recommend using Calamine lotion to calm the itch. I didn’t have this on hand but did have my homemade natural itch cream, which worked like a charm. Either of those should help calm the itch.

8. Cooling Aloe Vera

Mix 1/4 cup aloe vera (fresh or gel) and a drop of peppermint essential oil. Rub over skin to soothe the itching.

9. Magnesium Baths

We found that all of my detox baths seemed to calm the itching, but a plain magnesium or epsom salt bath worked best. Add 1 cup of epsom salt or magnesium flakes to a warm bath. Don’t have those? Try just adding some baking soda instead of making the paste above.

How to Never Get Chigger Bites Again

All of that insatiable itching could be avoided by not getting chigger bites (spit) in the first place. My first gut reaction was to ban my children from camping and hiking until first frost. Some research led to a more balanced solution and we are taking these steps to avoid another run-in with chiggers:

  1. Wearing long pants and long socks to help prevent chiggers from getting on the body at all
  2. Liberally using natural bug spray any time we are outside until first frost. (Apparently, the first frost kills most chiggers)
  3. Sprinkling diatomaceous earth on shoes and socks
  4. Taking hot showers immediately after potential exposure

Ever had chigger bites? How did you survive?

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder and CEO of Wellness Mama and Co-Founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a wife and mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

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Reader Interactions

Discussion (88 Comments)

  1. Alisa

    September 9, 2016 at 3:30 PM

    I get bitten through my clothes so tucking in stuff doesn’t help. My sister-in-law’s eyes are trained to see them. She uses a Q-tip and menthylated spirits to scoop them out then she crushes them between her nails. I don’t have the patience or skill to swipe away at the bumps with a Q-tip.

    Reply
  2. Linda Sand

    September 7, 2016 at 8:04 PM

    I’ve used the nail polish technique for most of my 69 years and it always worked for me. Must be a mind over matter thing since you say it can’t work. You have to make a larger spot of nail polish than you think you need, though, and you can’t move until it sets because you don’t want it to crack. We always use clear nail polish; don’t know if that makes a difference.

    Reply
    • Lea

      September 8, 2016 at 10:33 AM

      Strange. We tried it multiple times when forst we moved to Texas, and it didn’t work, actually made it itch worse….

      Reply
  3. Diane Thompson

    September 7, 2016 at 7:12 AM

    Best article I’ve ever read on chiggers, from a chigger magnet! First I got them, I wanted to cut off my feet. Everything in the article works, I’ve tried them all. The only way I can avoid them is to wear tall rubber boots.

    Reply
    • Kathy

      September 11, 2016 at 7:56 AM

      I have used the hot shower method with scrubbing with a luffah sponge within a few hours of exposure. It really does help to dislodge the chiggers and the shower washes them away. I usually only get 1-2 bites when I do that. Then I use a cream that contains menthol and peppermint essential oil and that helps a lot with the itching. And , of course, if you don’t scratch them, the welts decrease in size sooner. I happen to live near Katie and the chiggers have been horrendous this year. Some of my plantings have grown quite large in my shady back yard and they are so infested with chiggers that I have to wear natural bug spray each time I go near them, such as to get to the outside water faucet. So just watering anything in my yard has become a production. But the methods I mentioned do work!

      Reply
  4. Brittany

    September 6, 2016 at 7:02 PM

    I deal with chiggers all the time in TX. The best prevention is to tuck your jeans into your boots. Then dust your boots and lower leg area with sulpher powder. I have found a lot of itch relief using purification essential oil- it’s like instant itch relief.

    Reply
  5. Carrie

    September 6, 2016 at 5:28 PM

    Ugh. I hate chiggers. We had them for the first time this year and in our yard (Cincinnati, OH). We can’t find exactly where they are, but it definitely put a damper on summer fun. I can vouch for the hot shower working the best for the itch. We also found soaking a small cloth in a vinegar tincture with four theives herbs from bulk herb store and tucking the cloth into our waistband kept them away. Our main issue was them in our underwear areas.

    Reply
    • cassandra

      June 23, 2018 at 1:10 PM

      Wherever u think they could be get a white piece of paper and put it where u think they could be give it a few minutes and if u see them u will know

      Reply
  6. Darlene

    September 6, 2016 at 4:51 PM

    Sulfur (not Sulfa) powder in a sock and applied to outside of clothing, on socks and waist bands. In Girl Scouts, we just banged the sock against our bodies so the sulfur poofed onto our clothing. We also tucked our pant legs into our socks. Looked weird, but it kept not only chiggers, but ticks and mosquitoes as well.

    Reply
  7. Mary

    September 6, 2016 at 3:26 PM

    When I was a kid in TN we would occasionally get a chigger bite if we went out into the fields to pick blackberries or black raspberries, but 5 years ago I moved to Missouri as an adult, and I have never seen anything like this. The chiggers and ticks are horrendous! You can hardly walk outside without getting bites (even in short yard grass). On the upside, because chiggers in the next stage eat mosquito larvae, we have very pleasant evenings on the deck.

    What has worked the best for me is a homemade bug spray with lots of carrier oil (almond, castor, jojoba, etc) included (a Wellness Mama variation). The oil together with the essential oils seems to stop them from latching on. Once you get the bites, however, stopping the itching is so hard. We’ve tried magnesium baths, and they did help. I will try the salt/baking soda tips next time.

    Reply
  8. Lea

    September 6, 2016 at 3:20 PM

    We live in the chigger capital of the world, central Texas!
    As a homeschooling, homesteading mom of 6 ages 13-4 living here for 12 years, here’s what works for us:
    1)-Loose clothing and mud boots. The girls wearing skirts get less than the boys wearing jeans as chiggers like tight spots. Mud boots will nearly guarantee protection if you’re not sitting in the grass.
    2) Mow your grass every 4-5 days instead of once a week! They don’t like to be in areas that are disturbed often.
    3) Spray or apply any all-natural deodorant or bug protection that has any Essential oils in it on your body and your underclothes BEFORE going into chigger territory. I have used about every kind I’ve ever had diluted appropriately, and they work. But this, hands down, is my favorite and it actually just smells like Vanilla! It’s only $6 at our local store, but here is the Amazon link:
    Bug Protector Natural Bug Spray, Deet Free Insect Repellent, Lemongrass – Geranium – Peppermint – Cinnamon Oils, 8-Ounce Pump Spray https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EXSPZZY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=wellnessmama-20&linkId=e4f65314934a5f5a72ef8ff15f6c53be&language=en_US
    4) Got “bites”? The prevention also works as a cure! But Lavender essential oil with tallow balm or other carrier oils or Aloe Vera work especially well.
    Just my .02 from hard earned experience and many sleepless nights 😉

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      June 14, 2017 at 3:38 PM

      Yay! Thank you! We are in San Antonio, and chiggers are horrible here!! Thanks for taking the time to comment.

      Reply
    • Sheri

      June 14, 2017 at 6:55 PM

      Lea, Thank you so much!!! We are homeschoolers too! We have 5 children ages 12-4. 🙂 We have been in TX for five years. We recently moved to our 5 acre homestead and we are miserable! It’s like an epidemic of chiggers!!!. We’ve had to deal with rats and a snake and a few spiders. Well, we can see those so no big deal But those darn chiggers! Relentless! we have not done enough prevention so, I am copying this and printing it out right now! Thank you!

      Reply
  9. calle

    September 6, 2016 at 2:37 PM

    Wow thanks

    I have not had them since childhood.
    Wonder if they are more prevalent in some areas.
    Or that so many spray their lawns now.

    Strange as we hike in the wilderness for the last 12 years and have never met a chigger.

    We do have wildlife we don’t want to meet, but if some move in we will be ready.
    And we always have buckets of DE around for gardens.

    Sad to say mom painted us with clean nail polish, she did her best.

    Thanks again

    Reply
    • Erline

      September 17, 2016 at 9:21 PM

      I still use clear nail polish. For some reason I have had a problem with chiggers in my yard after 10 years here. We had a mild winter and that probably had something to do with it here in Arkansas. Every time I walk through the front yard, I get 1-3 bites even after spraying the yard. They are a determined bunch of bugs.

      Reply
    • Ellie

      June 5, 2017 at 7:14 PM

      Thank you! Love your blog! The aloe gel and peppermint oil worked wonders for my 2 yr old!

      Reply
  10. Cindy

    September 6, 2016 at 2:33 PM

    Chiggers – those itchy tiny critters! We had them in NE Texas. I don’t recall ever having a chigger problem in So. California. We used to soak in a hot bath with a few tbsp. of Pine Sol. It smells nice, and I guess the chiggers couldn’t stand it. We tended to notice welts where elastic or tight bands encircled the skin (usually at the waist). I only recently learned about the value of Epsom salts soaks. Wonderful stuff. A few drops of essential oils makes it oh so pleasant. Thanks Katie.

    Reply
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