Birding isn’t exactly a dangerous activity, but there are a few hazards birders should be aware of. The itching on my leg—courtesy of my first chigger bite of the year—reminds me of one.
You hear a lot of stories about chiggers that are absolutely untrue—for example, that they will burrow under your skin and eat their way around in there for a while until they come out again. Unfortunately, the truth isn’t much better than the stories. Chiggers are a type of mite whose larvae feed parasitically on a variety of critters, including humans. The larvae insert their mouthparts into a skin pore or hair follicle and inject digestive enzymes which break down tissue. Their bites produce small, reddish welts on the skin accompanied by intense itching. Since the things are so small they can’t be seen without a magnifying glass, you don’t know you’ve gotten into them until the bites appear (see photo).
A chigger bite.
Chiggers inhabit grassy or brushy areas, often near water or wetlands, and not necessarily tall grass either—they are occasionally picked up on mowed paths. In the United States, they are most abundant in the southeast, the south, and the midwest. Great birding areas are often rife with chiggers; Cape May County, NJ; Florida; and the Texas Coast are three areas that come to mind as chigger havens. I have not encountered chiggers in northern or western mountainous areas, and they do not inhabit deserts.
If you’ve never encountered a chigger take my word for it, you don’t want to. In the northern portion of their range chigger larvae are most abundant in June, but farther south they are multi-brooded and so can be present throughout the year.
Here are some precautions that must be taken to avoid chiggers:
1. Avoid tall grass and brushy areas; stay on gravel, dirt, paved, or short-mowed grass.
2. Tuck your pants into your socks or, even better, into knee-high rubber boots.
3. Spray your shoes, socks, and pant legs with insect repellant —paying special attention to any clothing openings such as the waist and cuffs. Use products containing either DEET or Permethrin. DEET is somewhat effective, while Permethrin is extremely effective but must ONLY be used on clothing, not skin. Permethrin will also last through several clothes washings.
4. Keep moving when you are in chigger habitat—the worst cases occur when you linger where many chiggers are present.
5. If you’ve been in chigger country, transfer your clothing directly to the washing machine and wash with hot, soapy water. Chiggers will survive cold water washing. Alternately, they will abandon clothing hung in hot sunshine for several hours.