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Chigger Season & prevention
Chiggers are warm-weather nuisances; expect them to move north with climate warming, and to have longer seasons where they now exist. (We used to get our first chigger bites in June; now it's April.)
Though they may show up in short-grass areas, especially if you lie down on the grass, they really thrive in taller grass and along fencerows, etc. We expect our first chigger bites in late spring/early summer, well after the ticks become active. The chigger season peaks in midsummer, then declines (either the body doesn't react to them as much, or there are fewer of them once it's really hot and dry, which mid-to-late summer is in Central Texas.
To prevent massive chigger bites, we wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts in the field. We spray shoes, ankles, and pants up to the knee with insect repellent, wear shirts tucked into the pants, and shower immediately after coming back in the house. (We don't tuck pants into socks because with the kind of work we're doing, they always come out, and retucking something that's been outside is a great way to get massive numbers of chiggers. A good repellent spray around the ankles appears to work just as well. Chiggers dig in where clothing is snug, as mentioned: at the sock line, beltline, along the margins of underwear, etc. NEVER remember partway through an outdoor activity that you should've tucked in your shirt... that just transfers chiggers to the area they like best--a snug fit. (Experience here--I was harvesting wild grapes with my shirt-tail out, then decided to stop on the drive back to the city for something to eat and tucked it in. Worst case of chiggers I ever had in my life.)
For the same reason, wash the clothes you wore before wearing them out again. (It's tempting, if working outdoors several times a day, to put on the same pair of jeans and save the wear and tear, and the water resources... but chiggers are quite happy to lie in wait and dig in next time. Ticks, too.)
Even those in chiggery areas usually get "chiggered" once a year, forgetting the rules or deciding "It's early enough I can get away with wearing shorts..."
