Chigger Control: How To Get Rid of Chiggers

This page is a general chigger control guide. Using the products and methods suggested, you will get control of chiggers. Follow this guide and use the recommended products, and we guarantee 100% control of chiggers.

Chiggers are common issues faced by homes and residences and are usually felt before they are seen. Chiggers are tiny pests that are the larvae stage of red harvest mites. They can vary in color from orange to red and are extremely small, about 1/150th to 1/120th of an inch in length.

Chiggers are most commonly found in areas overgrown with vegetation, such as tall grasses, and shady, humid areas near bodies of water. Chiggers usually attach themselves to animals like rodents, birds, livestock, and even humans if they happen to pass by.

Chiggers don’t transmit diseases, but their bites alone can be irritating and will cause excessive itching and scratching. If you are dealing with irritating chiggers on your property, follow along to learn what you can do to eliminate them.

Identification

Many small insects can bite you, especially when walking through tall grassy areas such as ticks and fleas, so knowing exactly which pest is important. Below are some characteristics that set chiggers apart.

• Adult chiggers have 8 legs, while nymph chiggers have six legs.
• When viewed up close with a magnifying glass, you will see that they are bright red, which makes them stand out if they are walking on a surface or a plant. 
• Chigger bites appear in the form of itchy bright pink bumps that can form clusters on the skin.

Inspection

Before you can carry out chigger treatment, you need to figure out the “hot spots” of your home where chiggers are present. During the inspection, you will search for these areas in your home.

Where To Inspect

Most infestations occur outdoors, so search your yard, landscaping, yard debris, leaf litter, and woodpiles. In particular, look around the shady areas with bushes, tall grass, and shrubs.

What To Look For

Try to look closer for chiggers themselves, which can be difficult because they are so tiny. Usually, they hide in these shrubs or on the tips of tall grass, waiting for a host to pass by. If you have pets and/or a dog house, search near their quarters since chiggers need a host to survive.

A good inspection technique is to wear long white socks and walk through these areas of your yard to see if any chiggers attach themselves to your socks. Once you have identified these “hot spots,” you can move forward with treatment.

Treatment

Prior to applying chemicals, remember to read all product labels, follow the application instructions on these labels, and wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to stay safe.

To treat chiggers, you will need a combination of indoor and outdoor treatment products to attack the chiggers in your yard and the ones who have found their way indoors.

Outdoors, conduct a broadcast treatment and barrier treatment around your home's perimeter, and indoors, you will want to focus on cracks and crevices. Supreme IT Insecticide is a product that can cover both indoors and outdoors. 

Step 1: Outdoor Treatment with Supreme IT

Outdoors, Supreme IT will be used to create an insecticidal barrier around the perimeter of your structure and as broadcast treatment (all over your yard) that will kill, repel, and prevent chiggers from touching your structure or yard.

Determine how much Supreme IT you will need to mix in your sprayer by measuring the square footage of your yard and property. You can do this by measuring the length and width of the treatment area in feet, then multiplying them together (length X width = square footage).

Apply 1 ounce of Supreme IT with a gallon of water to treat 1,000 square feet.

You will then do a perimeter treatment by spraying 3 feet up and 3 feet out from the foundation of your structure. Apply in this manner all around your structure, spraying window frames, door frames, eaves, soffits, cracks and crevices, and electrical/plumbing penetrations.

Next, you will do a broadcast treatment, preferably with a hose-end sprayer for convenience. Apply Supreme IT via the fan spray nozzle setting for uniform coverage and apply all over your yard by starting at the back of the lawn and making your way to the front while also spraying landscaping, ornamentals, and the “hot spots” where you have identified chiggers. 

Do not let people or pets enter areas treated until 2 to 4 hours have passed.

Step 2: Indoor Treatment with Supreme IT

Even though it is rare, sometimes chiggers can be found inside homes. Use Supreme IT to focus on cracks and crevices where chiggers may be hiding, such as baseboards, crawl spaces, around doors and windows, and similar areas.

Step 3: Vacuum Your Home

Chiggers indoors often hide in your carpets and furniture upholstery. Use a vacuum with variable suction options to get rid of chiggers from your carpets and furniture, using the necessary attachments for under sofa cushions and other hard-to-vacuum areas. After completing the vacuuming, immediately throw away the vacuum bag or wash out your vacuum canister with hot soapy water to kill the chiggers inside.

Prevention

After eliminating the chigger infestation, you want to make sure they don't come back.

• There are many things you can do to prevent chiggers but start by always taking a shower and washing and drying your clothes on high heat when coming back from a camping trip or if you have visited tall brush and grassy areas. Clean your yard, and get rid of yard debris, leaf litter, and woodpiles.
• Mow your grass frequently, keep the grass from growing tall, and limit shady areas by trimming back shrubs and brush. Finally, spray Supreme IT during late spring to early summer as a preventative broadcast and perimeter treatment. This treatment will keep chiggers off your lawn in the season when they are most active.
• If you have suffered from chigger bites, there are ways to soothe the itching they cause. Chigger bites could quickly turn into infections and may cause fever if action is not taken. Some options include medication like Diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Additionally, take oral antihistamines, corticosteroid creams, or over-the-counter anti-itch lotions like calamine lotion, Benzocaine ointment, and hydrocortisone to relieve the itch from chigger bites.

Key Takeaways

What Are Chiggers?

• Chiggers are a tiny, hard-to-see parasitic pest that is known for bloodsucking bites and frequent yards where there is lots of shade.
• The bites from chiggers cause itching, hardened skin, and red bumps in the form of blisters, hives, or welts.

How To Get Rid of Chiggers In Your Home and Heal Chigger Bites

• Treat chiggers on your property with a broadcast treatment and perimeter barrier treatment of Supreme IT Insecticide outdoors, and crack and crevice treatments indoors.
• You can soothe chigger bites with the help of various over-the-counter anti-itch medications and creams.

Preventing Chigger Reinfestation

• Spray Supreme IT in late spring and early summer all over your yard to prevent and repel chiggers from your property during their most active season.
• You can also mow your grass short, reduce shady areas and clear up leaf litter to modify the environment and make your yard less conducive to chigger activity.