Chiggers.

Earlier this week, NBC5 reported chiggers in North Texas is the worst in 30 years.

So what does this mean for your kids?

The truth is mainly annoyance. Let’s take a look at what you should know about chiggers and dispel some of the myths you may have heard about these pesky little arachnids.

1. Chiggers burrow into your skin and need to be suffocated.

Chiggers attach very lightly to skin when they bite. They use piercing mouthparts to inject digestive enzymes into their host. This allows them to feed off the host’s skin cells. It’s the reaction to these enzymes that causes the itching and irritation.

2. Use nail polish to get rid of them.

Light brushing or a shower easily remove the chiggers, there’s no need to apply nail polish or another cream to suffocate the chiggers. Once your child has been bitten, treatment is aimed at treating the symptoms and can include oral antihistamines or calamine lotion.

3. Chiggers can transmit diseases like mosquitos and ticks.

Chiggers only barely pierce the skin and do not ingest or transmit blood-borne illnesses. They are super annoying but do not carry the risk of transmitting infections like mosquitoes and ticks. The most common infection after a chigger bite would be a local infection caused by itching.

4. Chiggers can cause multiple bites and can spread from person to person.

Once a chigger bites and detaches, it quickly dies. They can’t spread from person to person or even bite you multiple times along the way. When multiple kids get chigger bites, it’s likely because they were playing in the same area. Clusters of chigger bites usually occur around the waistband and sock line because that is the environment that they love-but the bites are caused by multiple chiggers.

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