April begins Chigger and Tick season

Ahh, April! Sweet spring! Everything beautiful is busting out…flowers, buds, green leaves and warm sunshine. But the warm sunshine that wakes up the beautiful flora also wakes up some unwelcome fauna. April is the beginning of chigger and tick season here in Tennessee (snakes too, but that is another subject).

Chiggers and Ticks are part of that 8-legged scientific class called Arachnida which includes scorpions, spiders, and mites. Almost all Arachnids are carnivores and they feed mostly on pre-digested meat….in some cases that means you. Arachnids are definitely not the most popular class of animals around. I will tell you a little of what you need to know about chiggers and ticks and I will also tell you how to keep from being their next meal. Listen carefully.

First chiggers! You probably have never seen chiggers; they are extremely tiny. Without a magnifying glass they are almost impossible to see even though they are yellow to red in color. Contrary to what most people think, they do not burrow into your skin; they pierce the skin with their mouthparts and inject digestive enzymes into skin cells which they then suck up. The itchy red spots that you get are caused by your reaction to their digestive juices. As you know, chiggers usually bite in your most tender thin skin areas such as under socks and under waistbands of underwear. The good news is that chiggers are not known to transmit any diseases to humans, but the bad news is that their bites can itch intensely for a week. (Chiggerex is by far best over the counter product that I have found to ease the itch- although nothing helps completely).

Chiggers live in thick vegetation and populations are sometimes very localized. One bush might be covered with chiggers while the one right beside it might have none. That is why two golfers can step inside the woods to look for a golf ball and one gets chigger bites and one doesn’t. To avoid chiggers stay out of tall grass or brushy vegetation, especially in damp shady areas. If you get in areas like this, assume that you are going to host a herd of chiggers.

Now about ticks! The two main kinds of ticks in Tennessee are the American Dog Tick and the Lone Star Tick. Both feed on humans. Ticks are not as itchy as chiggers, but they are far from harmless. Ticks can transmit several pretty serious diseases to humans including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, and even a few more.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is more common on the Cumberland Plateau than it is in the Rocky Mountains and only North Carolina and Oklahoma have more reported cases of RMSF than Tennessee. Symptoms of RMSF can include a spotty rash, headache, abdominal pain, fever, sensitivity to light, etc. It can be very serious but it can be treated with antibiotics…the earlier the better.

Ehrlichiosis is another serious tick borne disease found around here with symptoms of headache, chills, joint aches, nausea, vomiting, etc. It may also be treated with antibiotics. Symptoms of RMSF and Ehrlichiosis typically appear 3 to 21 days after a tick bite. Definitely see a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms.

Lyme disease, although very serious in other parts of the country, is not as common around here. That doesn’t mean you can’t get it; it’s just less likely. I read somewhere that if you are diagnosed with Lyme disease in Tennessee you either got it in some other state or you need a second opinion.

OK, after all that serious and scary stuff, let’s get practical. Your chances of getting one of the bad tick transmitted diseases are very, very small. Be aware, but don’t lock yourself up in the house. Practice prevention. Avoid brushing again bushes and high grass where chiggers and ticks live. You probably won’t encounter any in your yard but if you are heading out into the thick stuff wear light colored clothing and long sleeves and tuck pants into your socks to help keep chiggers and ticks from your skin and to spot ticks before they get you. Use insect repellent like DEET on skin and Permethrin on clothes and shoes (read directions carefully). Plant based Lemon Eucalyptus is another repellent that I like.

When you get home, often a hot soapy shower with vigorous washcloth rubbing will dislodge most chiggers, since they are on your skin and not in it.

But, opposed to chiggers, ticks do burrow into your skin and suck your blood. After walking in possible tick habitat go home and check your body carefully for ticks. Both adult ticks (1/8 to 3/16 inches long) and nymphs (the size of a pinhead) feed on people. The small ones are very hard to spot but they can transmit all the same bad stuff as the adults. A number of sources say that ticks need 24 hours or more to transmit disease, so the sooner you remove any unwanted hitchhikers, the better. If one is attached to you, grasp it with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and slowly and carefully pull it out. All other methods (such as burning with a match, nail polish, etc.) are not recommended.

You can avoid most encounters with chiggers and ticks by first understanding where you might run into them, and by dressing properly and using insect repellent. Next shower and remove any chiggers and ticks when you get home and last, be aware of the symptoms of the diseases that ticks are known to carry.

April is a beautiful month. Get out and enjoy the sunshine. With a little knowledge and prevention you should be able to leave the little critters outside.