• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

To Honor and Protect the Ranching Way of Life

  • Who We Are
    • Why Join
    • Leadership
    • Staff
    • TSCRA Partners
    • FAQs
    • Newsroom
    • Sponsorships
    • Employment
  • What We Do
    • Theft and Law
    • Issues and Policy
    • Education
    • Young Cattle Raisers
    • The Cattleman Magazine
    • Disaster Relief Fund
    • Cattle Raisers Insurance
    • Cattle Raisers Trading Co
  • Events
    • Cattle Raisers Convention
    • Summer Meeting
    • Policy Conference
    • Ranch Gatherings
    • Ranching 101
  • Member Center
    • Join
    • Renew
    • Instructions
  • TSCRA Store
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Entomologist: Chigger populations seeing seasonal spike

Anyone venturing into the great outdoors this summer in Texas should be ready for chiggers. That’s the message from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist Dr. Mike Merchant in Dallas. He said reports of chiggers to AgriLife Extension offices have seen a sharp uptick in recent weeks compared with normal seasons over the last 28 years.

“If my phone calls are any indication, this appears to be a whopping chigger season,” he said, adding that unseasonably high temperatures and humidity during June have likely produced perfect conditions for chigger reproduction and higher populations in time for summer.

These nearly microscopic mites climb up a person’s legs, leaving red, itchy bites as high as the armpits and usually concentrated near the “sensitive skin areas” around the waistline. Bites are itchy for a few days and take up to two weeks to disappear.

“They’re my personal worst nightmare,” Merchant said. “The only good thing I can say about chiggers is that, as far as we know, they don’t carry disease.”

Bramble patches, woods and grassy fields are the most common places to encounter chiggers, but the pest can pose a threat even in manicured lawns under the right conditions.

“Workers in our turfgrass breeding program have annual problems with chiggers beginning around late May and early June,” Merchant said, referring to research plots at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas.

He recommends wearing long pants, tucking pant legs into socks, and using a repellent with DEET on shoes and socks. If practical, a quick shower after possible exposure to chiggers can help reduce the number and severity of bites.

More information on controlling chiggers is available at https://citybugs.tamu.edu/chigger-season.

Source: AgriLife TODAY

Written by:
kristin
Published on:
June 25, 2018

Categories: The Cattleman Now, Wildlife

Recent Posts

Texas crop progress and condition for Feb. 6

February 7, 2023

Most of the state received from trace amounts up to 3 inches of precipitation this week with areas …

Continue Reading about Texas crop progress and condition for Feb. 6

Cow-calf Corner: Is it time to re-program your cowherd? 

February 7, 2023

Mark Z. Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist What’s the …

Continue Reading about Cow-calf Corner: Is it time to re-program your cowherd? 

TSCRA Talk Episode 37: Should your ranch be an LLC?

February 7, 2023

Attorney Jim Bradbury joins TSCRA Talk host, Kristen Brown, to discuss the importance of ranching …

Continue Reading about TSCRA Talk Episode 37: Should your ranch be an LLC?

Footer

Who We Are

Why Join
Leadership
Staff
TSCRA Partners
FAQs
Newsroom
Sponsorships
Employment

What We Do

Theft and Law
Issues and Policy
Education
Young Cattle Raisers
The Cattleman Magazine
Cattle Raisers Insurance
Cattle Raisers Trading Co.
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

Information

Cattle Raisers Blog
News Releases
Bereavements
Events
Media Kit
Tip Hotline
Get Involved
Links

Membership

Membership Center
Membership Center Instructions
Join
Renew
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

PO BOX 101988
FORT WORTH, TX 76185

1-800-242-7820

© 2023 Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association; All Rights Reserved.

COPYRIGHT | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE