chiggers

Who knew that chigger was an actual word, and that it's the name of a bug? Yeah, me neither - until I was warned against them on the way to Kentucky. Apparently they thrive in areas with alot of wood, which includes the wood house we were staying in, and the wooden bunk beds we were sleeping in, and the wood we were working with all week. Go figure.


According to Wikipedia, a chigger

"is also called scrub mite, red mite and several other names, and they are found throughout temperate and tropical zones; the name chigger originated as a corruption of chigoe, but the harvest mite is what is most commonly called a chigger in North America. Chiggers do not burrow into the skin and do not suck blood. They attach to the host, inject digestive enzymes into the bite wound, and then suck up the digested tissue. Warm, rainy days make these parasitic and predatory mites reproduce into large populations. Once the ground temperature is regularly above 60°F, the harvest mite lays eggs, and “chigger season” is underway. This season typically begins in April and ends in the early autumn/first “frost.” Chiggers do not like sunlight or humidity. During the wet season, chiggers are usually found in tall grass and other vegetation. During dry seasons, chiggers are most found underneath brush and shady areas."

Now I'm home and covered in bug bites on every conceivable part of my body and I really have no idea if it's from 'skeeters, spiders, or from an attack in the night by a chigger. Can you imagine explaining that to someone? "Oh, yeah - you see that massive raised area on my leg right there? It's chiggers." Really? Really?