Chiggers feed on many vertebrate animals and where rodents and other wildlife are plentiful, chiggers usually abound. Heavily wooded areas throughout the south are nortorious for being chigger infested. Chiggers are active almost year round in the deep south but in general between April and October. The tiny mite then bites the skin and injects saliva into surrounding tissue. The saliva dissolves the tissue and the mite proceeds to ingest it .
Some blood is ingested but most of the fluid comes from dissolved tissue.
The saliva is a protein that irritates the skin. Itching may last for several days even after the chigger has dropped off. They must be applied to socks and over the entire outer clothing and exposed skin to be effective. Chigger bites can be soothed with baking soda pastes or a topical antihistamine lotion. A warm soapy bath will remove most chiggers but the bite continues to itch because of the irritants in the chigger s saliva.