The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1914-09-17
CH|GGER A SPIDER?
Misguided In Its Endeavor to Live
1t Attacks Humans.
Their Papas and Mammals Are About
the Size Of a PInhead and In
habit Old stumps and Logs
In the Woods.

In singing of the bandar-log--the
monkey folk of the Indian 1ungle-Mr
Kipling paid an indirect tribute to the
flea. Comes now Uncle Sam and his
entomologists to pay direct tribute,
along with compact biography, 70
the chigger-a more or less distant
relative of the flea.
Picnicker, golfer, camper, farmer,
townsman In the country for day,
all have entertained the belief that the
chigger originated somewhere near
home; that be was indigenous to the
prairie and the woods of the middle
West. But no, says the government
entomologist, the chigger Is a pest OF
passage, who was observed In Europe
In 1884 and probably migrated 10
America from the West Indies. (Tne
immigration laws certainly need regu-
latingD
From the West Indies, the chigger
migrated to the Gulf coast. He set out
to possess the landau object which
he speedily accomplished, as all the
wide and troubled domain from Tampa
to Galveston will attest. Then the
Alexander chigger sought new worlds
to conquer, and found them In the
north-up the Atlantic seaboard to
New Jersey, up the Mississippi river
to Missouri and Illinois. He left New
England unvisited.
The chigger is really an embryo that
never got out of the chrysalis stage.
He started out to be a red spider"
and stopped at being pest. His papa
and mamma are "red spiders" about
the size of a pinhead and bright red'
They inhabit old stumps and logs In
the woods and feed on vegetable
diet. But their offspring are divided
into two classes-the bloodthirsty ana
the non-bloodthirsty.
The non-bloodthirsty like well be-
haved child, heeds mothers advice and
dimes on grass and leaves and old
woods. He grows up to be red
spider" But the bloodthirsty little
cuss hunts up quadruped or biped
when he feels hungry and burrows.
He has no control over his appetite,
says the entomologlst, and gorges HIM
self Ergo, he dies. He is the CHG
ger. He is so small that he can
scarcely be seen by the naked eye.
OF course, he doesn't rear a family,
in consequence. But his non-blood-
thirsty brothers and sisters will reach
years Of maturity and acquire or
spring. And among their children VIII
be chiggers So the race is kept up.
All the world and his wife and chill
dren know how the chigger operates;
burrowing under the skin and staying
there. Then the little red spot ap-
pears. Frantic scratching on the part
of the sufferer has been known to in
duce erysipelas and blood poisoning,
followed occasionally by death.
Uncle Sam to the rescue. Says the
bulletin of the government entomolo-
gist: IF bath be taken in hot wa
ter, or water containing salt or strong
soap, within few hours after expos
ure, no ill effects will be experienced.
After a longer exposure bath has no
effect, and direct remedies are neces-
sary. In such case apply a coollng 10
ton of strong ammonia, .bicarbonate
Of soda or common cooking soda or
salaratus.
AS preventives of attack, outward
applications of flowers of sulphur or
naphthaline are recommended. Like
wise, keep grass, weeds and useless
heritage moved as closely as possible,
exposing the chigger to the sun. In
addition, dust the grass and other
plants, after cutting, with flowers of
sulphur OF spray with diluted kerosene
emulsion mixed with sulphur. The
sulphur makes the chigger sneeze him.
self to death.
The entomologist further states that
If sheep are kept In the mite infested
regions they will disappear.