It’s chigger season here in NJ. For the most part I tend to ignore insects and other potentially annoying critters (mites, ticks, flies and the like) when I’m out in the field, which is not a particularly wise thing to do. I do take some precautions, such as wearing high-topped hiking boots, having long pants and socks that have been sprayed with permethrin, having some Cutters handy, and showering immediately after returning home. But still occasionally I come home with embedded ticks or with chigger bites, with the attitude that it comes with the territory…it’s part of the risk of being outside.
But there is no need to stay indoors just because these pests are around. I’ve started taking Jeanine’s advice, and now put a strip of scotch tape on my bins in case ticks or chiggers are found crawling on my pants. Today that strategy came in very handy, as Jeanine and then I found chiggers crawling around calf-high on our pants. Ticks are small, but they are often large enough to remove with our fingers, while chiggers are far too tiny and numerous to remove individually if they are spotted on our clothing. Here’s where the Scotch tape comes in. After simply brushing my pants repeatedly with the sticky side of the scotch tape or touching it to the barely-visible chiggers, there was nearly no empty space as the tape became covered with a couple hundred chiggers.
What did it look like? Here’s just a portion of that tape. Judge for yourself, but I suggest putting some Scotch tape on your bins in case you find yourself in a similar situation. It works well for ticks too.
Here’s just a portion of the scotch tape that was used to clear my pants of chiggers today. I count 171 chiggers sticking to this part of the tape. I can only imagine how much scratching and agony was saved by this little piece of tape.
Just place a small strip of tape in an inconspicuous location on the underside of your bins. You won’t even notice that it is there, and nobody will see it, but you’ll be prepared when you see some chiggers or ticks crawling on your pants.