How To Get Rid Of Chiggers

Once you spray the vinegar and oil, use a disinfectant cloth to wipe it off. Though both of these will kill chiggers, the combo is more effective.

Get rid of Chiggers with these 12 effective and tested ways

In this article, we have covered the most searched topic about Chiggers. Let’s deep dive into How to get rid of Chiggers?

Red marks or bumps due to chigger bites are common. These bites cause a lot of tenderness and inflammation on the skin. Most of the time, people get confused while identifying the stings of red bugs. But, there are definite ways to recognize whether it is a chigger bite or not. However, it is straightforward to identify chigger stings as red.

How can I get rid of Chiggers?

Thus, how to get rid of chiggers is all that you need to know. They can be kept away with simple treatments like insecticides, sprays, medicines, etc. People must ensure that chigger mites are away from their bodies, lawn, and clothes.

Before we get ahead, let’s talk a little about Chigger Bites and what they are, and then talk about how perfect to kill them in your yard.

Chiggers gift you with some of the most irritating, burning, and itching bug bites you will receive, and unfortunately, often in some of the worst places! This is when you rightfully look for options on

If Chiggers have ever bitten you, you never want to be bitten again. If you’ve never had them, be thankful. In either case, you’ll like to learn how to get rid of chiggers and prevent them in the future.

How Can You Get Rid of Chiggers Naturally?

You’re most likely reading this because you or a close family member has Chigger Bites. First off, we’re sorry. Chigger Bites are miserable. Be sure to visit our Chigger Bite Treatment Guide for some relief!

Let’s go ahead and dispel a prevalent myth associated with Chiggers: They DO NOT embed them inside your skin.

Chiggers wait in tall grass for a host to walk by.

They jump onto the host and seek out the first section of bare skin they can find. Often Chiggers are in groups. Therefore multiple bites can occur in the same area, causing almost a rash-like appearance.

Chiggers sit on top of your skin and don’t “bite.” What they do is worse!

They tear open a tiny hole in your skin and inject their saliva into that tear. That saliva has an enzyme that begins to break down your skin’s soft tissue. Chiggers then use a straw-like appendage to “drink” up the partially digested skin.

The enzyme causes a reasonably severe allergic reaction on your skin that causes red, pimple-like bumps that itch intensely within 24 hours.

To learn the fastest way to get rid of Chiggers, you’ll need first to understand a bit about them and what they are.

Here is a quick summary:

Chiggers are the tiny larval stage of the Trombiculidae Mite. Chiggers themselves are not a particular insect, just a particular state of the Trombiculidae Mite.

Adult Trombiculidae Mites do not bite people.
Chiggers jump onto their hosts and immediately seek out the first bare area of skin they can find.
They tear open the skin and inject an enzyme into the softer skin tissue layer using their claws.
The enzyme digests the soft skin, and they feed on it for a few days, if allowed.
Chiggers then drop off, leaving behind their bites.

Chiggers are very prevalent in the Southern United States and warm areas worldwide. They prefer tall grass and woods, with some sun but not direct sunlight, and prefer damp areas with high humidity.

Chigger Bites generally take 1-3 days to appear after the Chigger drops off. Once they appear, they usually swell and become inflamed quickly. The combination of torn skin, the Chigger enzyme, and the body’s allergic reaction can cause severe itching.

Generally, multiple Chiggers jump onto a host simultaneously, and those Chiggers can often “bite” in various locations. The result is often many different bites, all close together. In severe cases, it can be hundreds of bites in multiple locations.

Chigger bites are well known for being some of the most uncomfortable and painful insect bites. Bites can last for up to 2 weeks as well.

How to kill Chiggers?

The most suitable way to get rid of chiggers on the body is to prevent getting them first.

By the time you realize you’ve had Chiggers on you, you’ve already been bitten, and the Chiggers are long gone.

Let us discuss what gets rid of chiggers. There are treatment options for your lawn, but many people get attacked by Chiggers while hiking, participating in sports events, berry picking, or even casually walking in the park. Most residential lawns get too much sun exposure and short grass to have Chiggers.

If Chiggers are on your lawn, there are treatment options you should consider. As we discuss prevention more below, getting rid of Chiggers isn’t an option for other locations, so prevention is your perfect bet. So, what kills chiggers in the house?

If you have been exposed to Chiggers, or even think you have, do the following immediately:

Remove your clothing to the laundry room, and wash it away using soap. That will get rid of Chiggers on your clothing.
Take a hot shower, and wash vigorously with soap. This will get rid of any Chiggers on your skin that remain.

If bites appear over the next 1-3 days, treat them immediately with ChiggerX or ChiggAway, anti-itch products designed explicitly for Chigger Bites. See our Chigger Bites Treatment Guide for more information.

Let us tell you, getting rid of chiggers is not tricky. Here are our 4-ways to kill Chiggers!

1 – Kill Chiggers on your Body and Clothing

If you are looking for answers on how to kill chiggers on the skin, let us tell you that, fortunately, Chiggers are not very resilient. If you’ve been in an area infested with Chiggers, immediately remove all your clothing and wash it. Immediately take a shower, and wash vigorously with soap.

If you think they might have bitten you, we recommend a warm or cool shower, as it will help reduce the swelling and irritation from the “bite” marks.

The soap in your laundry and shower will remove and kill the Chiggers on your clothing and body.

If you think you might have been bitten (and even if you aren’t sure), apply an anti-itch cream to reduce your reaction to the bites. So, if you were looking for an effective solution to getting rid of chiggers on your body, trust us, you’ll thank us later.

There are two excellent products, specifically for Chigger Bites: Natural Remedy Soap and Benadryl Itch cooling GEL; both are excellent at treating Chigger Bites. Read more in our Chigger Bites Treatment Guide.

2 – Clean up your lawn to discourage and keep Chiggers out

Before treating your yard and looking for solutions to killing chigger bites, you’ll first want to take steps to make your yard less desirable for Chiggers. Chiggers prefer tall grass, yard debris, and clutter.

3 – Kill Chiggers in your yard using a Pesticide

Do you know what insecticides kill chiggers? The most effective way to kill Chiggers is to use a commercial-grade Pesticide.

Several options work, but the most suitable products for killing Chiggers are liquid Pesticides:

Its Bug-Free Spray
Spectracide Triazicide
Ortho Bug B Gon

While granular products do work, we’ve personally found the liquid products to be far superior, penetrate better, and kill on contact.

4 – Kill Chiggers using a Professional Exterminator

The most effective way to kill Chiggers is to hire a professional exterminator. Professional exterminators are not only trained but also licensed to use more robust and effective insecticides. They additionally have years of experience treating Chiggers and similar insects.

All this boils down to quicker resolution and prevention of your Chigger problems.

Professional exterminators are often more expensive than traditional “do it yourself” treatment options, which may be a problem for some.

But if you can afford to engage a professional, it’s often the perfect route.

5 – Get Rid of Chiggers using Natural Treatments

If you prefer not to use chemicals or Pesticide-based products, you can use some effective natural products.

Unfortunately, they are not effective against Chiggers as chemical and pesticide-based products. But here are the ones that receive the highest view and the most praise from customers:

Essentria IC – This product, made from all-natural oils, is a natural insecticide that attacks the nervous system of Chiggers and kills them. It is the most effective natural product we’ve found and is safe around water, children, and pets.
Wondercide EcoTreat – This USA product contains human food-grade ingredients, is 100% biodegradable, and has non-toxic pest control that kills and repels Chiggers. Just mix with water, per the directions, and spray on Chigger-infested areas of your lawn.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) – This product works by impaling tiny, sharp, and pointy fragments into the Chiggers, which eventually causes them to dry out and die. DE is very effective against most insects and mites, but only when it’s dry. Apply this product when you know it won’t rain over the next few days for maximum effectiveness.
Bed Bug Bully – While this natural spray is targeted at Bed Bugs, it will also kill and repel Chiggers.

How long does it take to get rid of chiggers?

When it comes to Chiggers, you should know that prevention is critical before knowing what kills red bugs. Once Chiggers have bitten you, you’ll never want to be bitten again.

Fortunately, learning how to prevent Chiggers is pretty straightforward. Before going outside and into a potentially Chigger infested area, do the following:

Coat your skin using a Chigger Repellant designed for skin use. Our product of choice is ChiggAway.
Prevent Chiggers from gaining access to your skin by always wearing gloves, long sleeves, long pants, and boots. Tuck your pants into your shoes, or duct tape your pants to your shoes.
Coat your clothing with a clothing-based Chigger repellent, like Sawyer Clothing Repellent.

When you return indoors, immediately remove all clothing, wash it with soap in the washer, and immediately take a hot shower with soap to kill any Chiggers that might have gotten on your skin.

How to kill chiggers in your yard?

Once you have taken one or more of the above four steps to kill Chiggers, you’ll want to practice prevention strategies to keep Chiggers out of your home and yard.

There are several products designed to repel Chiggers, but here are the most effective:

Plant lots of Marigold: It turns out that Chiggers don’t like Marigold plants. So planting a significant amount around and in the area of your lawn that is commonly infested will keep Chiggers out.
Sulfur Pellets: Chiggers hate Sulfur. Warning though, Sulfur smells pretty strong for the first few days. So warn your neighbors!
Cedar Pellets – Another very effective repellent. You’ll need to refresh it after a couple of weeks.

How to keep Chiggers off of you when you’re outside?

Even when using yard repellents for Chiggers, you’ll still want to protect yourself. If you know there are Chiggers in your yard, wear boots, long pants (with the bottoms tucked in your shoes), and a long shirt.

So, if you are looking for the most accessible alternatives to what kills chiggers on the skin, you need to know. Wearing Gaiters is also a highly effective option against Chiggers and other insects.

We also recommend one of the following Chigger Repellents, specifically designed to keep Chiggers off your skin and clothing. These products all contain safe chemicals or pesticides:

Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent– This top-rated product also the top-rated and customer-named the perfect chigger repellent is designed to be sprayed on clothing and is highly effective. Sawyer makes some of the most highly-rated bug-repellent products.
Exterminators Choice Tick and Chigger Defense repellant – Excellent product specifically targets Ticks and Chiggers (in the same family).
ChiggAway – This product is both a repellent and a Chigger Bite treatment, together in one.
Deepwoods Off – An old faithful product that works very well and still gets excellent views and reports for fending off Chiggers.

For natural repellents, we recommend:

Amrita Bugs BeGone is an essential oil-based product that effectively repels Chiggers and other insects. Has a pleasant lemon smell.
No-Bite-Me – Natural repellent that is safe for kids and infants

Are there any complications associated with Chiggers?

Neither Chiggers nor Chigger Bites generally produce long-term complications, and Chiggers are not known to carry any disease.
The only problem or risk is that intense scratching can lead to skin breaks and bleeding due to the bites’ extreme itching. These wounds may become infected, and those infections can become very serious, if not life-threatening.
If your Chigger bites do not heal up within 1-2 weeks, or begin oozing white pus or showing signs of getting worse and not better, immediately seek a doctor.

Does diatomaceous earth kill chiggers?

Yes, Diatomaceous earth kills chiggers quite effectively. All you need to do is sprinkle them evenly on your yard and let it remove all the chiggers in front of your eyes. This is also effective in checking ticks, fleas, and cockroaches.

Does permethrin kill chiggers?

Permethrin is a fantastic solution to kill chiggers from clothes. It is also highly effective in removing all ticks and mosquitoes. However, you have to treat your clothes a day or two in advance before being able to wear them out in the wild.

Does Triazicide kill chiggers?

Spectracide Triazicide, popularly known as thiazide concentrate, can kill chiggers from your yard. This chemical can be sprayed on the lawn and left for a few hours to work independently. This will kill and evacuate all the chiggers from their base.

People also search for –

What Are Chiggers?
What Are Chigger Bites?
How to kill Chiggers?

How to Get Rid of Chiggers in Your Home (7 Easy Ways)

The Buginator helps you take back the outdoors and defeat those pesky bugs. When you use our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. Need help with your bug problem? Find an exterminator.

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Table of Contents

4 Natural Remedies for Chiggers in House

Here are four natural ways to get rid of chiggers in your home. Because of the nature of chigger bugs, you’ll want to use a few of these methods.

1. Soap and Water

One of the easiest ways to get rid of chiggers is with a combo of soap and water. As soon as you spot these bugs, toss your clothing in the washer with a little soap and run at least one cycle.

You’ll also want to wash any clothing that your pets wear and their bedding. Keep in mind that chiggers can feed off you and fall on the ground.

They will then look for another food source and can attack other people in your home or your pets.

Chiggers cannot permanently live in furniture such as your bed or couch because they need a regular food source.

2. Vacuum Them Up

You should also reach for your vacuum because chiggers can hide in hard-to-reach spots around your home. Use the vacuum on upholstered furniture such as couches and chairs.

Though you might think that you’ll see chiggers on the top of your furniture, they can easily hide in places you cannot see. Vacuum under your bed and around the box spring if you have one as well as your mattress.

You can then hit the baseboards and any gaps or corners that you see. Don’t forget about carpets and rugs either.

Always carry the vacuum outside to empty it. When you empty the canister inside, you risk some of the living chiggers escaping and roaming around your house.

In our house, we have two cats and a dog. To keep pet hair and any possible mites and chiggers under control, we bought the Dyson V11 cordless vacuum.

Yes, it was a little expensive. But it takes care of pet hair better than any vacuum we’ve ever seen. And it’s cordless. And it wall mounts. And it’s easy to empty. (For us, it’s the best vacuum we’ve ever owned.)

3. Vinegar and Peppermint Oil

Another natural remedy is a combo of distilled white vinegar and peppermint oil. Apple cider vinegar works just as well.

Fill a spray bottle with the vinegar you prefer and spray it around your home.

Vinegar is safe to use on most hard surfaces and won’t damage those areas. If you are uncertain about a certain wood finish, or other material, it’s always best to spot test on an inconspicuous area.

You should then go over those areas with a spray made from 15 to 20 drops of peppermint oil in a spray bottle filled with water.

Once you spray the vinegar and oil, use a disinfectant cloth to wipe it off. Though both of these will kill chiggers, the combo is more effective.

4. Diatomaceous earth

Diatomaceous earth also works well on chiggers. This is a natural product made from fossilized rocks and algae.

Each piece has sharp edges that are invisible to the naked eye. You can lay it anywhere you see chiggers and anywhere you think they might live. The sharp edges stab into the chiggers and cause them to die from starvation and/or dehydration.

One of the best things about diatomaceous earth is that it will not affect any pets in your house. It’s also safe to use if you have kids.

3 Other Ways to Get Rid of House Triggers

1. Lysol

Lysol is another useful tool to battle chiggers in your home. Originally only available as a disinfectant spray, Lysol now comes in a wipe form.

With the spray, you can choose the standard spray or a scented spray. Spraying it around your home will kill most of the chiggers.

If you choose the wipes, focus on the hard surfaces and spots where you saw chiggers. These wipes are safe to use in most areas of your home and sanitize your surfaces to keep them free of chiggers as well as germs.

2. Bifenthrin

Bifenthrin is one of the top ingredients found in pesticides that work on chiggers.

Sprays are easy to use because you simply apply the spray wherever you worry about the bugs.

This 7.9% bifenthrin concentrate spray is a popular option for indoor and outdoor applications.

You’ll also find this chemical used in powders that you sprinkle on your carpets and furniture. Always follow the instructions on the package.

If you have kids or pets, try vacuuming your home at least once a week after using the powder before putting down a new layer.

3. Permethrin and Deet Sprays

There are also several chemical sprays that you can use on your body. These sprays repel chiggers and both keep them from biting you and stop them from hanging onto your clothing. This reduces the risk that you might bring inside some chiggers.

Permethrin sprays are among the best. You can safely use this spray all over your clothing to kill the bugs.
DEET sprays also work well on chiggers, but some prefer using this spray on adults rather than kids.

You can also create a natural spray that uses eucalyptus oil or lemon oil and water.

While this mixture repels chiggers and will keep them from hanging onto you, it does not kill the bugs the way that chemical sprays do.

Where do Chiggers Come From?

A big question likely on your mind is where chiggers come from or how they get into your home.

You can pick up chiggers in the same way that you do ticks. Any time that you walk through a forest or area with a lot of high grass and/or weeds, you risk picking up chiggers.

They will cling to your clothing and shoes. You’ll usually find them around your ankles and knees.

If you have pets, your animals can bring chiggers inside, too. Chiggers only feed off you and your pets for just 1-2 days.

How to Prevent Chiggers Around the House

If you want to get rid of chiggers inside your home, you may want to start outside.

When you chigger proof your yard, you create an environment that chiggers hate.

Take the time to trim any plants you have outside and mow your lawn. Not only will this make your yard look better, but it limits the places where chiggers can hide.

Make sure that you cut back any bushes and mow the lawn that is close to your foundation. As those areas become overgrown, they become more hospitable to chiggers.

As chiggers prefer moist areas, getting rid of any damp spots outside can also help.

You may need a retaining wall or a ditch that helps the water from rain and snow melt to flow away from your home.

If you have a lot of weeds in your yard, it’s a clear sign that your yard is too moist and a haven for chiggers. Many find it helpful to turn off their sprinkler systems for a while to help dry things out.

You can also use both diatomaceous earth and peppermint oil outside.

Apply a light sprinkle of diatomaceous earth around your home’s foundation and beneath plants and shrubs. When chiggers try to hide in those spots, the diatomaceous earth will kill them.
Follow up with a mixture of peppermint oil and water that you spray outside.

Citronella oil also works to repel and kill chiggers. There are even some sprays that use citronella oil that you can use right on your skin and clothing to prevent chigger bites.

Take Care of Chiggers

Don’t spend hours worrying about bringing home chiggers. There are some simple methods that kill chiggers on the spot. Both natural and chemical remedies such as peppermint oil and insecticides will get rid of chiggers in your home.

About the Author
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Dena Haines is a co-founder and writer at The Buginator. And is working to make it the best resource for taking back the outdoors from biting, stinging pests.

She also blogs about travel at Storyteller.Travel and photography at GudPixel. Dena is a partner at Storyteller Media, a publishing company she runs with her husband, Bryan.

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