Peoples Pharmacy: How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

Tips for preventing chigger bites and itching.

Peoples Pharmacy: How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

Last updated:
June 25, 2025
|  5 min read
A close up of yellow powder

Peoples Pharmacy: How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

Peoples Pharmacy: How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

YouTube video highlight

Tips for preventing chigger bites and itching.

Watch video

Peoples Pharmacy: How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

該当事項はありません。

How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

You might as well call chiggers “no-see-ums,” even though that description is usually reserved for a different type of biting arthropod. Chiggers are so tiny you rarely, if ever, see them on your body. They are also known as red bugs, berry bugs (because they seem to hang out around berry bushes), and harvest mites. The latter is a good name for them because they are not actually bugs. They are known as Trombiculidae, a tiny little critter in the mite family. By the way, no-see-ums are actually sand flies that belong to the family Ceratopogonidae. They are known as midges rather than mites. Several readers want to know if there is any way to prevent chigger bites.  Some offer tips from experience.

How to Prevent Chigger Bites:
Q. You’ve written about treating chigger bites, but you should really think about prevention. We live in the country. When I’m going to be walking in tall grass and weeds, I wear my snake boots which I’ve sprayed with Sawyer’s permethrin. It’s available at Walmart in the camping aisle. You can also spray your pants with it – but not while you’re wearing them! This will last through several washes.

Continue reading to learn more about preventing chigger bites, written by Joe Graedon.

Peoples Pharmacy: How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

You might as well call chiggers “no-see-ums,” even though that description is usually reserved for a different type of biting arthropod. Chiggers are so tiny you rarely, if ever, see them on your body. They are also known as red bugs, berry bugs (because they seem to hang out around berry bushes), and harvest mites. The latter is a good name for them because they are not actually bugs. They are known as Trombiculidae, a tiny little critter in the mite family. By the way, no-see-ums are actually sand flies that belong to the family Ceratopogonidae. They are known as midges rather than mites. Several readers want to know if there is any way to prevent chigger bites.  Some offer tips from experience.

How to Prevent Chigger Bites:
Q. You’ve written about treating chigger bites, but you should really think about prevention. We live in the country. When I’m going to be walking in tall grass and weeds, I wear my snake boots which I’ve sprayed with Sawyer’s permethrin. It’s available at Walmart in the camping aisle. You can also spray your pants with it – but not while you’re wearing them! This will last through several washes.

Continue reading to learn more about preventing chigger bites, written by Joe Graedon.

写真サムネイル ブログ執筆者
Executive Producers and Hosts, "The People's Pharmacy
Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon
In 1976, when The People's Pharmacy® was originally published, it was one of the first books providing drug and health information to consumers.
メディア

Peoples Pharmacy: How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

How Can You Prevent Chigger Bites and Itching?

You might as well call chiggers “no-see-ums,” even though that description is usually reserved for a different type of biting arthropod. Chiggers are so tiny you rarely, if ever, see them on your body. They are also known as red bugs, berry bugs (because they seem to hang out around berry bushes), and harvest mites. The latter is a good name for them because they are not actually bugs. They are known as Trombiculidae, a tiny little critter in the mite family. By the way, no-see-ums are actually sand flies that belong to the family Ceratopogonidae. They are known as midges rather than mites. Several readers want to know if there is any way to prevent chigger bites.  Some offer tips from experience.

How to Prevent Chigger Bites:
Q. You’ve written about treating chigger bites, but you should really think about prevention. We live in the country. When I’m going to be walking in tall grass and weeds, I wear my snake boots which I’ve sprayed with Sawyer’s permethrin. It’s available at Walmart in the camping aisle. You can also spray your pants with it – but not while you’re wearing them! This will last through several washes.

Continue reading to learn more about preventing chigger bites, written by Joe Graedon.

写真サムネイル ブログ執筆者
Executive Producers and Hosts, "The People's Pharmacy
Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon
In 1976, when The People's Pharmacy® was originally published, it was one of the first books providing drug and health information to consumers.
メディア
browse all articles
ここソーヤーでは
September 27, 2021
6 Min
ダウン・イーストウルトラアスリート、ケイティ・スポッツがメイン州を自転車で360マイル横断
Read More

メディア

We’ve used this filter for over 800 miles in the backcountry and it’s still the best option for clean drinking water.

ブレット・クレッツァー
ブレット・クレッツァー
Adventurer. Writer. Creator.

メディア

Squeeze Water Filtration System by Sawyer

ガレージ・グロウン・ギア
ガレージ・グロウン・ギアのメディア紹介

メディア

This popular repellent from Sawyer has 20% Picaridin, which protects against a wide range of insects, including mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, gnats, chiggers and sand flies.

Amylia Ryan
Associate Editor
<<  Previous Post
No previous post!
Check out our Directory
Next Post  >>
No next post!
Check out our Directory