HOW TO PREPARE SPRAYS 

 FOR CHIGGER CONTROL 



Forms in which insecticides may 

 be purchased 



Amount of purchased product 

 to mix with — 



5 gallons 

 of water 



100 gallons 

 of water 



Chlordane or Toxaphene 

 Emulsifiable concentrate: 



40 percent 2 cups 2'/ 2 gallons. 



50 percent. 1% cup$ 2 gallons. 



65 percent. 1 1/^ cups 



Wettable powder: 



25 percent 1 1/ 2 pounds. 



42 percent I pound .... 



Lindane 

 Emulsifiable concentrate: 



20 percent ... '/ 2 cup 



25 percent.. y 3 cup 



Wettable powder: 25 percent. 3.2 ounces ... 



I '/ 2 gallons. 



32 pounds. 

 20 pounds. 



2'/ 2 quarts. 

 2 quarts. 

 4 pounds. 



Precautions 



Repellents 



Do not treat underwear with a repellent. Treated under- 

 wear may irritate the skin. 



Do not apply a repellent to stockings or other clothing 

 that contains rayon. Repellents are damaging to rayon 

 and to some other manmade fibers; nylon is not damaged. 



Do not let repellents touch painted surfaces or objects 

 made of plastic materials, such as fountain pens, fishing 

 rods, watch crystals, or frames of eyeglasses. 



Insecticides 



Chlordane, toxaphene, and lindane are poisons. Handle 

 them with care. Wear heavy clothing when you apply 

 them. If an emulsifiable concentrate spills on your skin, 

 wash it off at once with soap and water. 



Avoid breathing the spray or dust. Spray or dust with 

 the wind. 



Keep children and pets out of a treated area until the 

 spray dries. 



After treating a lawn, sprinkle it with water to wash the 

 insecticide from the grass into the soil. This reduces the 

 hazard to children and pets, and does not reduce the 

 effectiveness of the treatment. 



Do not allow livestock to graze on a treated area within 

 2 weeks after the treatment. 



Do not apply insecticides where they will contaminate 

 fruit or vegetables. 



To avoid killing fish, do not apply toxaphene along the 

 margins of lakes or ponds, or along the banks of streams. 

 Lindane or chlordane may be used in these places, but avoid 

 contaminating the water. 



Do not apply insecticide to your skin or your clothing to 

 repel or kill chiggers; use only recommended repellents in 

 this way. 



VUJlllll 



Facts 



Development 



Adult chiggers pass the winter in protected places 

 and become active in the spring. A few days after 

 the females become active they lay their eggs in shel- 

 tered places. These eggs hatch into the first genera- 

 tion of the year. 



The young chigger is known as a larva. It is the 

 troublemaker. It is parasitic, feeding on man and 

 animals. The larva transforms to a nymph, and the 

 nymph to an adult. Neither the nymph nor the adult 

 is a parasite. 



Chiggers raised experimentally complete the life 

 cycle — from egg to egg — in about 50 days. 



In southern Florida and southern Texas, chiggers 

 may be present throughout the year. In other States, 

 the chigger season begins in May, June, or July and 

 lasts until September or the first frost. 



The bodies are hairy. A larva nas inree pairs 01 legs. 

 Its mouth parts include two pairs of grasping palps, 

 which are provided with forked claws. 



The nymphs and adults have four pairs of legs. The 

 bodies are hairy, about y 20 inch long, and usually a 

 brilliant red. There is a marked constriction in the 

 front part of the bodies. 



• Feeding Habits 



Young chiggers attach themselves to the skin of 

 people or to the skin of domestic animals, wild ani- 

 mals (including reptiles), poultry, and birds. 



Before settling down to feed, chiggers scurry 

 around for a suitable location. The preferred loca- 

 tions on people are those parts of the body where 

 clothing fits tightly over the skin, or where the flesh 

 is thin, tender, or wrinkled. 



Like ticks, they attach themselves by inserting 

 their mouth parts in the skin — frequently in hair 

 follicles or pores. They inject a fluid into the skin; 



