Usins Repellents 



Before going into a place where chiggers may be, 

 protect yourself against them by using a repellent. 



Several highly effective repellents are available. 

 They do more than repel. Chiggers that attempt to 

 crawl over clothing or skin areas treated with the 

 materials are killed. 



Repellents can be used to obtain either temporary 

 or long-lasting protection. Used the first way, they 

 are effective several hours; the other way, several 



Temporary Protection 



The following repellents are effective against 

 chiggers: Dimethyl phthalate, dimethyl 

 ethyl hexanediol, and benzyl benzoate. 1 



three are also effective i 



first 



etive against ninsmntoes and sonic 



or any other store where insecticides are sold. Ask 

 for any one of the repellents by name. You may be 

 offered a product that contains two or more of the 

 repellents. Such a product is acceptable. The repel- 

 lents are effective individually or in combination. 



Apply the repellent to clothing by rubbing it on, 

 by applying it directly from the bottle, or by spray- 

 ing it on. Rayon and some other manmade fabrics 

 may be harmed by the repellent; nylon, cotton, and 

 wool will not be harmed. 



Apply the repellent lightly, with the fingers, to the 

 arms or legs if they are not covered by clothing. 



Treat socks or stockings after you put them on. 

 Apply a ring of repellent just above your shoe tops. 

 Treat all the way around the upper edges of the hose. 

 Cotton and wool socks absorb repellent better than 

 other materials and are preferred for wearing in 

 chigger-infested places. 



In treating other clothing, apply the repellent along 

 the edges of all openings, inside and outside. Besides 

 treating openings that are buttoned, zippered. or 

 otherwise fastened, treat such openings as the 

 following: 



In trousers and sUivks. -Cuffs and waistband. 



In shirts ami blouses. — Cuffs (or armholes) and 

 neckband. 



In skirts. — Hem and waistband. 



In dresses. — Neckline and skirt hem; cuffs, sleeve 

 hems, or armholes. 



To rub a repellent on clothing, pour about a dozen 

 drops in the palm of one hand, rub the hands 

 together, then rub lightly the parts of the clothing to 

 be treated. 



To apply it directly from the bottle, press the bot- 

 tle opening against the clothing and move it over the 

 parts to be treated. 



To spray a repellent < 

 hand sprayer — the kind 

 fly sprays. 



Do not saturate the cloth with repellenl 

 ment is moist with repellent along all 

 inside and outside— it has been adequately treated. 



If the infested place is one in which the vegetation 

 is low, if you intend iner.dv to walk in it, and if you 

 are wearing trousers or slacks, von need only apply 

 repellent to the cuffs oi the trousers or slacks and to 

 socks or stockings. 



Long-Lasting Protection 



Long-lasting protection against chiggers is needed 

 rhi.'ih by men who work regularly in infested at -as 

 and by others — such as campers, hikers, and 

 hunters — who may be in such areas several days at 



The protection is obtained by impregnating cloth- 

 ing with a diluted repcll^m or l>\ spraving an undi- 

 luted repellent on the clothing. 



Use dimethyl phthalate or benzyl benzoate. 



Impregnating the Clothing 



Two ounces of repellent in a solution or emulsion 



are needed to treat an ordinary set of work clothes— 

 .shirt, trousers (or overalls), and socks. 



Prepare a solution by adding the repellent to 1 

 quart of any dry-cleaning fluid. 



Prepare an emulsion as follows: (1) Put -, ounce 

 of soap powder (but not synthetic detergent) or 

 thmlv sliced soap in 1 quart of water and stir until 

 the water is soapy. (2) Take 1 cupful of the soapy 

 water, add the repellent, and stir vigorously. 

 (3) Pour this into the rest of the soapy water and 



Place the clothes in a container and slowly pour 

 on the solution or emulsion. Work the clothes around 

 in the liquid. Wet them uniformly but do not let 

 them soak. Wring them and hang them out to dry. 



Dimethyl phthalate gives protection for at least a 

 week, unless it is washed out of the clothing. Laun- 



' ' if 



the wearer wades through water. Re-treat the cloth- 

 ing after each laundering. 



Benzyl benzoate is effective longer than dimethyl 

 phthalate, and it washes out less readily. It gives 

 protection eviTi after cluthing has been laundered 

 twice. Clothing that has been laundered twice since 

 being treated should be re-treated. 



In addition to providing complete protection 

 against chiggers, either of these 

 considerable protection against ticks. 



Spraying the Clothing 



In spraying to obtain long-lasting protection, you 

 apply the repellent to the entire garment— not just 

 to the openings. Using a hand sprayer, apply a mist 

 of undiluted dimethyl phthalate or u.-nzyl benzoate 

 to the inside and outside of the clothing; continue 

 until the clothing is slightly moist, but not wet. Do 

 not apply more than 2 ounces of repellent to a set of 

 work clothes. Let the dot he* drv for several hours 

 before wearing them. 



It is easier to spray clothes than to put them 

 through the impregnation treatment, but it is diffi- 

 cult to apply the spray uniformly. Also, sprayed-on 

 repellent loses its effectiveness a few days sooner 

 than repellent applied by impregnation, and it is 



Reducing the Itching 



If you get in a chigger-infested place without the 

 protection of a repellent, attack is almost certain. 

 You may not know that you have been attacked until 

 welts appear on the body and itching begins. 



Take a bath as soon as possible. Apply a thick 

 lather, then rinse it off. Do this several times. The 

 bath kills most, or all, of the attached chiggers, and 

 any others that may not yet be attached. 



Next, apply a dab of antiseptic to each of the welts. 

 This will kill any chiggers not killed by the bath, and 

 it aids in preventing infection. 



Destroying the chiggers reduces the itching, but 

 does not stop it. The fluid injected by the chiggers 

 causes the itching. No practicable way to remove 

 it has been found, and no treatment is known that 

 will give permanent relief from the itching. 



To get temporary relief, apply a local i 

 The following formula has been found helpful: 



Benzocaine, 5 percent. 



Methyl salicylate, 2 percent. 



Salicylic acid, 0.5 percent. 



Ethyl alcohol, 73 percent. 



Water, 19.5 percent. 



Take the formula to your druggist for c 

 ing. Apply the material to each welt with a piece of 

 cotton. One treatment gives relief for an hour or 

 longer. Repeat the treatment as often as necessary. 



Some persons who have had experience with chig- 

 gers can detect an attack without the evidence of 

 welts and itching. They feel the slight irritation that 

 is produced when the chiggers begin to attach, and 

 they know what is causing it. They may feel the 

 movement, of chiggers as they crawl on the body seek- 

 ing a place to attach. 



If you become aware of sensations that cause you 

 to suspect the presence of chiggers, examine the skin. 

 Look carefully at the bases of hairs. You may not be 



1 get. from the soapy t 

 within an hour after the chiggers 

 1 probably kill most of them before 



Using Insecticides 



• grass, logs ( 



£> ground 



Apply the spray ore 



around them), and ground litter. Applv it around 



bushes and high weeds. 



The recommended insecticides are chlordane, toxa- 

 phene, and lindane. They can be purchased in in- 

 secticide supply stores, and are generally available 

 in the form of emulsifiable concentrates, wettable 

 powders, and dusts. Select any one of the insecti- 

 cides, and decide in what form vou wish to purchase 

 it. 



An emulsifiable concentrate or wettable powder is 

 mixed with water to make a spray. A dust is ready 

 to use when purchased. 



An emulsion spray, prepared by mixing an emulsi- 

 fiable concentrate with water, usually gives better 

 results than a wettable-powder spray or a dust. 



Locating the Chiggers 



applying ; 



the chiggers are. If the i 



a picnic ground, a golf course, 



: to make e 

 ; may be concentrated in a few 

 Treating the trouble spots is 



a large lawn, 

 survey. The c 

 spots within tl 

 quicker and less expensive than treating the "whole 



Place a piece of black cardboard edgewise on the 

 gmund. Observe it for a few minutes. If chiggers 

 are present, they will climb to the top edge and con- 

 gregate there. Make the test in about a dozen spots 

 over the area. Pick out spots that have different 

 kinds of cover, such as solid growths of grass, tufts 

 of grass, dead leaves, and decaying twigs. Remem- 

 ber, you are chigger hunting ; you should be protected 

 by a repellent. 



If experience has already shown that the entire 

 area is infested, go ahead and treat all of it, without 

 a survey ; or, if you prefer, treat only the parts in 

 which control is especially desired, such as grass and 

 shrubbery around picnic tables or lawn chairs. 



Sprays 



Emulsifiable 



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- 

 ters! ). laces. These eggs hatch int.. 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 Slates, 

 the chigger season begins in May, J tine, i.r July and 

 lasts until September or the first frost. 



In the larval stage chiggers are orange-yellow m 

 light red. They are less than i,-,, inch in diameter. 

 The bodies ai e ban v A larva has three pairs of legs. 

 Its mouth parts include two pairs of grasping palps, 

 which are provided with forked claws. 



The nymphs and ad tilts have four pairs of legs. The 

 bodies are hairy, about '_.,, inch lung, and usually a 

 brilliant vod. There is a marked constriction in the 

 front part of the bodies. 



1 Feeding Habits 



Young chiggers attach themselves to the skin .if 

 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 l ighily over the skin, or where the flesh 

 is thm. tender, or wrinkled. 



Like ticks, they attach themselves by inserting 

 their mouth parts in the skin frei|Uenll> m hair 

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



the tlui.l dissolves the tissues; the chiggers suck up 

 the liquefied tissue. 



When they attach themselves to animals, they be- 

 come engorged in about I days. Then they drop off 

 and change to nymphs. 



Nymphs and adults feed on insect eggs, small in- 

 sects, and organisms found on or near woody decay- 



• Effects of Attack 



The fluid injected into the skin by the chiggers 

 causes reddish welts to appear. It also causes swell- 

 ing, itching, and (m some persons) fever. Chigger 

 lutes have a more severe elfect on some persons than 



thers. Persons who are exposed repeatedly may 



develop immunity to the bites. 



A chigger attached in a pore or at the base of a 

 hair may be so em |,. ; ■ 



appears to be burrowing into the skin 

 sometimes leads persons to believe, mislak. nlv. that 

 chiggers embed themselves in the skin, or that welts 

 contain chiggers. 



Any welts, swelling, itching, or fever will develop 

 within ->4 hours after the attack. Itching may be 

 intense and, if nothing is done to relieve it, may con- 



Chiggers attacking in large numbers can cause 

 serious injury to poultry. They sometimes cause the 

 death of young chickens.- 



Chiggers are not known to transmit any disease in 

 this country. In some parts of the world, particularly 

 in parts of the Far East, they transmit scrub typhus, 

 a serious disease similar to spotted fever. In this 

 country spotted fever is transmitted by ticks. 



• Infested Places 



Chiggers are most often found in low, damp places 

 where vegetation is rank— for example, berry 

 patches, orchards, woodlands, and margins of lakes 

 and streams. But some species are adapted to living 

 in drier places where vegetation is low, and heavy 

 infestations mav be found in lawns, golf courses, and 



place whether it is 



absent another year; and they 



in some places only for short periods. 



You cannot tell by looking 

 infested. Chigger 

 year, and 



