Tiny mites return to Illinois’ outdoors

WCBU | By Véronique LaCapra

Published June 8, 2015 at 5:15 AM CDT

The weather's been warming up, and that means it's chigger season again in Illinois. Chiggers are tiny mites that live in grass and shrubs. They're nearly impossible to see…but their bites leave behind rash-like bumps that can keep some people itching for weeks. University of Arkansas biologist Ashley Dowling says there are a lot of myths about chiggers. He says they DON'T suck blood like mosquitoes…or burrow into skin.

"They definitely do not burrow into our skin. They just pierce the outer layer. And typically, as soon as you start itching, the chigger isn't even there anymore, because they're so small that if we scratch it, if we brush up against something, it tends to dislodge the chigger."
Dowling says if you think you've been bitten, the best thing to do is wash - or wipe off your skin - as soon as possible.

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Véronique LaCapra

Science reporter Véronique LaCapra first caught the radio bug writing commentaries for NPR affiliate WAMU in Washington, D.C. After producing her first audio documentaries at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies in N.C., she was hooked! She has done ecological research in the Brazilian Pantanal; regulated pesticides for the Environmental Protection Agency in Arlington, Va.; been a freelance writer and volunteer in South Africa; and contributed radio features to the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. She earned a Ph.D. in ecosystem ecology from the University of California in Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in environmental policy and biology from Cornell. LaCapra grew up in Cambridge, Mass., and in her mother’s home town of Auxerre, France. LeCapra reported for St. Louis Public Radio from 2010 to 2016.

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