CHIGGERS

Chiggers are mites, related to ticks, and notorious for leaving behind itchy bites. The wives’ tale states that chiggers bury into your skin and feed on your fluids.  That makes a lot of sense because if you have ever scratched a chigger bite, you have probably noticed a burrow-like hole in your skin.  In reality, the chigger feeds on its host during its larval stage only.  They inject digestive enzymes into your skin.  Your body responds by triggering an immune response that walls off the area.  The chigger then hangs out and chews on the skin cell bits.  Rather than chiggers making a burrow into your skin, your immune system has made them a straw.  I’m not sure what story is more traumatizing... the wives’ tale of how chiggers burrow into your skin or the reality of your immune system basically making you a living slurpy.  EH?