Since the first of May we’ve been talking a lot about chiggers because most of our customers are talking about chiggers. They (chiggers) were slow getting started this year but have made up for lost time. After talking with our customers some similarities have to come to light. First and foremost, the old wives tails are still alive and well. Applying nail polish to a chigger bite, taking a bath in Lysol and my favorite, chiggers can’t get through blue jeans are still widely thought of as truth. Apparently, Collin County has a lot of new chigger owners that have several things in common. The main thread all these customers have in common, is a similar type of lawn and lawn maintenance. Because of our water situation, many residents have installed native and low maintenance lawn grasses in the last year or two. The low fertilizer requirements of these grasses mean lower water use and less mowing. Low maintenance landscapes are a good thing for homeowners and a great thing for chiggers. Chiggers thrive in an undisturbed environment and love these type of grasses. I have done searches on the internet, trying to gather more information about why we’re seeing an increase in the population of chiggers in our area, but have found nothing to prove or disprove my observations. Is it due to our changing landscapes and dry conditions? Do you have any insight on this issue? Any help on this issue would be appreciated.
