How To Protect Your Yard And Yourself In Amarillo From Chiggers

It's summertime in Amarillo, Texas and that means a lot of time spent outside in the yard grilling, playing in the sprinkler, and so on. Unfortunately, it can also mean the return of the dreaded unseen nuisance known as the chigger. These tiny mites can spoil any time you spend in the yard. Here's how to protect yourself and your yard.

How To Prevent Chiggers From Getting In Your Yard

When I started digging into how to prevent these tiny terrors from getting in my yard, I was expecting to find a laundry list of chemicals or sprays that I would be forced to use. Oddly enough, the best way to prevent them from invading your yard is fairly simple.

The best way to fight against them is to keep your yard tidy. Keep your grass mowed down and keep an eye out for spots that have a lot of shade and are moist. Those little mites apparently love shady moist spots. Who doesn't?

Another good way to prevent having chiggers in your yard is to keep rodents out of your yard. These mites love mice and if you can keep out the mice, that's a better chance you stand against the chiggers. If you identify a problem area, you can use insecticides to get rid of the chiggers.

How To Treat Chigger Bites If You Get Them

If you do get some bites, treating them isn't that difficult. The easiest thing to do is just wash the area with soap and water regularly. A cold compress works well. In case you're unfamiliar with fancy scientific terms, that means put a washcloth under some cold water and then put it on your skin.

If it gets particularly itchy, you can always apply some kind of calamine lotion or take an antihistamine.

Good luck this summer hanging out in the yard. Keep the grass cut low and the calamine handy.