Chiggers

It seems that there are many misconceptions as to what exactly a chigger is. I got some chigger bites recently and had people telling me all sorts of strange things. Several people told me that the chiggers were living under my skin and that I had to paint clear nail polish over them to kill them. I was informed that if I did not do this they would lay eggs and make me sick... or that it would take longer for them to go away. This, in fact, is not the case. The chigger, or harvest mite, actually secets an enzyme on to the top layer of skin which breaks it down allowing it access to the under layers of skin, which it eats. Once the chigger is done eating, it falls off and you are left with an itch. So, there are no chiggers living under my skin, and I do not need to paint nail polish to kill anything because there is nothing there to kill.