How to Get Rid of Red Bugs

Getting Red Bugs Out of Your Yard

Chiggers need moisture and shade to survive, so the more sun and air your yard gets, the fewer you will have. Mow on a regular schedule and keep the grass short, especially along borders. Cut back briars, tall weeds and thick undergrowth. Chiggers are rarely spread evenly across a property. They cluster in hot spots, so treating those spots works better than spraying the entire lawn. Likely targets include fence lines along wooded areas, overgrown beds, low shrubs, ground cover and the area around a dog house or kennel.

Your own best protection is keeping them off you in the first place. Before heading into grass or brush, put an EPA-registered repellent such as DEET or picaridin on exposed skin, and consider permethrin-treated clothing and shoes. Permethrin goes on fabric only, never on skin. Loose, tightly woven clothes help too.

Habits and Yard Changes That Keep Chiggers Off You

Personal habits that help most:

• Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and tuck in your shirt before walking through tall grass, palmettos or wooded edges. Chiggers crawl up from the ground.
• Stay on mowed paths, and avoid sitting directly on grass, logs or leaf litter.
• Shower and scrub with soap as soon as you come in, and wash outdoor clothes in hot water.

Yard changes: chiggers rely on wild hosts such as rodents, birds and lizards. Clearing brush piles, overgrown fence lines and weedy corners removes cover for those animals along with the shady, humid spots chiggers need. Thinning dense shade so more sun reaches the ground makes an area drier and less suitable. Keep swing sets, dog runs and seating areas on short, open lawn rather than at the woods line.

Common mistakes: treating inside the house, where chiggers do not live or breed; skipping the shower after yard work, which is the easiest window to get them off; and putting repellent only on exposed skin when chiggers crawl up under pant legs, so socks, cuffs and waistbands matter too, following the product label.

A professional visit begins with an inspection to locate hot spots, often where lawn meets woods or brush. Treatment is targeted to those areas, the technician suggests habitat changes, and follow-up visits through the warm season handle spots that flare up again. The same brushy edges can also hold ticks, so see tick control if you are finding both.