Both mosquito bites and chigger bites will itch a lot and can stick around for quite some time to annoy you. Luckily, there are some differences to help distinguish between the bite marks of these two pesky insects.
Mosquito vs Chigger Bites:
- Chigger bites can be present and itchy for up to two weeks
- A chigger bite usually itches more than mosquito bites
- Mosquito bites can occur on any part of your body, high and low
Let’s investigate further to see the differences between these bite types.
Mosquito vs Chigger Bites: What Is the Difference?
While chigger bites look very much like the bites of many other bugs, you need to know exactly what to look for.
The first thing about chigger bites is that they mostly occur in the lower parts of the body. This is because chiggers don’t fly.
There are some times when chigger bites have been seen higher up on the body, such as the armpits. That is because these insects like to hide in sweaty and dark places; they will crawl up to your armpits to feed on the skin.
Let’s take a closer look at what the bites of chiggers and mosquitoes look like so we can be sure. They are commonly known as chiggers in the USA, harvest mites in the UK, and also berry bugs.
More than 50 types of these tiny red bugs are found worldwide and mostly in the southern and southeast parts. They can also be found in the western parts of the USA, where there are warmer weather conditions.
Chigger Bites
Chigger bites can happen any time of the day and night, depending on when you were exposed to these bugs. Chiggers like to crawl into spaces where they feel protected, like in socks and around the waistband area where they can hide.
They also love sweaty parts, as mentioned above. So they normally bite at the back of the knees or in the armpits. These bugs don’t feed on your blood like mosquitoes, but rather break into the skin to feed on it.
Chiggers also make their home in gardens and on the lawn and can be found in grass fields in the wild. Because they can’t fly, you will mostly find them biting the lower parts of the body, where they have easy access.
The bites of chiggers also itch a lot more than mosquito bites, and the red dots are normally smaller as well. That is because these bugs are looking for a liquified skin meal. They will crawl into the skin and stay there, more like ticks do.
This burrowing will cause your skin to swell, and it will mostly look like a reddish pimple on the skin. These red bumps will itch, which will increase during the night when you are more aware of it.
When it comes to itching, the chigger bites will be much worse than the bites of mosquitoes and will itch continuously. It may take about 12 hours before you notice the swelling and itching caused by chigger bites.
Grab your afterbite!
This swelling and itching can last for a week. In some cases, it will last up to two weeks before it subsides. You will notice that the red bumps on the skin are smaller than those caused by the bites of mosquitoes.
While the chigger bites itch a lot and are quite annoying, they are not dangerous to humans and don’t carry any diseases.
Mosquito Bites
When mosquitoes bite you, the itching and swelling will mostly occur within 12 hours after they feed on your blood. These bite marks will look like a small welt on the skin with a little dot in the center, and they will be itchy.
When mosquitoes bite you, the itching and swelling will mostly occur within 12 hours.
Mosquito bites will also occur on any exposed body part, even on your face and neck. That is because mosquitoes can fly, and the female mosquito will be attracted to the carbon dioxide emanating from your ears.
You will hear the annoying buzzing sound made by the wings of the female mosquito when she is attracted to your skin. Soon after the bite, the skin will start itching.
If you scratch, it will start swelling, causing a raised bump. You get temporary relief, but the scratching makes things work.
This red swelling can last up to seven days in some people but might subside in only three to four days. The physical appearance of the mosquito bite may look red or pinkish on some people, and others may even have a brown coloring.
Mosquitoes can be found on all continents of the world except on the coldest of them, like Antarctica, where it is always freezing. In the USA, different species can be found all over the country, where it is quite warmer in the summer.
These insects can easily transfer deadly diseases to human and animal hosts with their bites; some of the most deadly diseases are caused by them. It is also true that mosquitoes don’t have a certain style or feeding pattern, and people react differently to their bites.
They mostly feed alone, but you can easily find that they feed continually, and more than one can feed at the same time. That is why you sometimes find multiple bite marks on your skin, especially with a mosquito problem.
Summing it Up
- Chigger bites might not be harmful or deadly to humans because they don’t carry any diseases.
- Mosquito bites may cause serious diseases in humans, and deadly viruses can be spread by their bites.
- In most cases, both mosquito and chigger bites can be treated at home and will subside after about one week.
- If you develop a fever from mosquito bites, you should visit a doctor to be on the safe side.
- You can easily scrub the bites caused by chiggers with soapy water to get rid of them.
- Chigger bites itch much worse than mosquito bites and will last a few days longer.
- Mosquitoes can fly and will bite anywhere on exposed skin, while chiggers bite lower and in secluded places.
- Mosquito bites are bigger than chigger bites, with a larger red bump on the skin that itches.
Final Thoughts
You can see that there are notable differences between mosquito bites and chigger bites, so you can easily determine what bite mark it is. You won’t get any diseases from chigger bites, but they itch worse.
Hopefully, this will help you to determine what type of bug problem you have.
