CHIGGER

MITES
Common chigger
(Trombicula alfreddugesi)

Turkey chigger
(Neoschongastia americana)

REPORTER: EBBOY, RUSTAN RAMA

4DVM-A
Introduction
Chigger mites
• The chiggers that cause problems with poultry
are the same ones that cause similar problems
with people.
• It is a specie of mite that is non-specific to a
host.
• Mature chiggers are covered with hair chat
gives them a silky appearance.
• They have an orange to red tint.
• Larvae have less hair and may be red in color.
 Etiology
• The common chigger, Trombicula
alfreddugesi, and other chigger species
(harvest mites, red bugs) infest birds
and will bite people and other
Trombicula alfreddugesi. mammals
Hansell F. Cross, Georgia
State University • feed on partially digested skin
cells and lymph.
 Etiology
• Turkey chigger, Neoschongastia
americana, attacks fowls in the southern
USA, Mexico, Guatemala and Jamaica
and a related variety in Japan and the
islands of the Pacific.
• these attacks chickens, quail,
Larva of turkey chigger turkeys
(Neoschoengastia
americana). (N. Hinkle) • cause skin lesions which affect
the market value of the birds.
 Epidemiology
• Chiggers (Neoschongastia americana) affect birds raised on
open range, such as turkeys and gamebirds.
• They are not usually a problem in commercial chicken
operations.
• Chiggers are more prevalent in hot, humid areas and are
rarely found in far north areas, mountains, or deserts.
 Epidemiology
• They congregate in groups in matted vegetation and low
plants and bushes where they have more access to
prospective hosts.
• They are most active in afternoons and when the ground
temperature is between 77ºF and 86ºF.
• Temperatures colder than 42º F result in chigger mortality.
 Susceptibility
Chigger mite Host

Common chigger Birds, people,

other mammals

Turkey chigger chickens, quail,

turkeys
 Transmission
• Newly hatched larvae live in soil and
vegetation waiting for a host to come
by.
• Chiggers feed only in the larval stage
and they feed only once. A larva may
feed from 1 day to 1 month.
Transmission
• The chigger mite will pierce the skin,
inject enzymes into the bite that digest
cellular contents. It then takes up the
digested tissue.
• It then drops to the ground and matures
to the adult stage.
 Clinical signs
. Heavily parasitized birds due to
common chigger become:
• droopy
• refuse to eat
• itching
• may die from starvation and
exhaustion
 Lesions
• Chigger larvae are found on the skin of
the bird, usually the thighs, breasts, vent
area and undersides of the wings

• These parasites feed in groups on many

areas of the bird and produce red, scabby
lesions that take about 3 weeks to heal.
 Lesions
• • Chigger bites become itchy and
slightly inflamed, which causes the bird to
scratch and peck and tear the skin. Such
birds may be downgraded at processing.
• These gregarious mites (Neoschoengastia
americana) tend to attach to a bird in large
numbers and this clustered feeding activity
produces skin inflammation and lesion
formation.
 Lesions
• The chiggers feed in groups of as many as 100
mites per lesion for 8-15 days.

• Turkeys may have 25-30 lesions each.

• One lesion, 3 mm in diameter, may cause

significant downgrading at market time.
 Lesions
A juvenile red-legged partridge
(Alectoris rufa) presented with
multifocal, crater-like lesions of
necrotizing dermatitis, which
often contained multiple orange
mites.

Pathology of Trombiculosis caused by Neoschoengastia simonovichi in Wild Red-Legged Partridges (Alectoris rufa).
Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021997520301389
 Diagnosis
• Diagnosis is based on the presence of the
chigger larvae on the skin of the bird, usually
the thighs, breasts, vent area and undersides
of the wings
• finding the reddish to yellowish larvae in
scrapings from the lesion
 Differential Diagnosis
• Scabies mites

• Microscopic and invisible to the naked eye

• Cause severe itching and discomfort

• Burrow in the skin

• Northern Fowl Mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum)

• Produce scab and usually found below the vent

Prevention, Control, and Treatment
• To prevent downgrading, turkeys must be protected
for at least 4 weeks before marketing.

• Sprays or dusts of carbaryl, malathion, or chlorpyrifos

on turkey ranges control chiggers.

• A preventive measure now used in many turkey-

growing areas includes a shift from range to
confinement rearing, or use of sheds to provide shade.

• Control on the range is aided by keeping the grass cut

short.
Prevention, Control, and Treatment
• There is no specific treatment.
• Consult a veterinarian and an entomologist before
attempting to apply pesticide to the entire range.
• In order to prevent bird infestation, these free‐living
stages must be eliminated from the environment, or
birds must be kept off chigger‐infested ranges
during chigger season.
 References:
• Fitz-Coy, S. (2012). Avian Diseases Manual (7th edition).
Published by the American Association of Avian
Pathologists, Inc. OmniPress

• Hinkle, N. and Corrigan, R. (2013). Chiggers. Diseases of

Poultry 14th edition. Fourteenth edition. | Hoboken, NJ :
Wiley-Blackwell, 2020.

• Collison, C. Controlling External Parasites on Poultry. The

Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension
Service, University Park, Pennsylvania.
 References:
• Molin (2020). Pathology of Trombiculosis caused by Neoschoengastia
simonovichi in Wild Red-Legged Partridges (Alectoris rufa). Retrieved
from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33288158/

• Hansell F. Cross, Georgia State University. Retrieved from

https://education.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-
guide/chiggers

• Smith (2022). Chiggers and Trombiculosis. Retrieved from

https://nfs.unl.edu/chiggers-and-trombiculosis#:~:text=They
%20are%20also%20present%20and,degrees%20result%20in%20chig
ger%20mortality.
Assessment
1. Which of the following is the prominent lesion cause by Chigger
mites in birds?
a) Dark and heavily pigmented skin lesion
b) Red, scabby lesion
c) Ecchymotic bruising on the skin
d) Yellow, papule-like lesion

2. What temperature leads to chigger mite mortality?

a) 37º C / 98.6º F
b) 25º C / 77º F
c) 30º C / 86º F
d) 5.5º C / 42º F
Assessment
3. To prevent downgrading of the meat quality, how many
week/weeks turkeys must be protected before marketing?
a) 1 week
b) 2 weeks
c) 2 ½ weeks
d) 4 weeks

4. Diagnosis of chigger mite is based on the presence of the

chigger larvae on the skin of the bird, usually on the following
parts except:
a) Thighs
b) Breasts
c) Neck
d) vent area
Assessment
5. Chiggers are external parasite that affects poultry. Which of the
following is correct about chiggers?
a. chiggers suck blood
b. chiggers do not suck blood
C. chiggers burrow on the skin
D. chiggers only affect turkey
Answer key of the assessment
1. B. Red, scabby lesion
2. D. 42º F
3. D. 4 weeks
4. C. Neck
5. B. chiggers do not suck blood
 REPORTER:
EBBOY, RUSTAN RAMA
4DVM-A

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