The Basic Difference Between Chiggers and Clover Mites

Clover mites and chiggers are often confused, but they are distinct pests. Clover mites are always found in groups and pose no health risk to humans. They are most active during the spring and fall. In contrast, chiggers can be solitary or live in colonies. Unlike clover mites, chigger larvae bite humans, causing itchy red bumps. These pests are most prevalent during the summer months.

What are Chiggers or Red Mites?

Chiggers, also known as red mites, belong to the Trombiculidae family. Related to spiders, they belong to the Arachnida class – the one to which scorpions and ticks belong.

What are Clover Mites?

Clover mites are a close relative to the ticks and eight-legged spiders, these tiny red-colored mites pose no threat to human health or cause any severe damage to your house, as the termites do.

The small size of clover mites makes it difficult to notice them unless they are huddled in a group. While chiggers tiny, eight-legged wingless bugs cause most of the itch you feel during the summer while walking outdoors in the grassy and bushy areas.

Clover mites vs. Chiggers

It is not possible to tell clover mites and chigger bugs apart at first glance. However, through this article, we hope you might differentiate.

Difference between Clover Mites and Chiggers

Differentiating between chiggers and clover mites can be a difficult task until observed under a microscope. Listed here are some major differences which can help you identify the bug.

1. How do Chiggers and Clover mites look and the number of legs they have

• Clover mites also known as tiny red mites are more commonly found in North and South America. The front legs of these eight-legged mites are double the size of others and are pointed forward near their head, often mistaking them as antennas. They range in color from reddish or brown to dark green. Their body is oval-shaped, roughly 0.75mm to 0.9mm in length.
• Chiggers are barely visible to the naked eye. These 0.95mm to 1.2mm long chigger bugs are red-colored and are noticeable only when in a cluster. Their juvenile form has six legs, while the adult form has eight legs.

2. Eating habits of Clover mites and Chiggers

• Clover mites do not feed on blood, but you will find them outdoors. They get their nutrition from plants by sucking plant juices off clover plants, grass, shrubs, trees, and other plants. They can create a ruckus by building a high population, especially on rooftops and patios, where they can find the mold and mildews to feed on.
• Chiggers are bloodsuckers that feed on the blood of animals, other insects, and sometimes humans. People are the accidental hosts for chiggers, while small mammals, birds, and reptiles are ideal. Adult chiggers do not bite people. Only chigger bugs at the larvae stage are popular for biting humans. Chigger bites cause redness and intense itching on the bite area, leading to an infection if you scratch it frequently.

3. Life cycle of Clover mites vs Chiggers

• Clover mites evolve from unfertilized eggs. The female clover mite is competent in laying up to 70 tiny reddish-brown eggs beneath barks of trees or cracks of fences and walls. Once these eggs hatch, the immature larvae feed by sucking on the plant sap throughout its life cycle. A fully-grown clover mite lives for around two weeks, depending on the weather. Each generation of clover mites lives for about one month.
• The chigger bugs undergo a proper metamorphosis life cycle comprising four stages: eggs, larvae, nymph, and adult. An adult female chigger lays up to five eggs daily in a sheltered area close to her food source during spring. After five to seven days, the eggs will hatch into six-legged chigger larvae that feed on the skin tissues of the warm-blooded hosts. After seven to ten days, the larvae will molt into nymphs with eight legs, and within one month, they will turn into adult chiggers. Up to five generations of chiggers are created every year, depending on the location, weather, and moisture. The whole chigger life process takes anywhere between two months to one year.

4. Hiding places of chiggers and clover mites

• Since clover mites feed on green plants and trees, you are mostly going to find them hiding in your lawn under the loose tree bark, on foundations, walls, and around window frames.
• The favorite hiding spot for chigger bugs is moist grassy fields, forests, and your lawn. They like to live in warm and tropical regions with overgrown areas of pastures and grasslands.

Are you struggling with chigger or clover mite infestation?

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