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Can Chiggers Live in Your House Bed & Couch? (Answered)

Chiggers are microscopic pests that look somewhat like red-colored baby spiders but much smaller in size. These bugs may not represent a threat to people, but they can cause a rash if it manages to bite you. Chiggers are generally found in the outdoors under the topsoil layer.

What worries most people about chiggers is whether they can live in their house bed and couch. Because getting bitten by chiggers whenever you sit down or sleep isn’t pleasant by any means. So, let’s try to get a better understanding of the situation without any delay.

Can chiggers live in your house bed?

Chiggers are similar to bed bugs in the sense that they both can live in your house bed only if a host carries them to the house. They are known for biting humans and at times chiggers can get under the skin and produce eggs. The microscopic size of the chiggers makes them difficult to identify.

Can chiggers live in your house bedsheets?

Sometimes chiggers can get into your house bedsheets. However, they don’t normally stay there for too long as it requires a live host to get nutrients and to complete its life cycle.

When a chigger attaches to a host, it generally stays on the skin for three days before getting down and moving on to the next part of its life span. However, due to the itching and scratching produced by their bites, they generally only endure 1-2 days on humans.

If chiggers attach to your skin from the outdoors, you will probably bring it home without even knowing. This implies that they can theoretically get into your bedsheets, but they won’t be able to stay there for long.

Can chiggers live in your house bedding?

Chiggers can live on your house bedding but only for a short stint. After that, they will try to find a host, either a pet or a human, and get onto the skin. But during that one or two days, you may get bitten by the chiggers.

Chiggers can only survive in your bed for a few days. This is because your bedroom is not at all like their typical shaded, green, wet environment.

Chiggers like to dwell outside, and once they have finished feeding on your flesh, they require specific circumstances to continue their life cycle.

These circumstances are very different from those present in your bed, therefore they will not live in your bedroom for more than a few days.

If you are being bitten in your sleep, and the most probable perpetrators are bed bugs, which, unlike chiggers, are quite comfortable in the bedroom.

How long can chiggers live in bed?

How long chiggers will live on your bed depends on what type of preventive measure you take but they stay for a few days at best. As they are found in the wild, they prefer green, wet and shady habitats whereas your bed isn’t suitable for the chiggers at all.

That’s why after a day or two the chiggers will start to look for a way out of your bed through a host body.

Chiggers are arachnids just like spiders. They come in a multitude of warm-toned hues such as orange and red. They may be quite difficult to see with the human eye, and many individuals notice the rash they cause before the bug itself.

That’s why the only way you’d realize whether you have chiggers living in your bed or not is by identifying bite marks and rashes.

How do I get rid of chiggers in my bed?

Following some easy steps can lead you towards getting rid of chiggers in your bed –

Washing with hot water:

Wash all of your pillows and linens, as well as any fabric that has been exposed to chiggers, wash them thoroughly at the highest temperatures they can withstand. Use bleach only when necessary.

All textiles should be dried at the highest temperature feasible.

Steam Cleaning:

Using steam and soap water together should destroy all the chiggers. You should try using a specialized steam cleaner that can destroy pests.

Move the steam cleaner carefully over your linens, pillow, and any other areas where chiggers may be present.

Using sulfur:

Sulfur is a popular insect and spider repellent that works effectively against chiggers. The sulfur powder can be purchased and sprinkled on chigger-infested areas. Be careful with it as some people may find sulfur irritating to their eyes, skin, and throat.

Oil Mixture:

If you have issues with sulfur, you can substitute it with essential oil blends. Lemongrass, Lemon eucalyptus, citronella, and lavender are essential oils that naturally repel pests.

These essential oils are the active component in many commercial repellents. 

Can chiggers live on your house couch?

For a temporary period (2-3 days), chiggers can live on your house couch. But the only way chiggers can reach your couch is if a host i.e. humans or animals carry them to the couch. As chiggers need nutrients to survive, they can’t stay on the couch or any other furniture for too long.

How long can chiggers live on furniture?

Since chiggers prefer a wet and dark environment in the outdoors rather than the furniture, they won’t be able to live there for more than a few days. Chiggers get their needed food from the host’s skin and without the nutrients, they will be unable to complete the life cycle.

Chiggers have a lifespan of 50-70 days. They can survive inside the house, on carpets, clothing, and furniture but if they do not feed, they will lose life off in approximately a month.

After feeding, they mature into adults that do not bite people. The grownups do not stay in the residence.

How do I get rid of chiggers on my couch?

To get rid of chiggers on your couch you can follow few easy steps given below –

Vacuuming the couch:

Chiggers will infiltrate your couch’s nooks and cracks, as well as the cushions. You will need to vacuum the couch thoroughly to get the chiggers out. To destroy the mites, pour boiling water inside the vacuum bag.

Scrubbing:

To get rid of the chiggers, scrub the couch with hot, soapy water. Wash the pillows and cushions in the washing machine. Allow the soap to air dry after rinsing it with hot water.

Using pesticide:

On your couch, spray a pesticide that is suitable for indoor usage. To get rid of chiggers, spray all throughout the couch.

While most pesticides are sprayed directly to the sofa, for optimum effectiveness, follow the recommendations on the product’s label.

Washing and Cleaning:

If your couch is washable you should steam-wash the entire sofa set. Chiggers may crawl, so it’s also a good idea to wash and clean the floor and carpet in the area around your couch.

What destroys chiggers instantly?

Depending on the surface the chigger is on, you can use different methods to destroy chiggers instantly. If the chiggers are on the furniture or carpet, using hot water and sulfur to wash them, will destroy the chiggers.

As stated previously, chiggers can get on to your skin and their biting can cause irritation and rashes. To get rid of them, you should take a hot bath and use a towel to rub your entire body free of any leftover chiggers. Using soap while bathing can also destroy the chiggers.

If the skin situation worsens you can use colloidal oatmeal or calamine lotion to improve the circumstance of your skin.

What smell do chiggers dislike?

Want to get rid of chiggers? Then you must know about some smells which chiggers dislike or cannot tolerate. Such as –

Lemongrass:

Widely available lemongrass oil is a useful chigger repellant. Chiggers dislike the lemon’s tangy smell.

Clove:

Cloves can naturally keep chiggers, ants, and different other pests away from you. It’s also used for the herbal treatment of chigger bites.

Thyme:

The mint aroma of thyme leaves is another smell that can get rid of chiggers. Planting a few thymes in your garden will keep chiggers away from your house.

Lavender:

The scent of lavender oils can bring you peace of mind. In addition to that, mixing it with the other essential oil can keep the chiggers away for good.

Can chiggers infest furniture?

Chiggers can infest your furniture and even the carpets but for a few days and sometimes up to a month if no preventive measures are taken.

Chiggers are constantly on the move, going from here to there. While this may be good news, the number of days it stays on your furniture will surely be very annoying.

How do I know if I have chiggers or bed bugs?

Unfortunately, chiggers aren’t visible to the eye because of their microscopic size. The only way you will be able to tell if you have chiggers or bed bugs by doing a thorough check.

If you discover brown or red stains on your linens, you may have bed bugs. If bed bugs are close, you may also notice a sweetly pleasant and musty odor.

Chiggers congregate in groups. If you do not wash or scratch them off, they’ll bite and take the nutrients from your skin follicle. The bite marks are fairly visible and red in color.

Can my dog bring chiggers into the house?

Dogs can bring chiggers into the house without even knowing. Chiggers tend to latch onto the host bodies and stay there until destroyed.

Humans, cats, dogs, and other pets can be the carrier of these chiggers.

How long can chiggers live on clothing?

Chiggers can remain on your clothing for several hours while looking for an opportunity to feed. The larvae do not require human blood to develop into nymphs. They digest a body fluid that can be found on the skin surface.

Chiggers can live in your house, bed, and couch for a few days which is enough to irritate you to the max. Any sort of pest infestation is a difficult situation to handle. But now you will be able to fight off the chiggers and take all the necessary preventive measures to keep them away for good.