Chigger or tick?

[jrdwyer]

I was in the woods on Friday. I drove my ATV through an unmowed bottom field in an area heavy with deer to get to the back side of the property. A day later I found a very small tick or chigger in a very personal spot. It was the size of a ballpoint pen dot on a piece of paper.

Ticks and mosquitoes don't really bother me much because I use a lot of DEET, but how do your tell the difference between a tick, a baby tick, and a chigger?

[DanG]

Chiggers are red.

http://216.83.169.90/kid/ill_injure/aches/chigger.html

[beenthere]

Are you familiar with the "deer tick", and how small they are, and that they carry limes disease?  Watch for a red "target" around where you found the tick (like a bullseye) if it was attached. This deer tick moved down from northern MN/WI rather quickly (3-4 years), so would not be surprised if it is in Indiana by now. They are very small, like the size of a pin head. Need a 10X lens to look at them. Probably a site that tells more, but attached one with pics.

http://www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegallery/ticks/deertick.html

[kentuckyboy]

Sounds like a deer tick to me. We have had deer ticks in Kentucky for years and this spring they were very bad.

[Ron Wenrich]

I've had both.  

Chiggers will go to a place where there is a constriction, like your sock tops or belt top.  They will dig in and itch like crazy.  They form a small welt.  To get rid of them, you put on a dab of nail polish.  It suffocates them.

Deer ticks will give a small red dot, almost like a smaal burn, with no discomfort.  Watch for the bulls eye.  I got that as well.  It is Lyme disease.  It takes about 5-7 days for the bulls eye to form.  In some cases they don't form.

Get your butt to a doctor, especially if the target forms.  If caught early, then there isn't any problems.  If not taken care of, you will have unbelievable joint problems in the not to distant future.  I know several surveyors who can hardly walk.

They have blood tests for Lyme.  They are about 80% accurate.  Mine came back negative, but I might not have built up the antibodies since I caught it early.  Lyme may not have traveled to your area.  I wouldn't want to be the first case.