Chigger Forecast 2026: Where They’re Active Right Now

Chiggers go away with the first killing frost. In the northern tier that is mid-to-late September; across the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Upper South it is October; along the Gulf Coast and in Texas it is late November; and in South Florida and Hawaii there is no real off-season. Activity fades for weeks before that as nights cool below 60°F. The table on this page lists each state's typical "gone by" date.

Chigger season starts when soil stays above about 60°F — March in Texas and the Gulf states, late April through May across the Southeast and lower Midwest, and June along the northern tier — and peaks from late May through August. Timing shifts a week or two with the spring; the status chips above are checked against today's date.

Larvae stop questing below about 60°F and are killed by a hard frost (below 28°F for a few hours). Adults and nymphs survive winter in the soil, so cold does not eliminate a population — it just ends the biting season. Larvae also die fast in dry heat above roughly 95°F with low humidity, which is why the desert West has so few.

Sun and dryness. Mow short, clear brushy tall-grass edges, and keep play areas in full sun — larvae cannot survive in dry, exposed turf. For a confirmed hot patch, extension services recommend a labeled lawn insecticide (bifenthrin, permethrin, or carbaryl) applied only to that strip. Whole-yard spraying is rarely worth the cost or the collateral damage to beneficial insects.

The Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas, Oklahoma's Cross Timbers, the Texas Hill Country and Post Oak Savannah, eastern Kansas, and the Southeast from Georgia through the Carolinas have the densest populations. They thin northward and are rare west of the 100th meridian except in irrigated river bottoms. Alaska has none.

No. The only chigger-borne disease, scrub typhus, is transmitted by Leptotrombidium mites in the Asia-Pacific region and does not occur in the US. The risk from an American chigger bite is a secondary skin infection from scratching. Ticks in the same grass are the real disease concern — check the tick forecast for your state too.

Itching starts 3–6 hours after exposure, peaks on the second day, and fades over one to two weeks. The larva is gone long before you notice; what remains is your immune reaction to its saliva and the feeding tube it left in the skin. Hydrocortisone, calamine, cool compresses, and an oral antihistamine at night help. Nail polish does nothing.

No. Chigger larvae need a living host and humid soil or vegetation to survive; they cannot reproduce or persist indoors. Bites that appear overnight were picked up outside earlier that day. Wash field clothes in hot water and you are done — there is no need to treat a house.