Aoutat Anybody?

[Jec]

Has anyone any idea what these are?  I have been told that they only come out in August, hence the name, but other than that I haven't a clue! Has anyone had any experience of these creatures and if so, are they big!!!

Julie

[dave and aileen]

Sounds like a bit too much Eau de Vie to me.

Aileen:

[Teamedup]

Aren't they something 'orrible? I don't think that I want to know what they are.

[Deimos]

Small parasites (host includes humans), 0.2 mm or slightly larger, red, larva of Trombicula autumnalis. They can parasitise man. They don’t actually burrow through the skin but put their mouthparts into e.g. a hair follicle/skin pore to bite. They inject saliva which liquefies (digests) the skin cells which are then consumed. The saliva causes the surrounding skin to harden to form a white hard tube (still very small), through which the parasite can continue to feed. Causes a redish welt and bug and tube itch quite badly. The bug will normally be fully fed in around 4 days but when it drops off it leaves the hard white tube (and thus the itching continues).

You can sometimes detect them in an area with a small bit of black card (e.g. 10cm square) on edge in the area to be “tested” and watch it for a few minutes. The bugs will tend to climb the card to the top.

If they get in your cloths, wash carefully and dry in a hot sun – if you wear then before that you will get re-infected. Bug repellents (e.g. Deet are meant to repel them). As far as I'm aware they are uncomfortable but don't carry disease (somebody correct me if I'm wrong on that) - though scratching the itch can break the skin and may cause secondard infections.. I could go one, but best avoid them (more comfortable, etc.).

In English it’s a Chigger (I think).

Ian

[Teamedup]

as I said, something 'orrible

[Ron Avery]

Quite right Ian, they are a well known tiny spider like pest found this time of year in the grass all over France.  They can cause tremendous itching,  normally around the waist under the belt area but can also get into the tops of socks.  Best thing is not to sunbathe on the ground or by the pool as that is where they will get you  Treatment for insect bites or cortisone cream does give some relief. Oh the joys of France

Edit  They also apparently infest dogs , so you may want to look out for a rash on your dog around the toes and the testicles,

[Dick Smith]

Chiggers are (or were) body lice in American (during WW1 and WW2). 'Chat' in the Indian Army (so that sitting around delousing your uniform and talking to your mates became 'chatting').

I got both feet and ankles bitten within seconds of taking my shoes off in a Brittany Ferries cabin yesterday. Nice...

[Fantine<br><br><br><br>Susie]

More info here

http://www.educ-envir.org/~ecospher/insectes/forum_questions/Question/a/a8.htm

nice picture !!

[Lori]

Good grief  ....  I'm about to mow the weeds (they always seem to manage to grow high even though the rest of the garden is dead).  I am now planning to wear insect repellent, long pants and hope for the best.   Yuck......

I remember my parents mentioning "chiggers" when growing up in  North Carolina.. 

[dave and aileen]

[quote]Small parasites (host includes humans), 0.2 mm or slightly larger, red, larva of Trombicula autumnalis. They can parasitise man. They don’t actually burrow through the skin but put their mouthparts ...[/quote]

Crikey, with that description, I think I`ll pour another tot of eau de vie, and go back to the patio chair!

Aileen 

[RayB]

[quote]Chiggers are (or were) body lice in American (during WW1 and WW2). 'Chat' in the Indian Army (so that sitting around delousing your uniform and talking to your mates became 'chatting').I got both feet...[/quote]

**Chiggers are (or were) body lice in American **

Nope! They are totally different species of insects. The first is a larva, the second a distinct bug (3 kinds) and the Aoutat is a type of spider.

What bit you could also be fleas.

[saddie]

Pharmacies have posters in summer showing the seasonal insects etc and whether they are harmfull like frelons (hornets) and scorpions or harmless like gendarmes. In the autumn they have posters showing the various fungi and whether edible or not. I think half the population goes about with their eyes shut.

[Dick Smith]

Ray - I'm sorry - US forces in WW1/2 referred to body lice as chiggers. Oh yes they did. Yes.

[RayB]

[quote]Ray - I'm sorry - US forces in WW1/2 referred to body lice as chiggers. Oh yes they did. Yes.[/quote]

** US forces in WW1/2 referred to body lice as chiggers. Oh yes they did. Yes.**

Look them up regardless what the Army said.

[Dick Smith]

Ray - I don't understand why you are being argumentative - or obtuse.

I didn't offer an opinion as to what chiggers might or might not be - I said that Doughboys called body lice 'chiggers'. You took exception to this (no great change there, then) but, it seems to me, without understanding what I had written.

I'm not sure what your response means, exactly, could you elucidate, please?

[Motorhead]

The term chigger for insects is no longer in current American usage, it has been superceded by another and entirely different meaning.

I once spent a year working in the fish breeding industry in Florida. Apparently there is an ethnic minority there who are the product of breeding between the Jamaicans and the Chinese. They are known as Chiggers and their accent is very similar to that heard in the west of Scotland. 

Also apparently, with America being the crazy, disfunctional place that it is, there are a lot of people who have nothing better to do of an afternoon than phone up numbers at random and shout abuse down the line.

I was completely unaware of either until I got home and turned on my ansaphone to get "You ****in Chigger *******" booming out at me.

BTW Chiggers are known as berry bugs in Scotland (that's the insects not the people).

[Laotze]

Aoutats are also called harvest mites. They like to find the damp parts of the skin where the clothing is tight to the body - bra and panty line, top of socks etc, also the nape of the neck if you have longish hair. The itch is very fierce and some people are allergic to their bites. They are not only around in August - avoid long grass and vegetation in the summer months or spray with an insect repellent and shower and wash all clothing after being in situations where you might have picked them up. If you do get bitten your pharmacist will give you medication to put on the bites and if they are very bad you should take antihistamine as well. The danger is not from the bites but that scratching them might cause secondary infections - and believe me if you are bitten by these awful beasts YOU WILL SCRATCH!!!!

[Pech]

Good info so far. My input - Aoutat being microscopic harvest mite only infesting in August (French joke as it can be around until November!) Bad in field and grassy areas also v.bad around brambles (they love 'em) Pharmacist recommends showering imediately after coming from dodgy terrain (bit impracticle) and spraying with something like Tiq'Aouta (6 euros) over your clothes on legs and arms before you go out. When you get affected it will take 6 days for the itch to stop because that's the time it takes for yourbody to zap it after it had laid it's egg under your skin. Dogs that have been 'Frontlined' have a better chance of avoiding them and therefore infesting you. If you are getting bitten around ankles it's probably fleas, mozzies or biting flies!