What bit me multiple bites in South Texas, chigger mites or fire ants?

Question:

Woke up with these 9-10 bites on my left foot this morning… I’m guessing chiggers or fire ants… anyone else?

Answer:

By analyzing these images, we can find:

  1. multiple bites at the same leg not single
  2. raised bumps and not flat
  3. welts formed and filled with pus
  4. sprinkled blisters not on the same line

Fire ants leave bites that is hive-like lesions with central pustule formation during 24 hours, and the fire ant bite size is smaller than chigger’s bite size.

Fire ants may bite one single bite at specific site especially extremities, but the chiggers cause several stings at once in different locations on skin either as multiple bites in one line or sprinkled bites.

Also, mosquito bite swelling isn’t like what seen in the pics.

And based on the aforementioned scientific and practical observations, it can be assumed that the culprit of these bites is the chiggers.

However, fire ant bites are very close in their appearance to those of chiggers and shouldn’t excluded from your search, also some skin conditions can be a reasonable cause.

Possible medicines that can help relieve the discomfort:

  1. Cold packs,
  2. pain relievers,
  3. and antihistamines

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