Lone star larvae are too small to penetrate a tightly woven sock, but they are small enough to crawl through loose knit. Then they can bite you.
Lone star ticks are well established on Long Island. And their larvae produce one of the more unpleasant experiences in the region: finding a tick bite in an area covered by clothes.
Tick larvae hatch in late summer in clusters of hundreds or thousands from just one egg mass. They wait together on low vegetation. Brush past one of these clusters and you can pick up an enormous number all at once, which is why people call them seed ticks or chiggers, though they are not actual chiggers. They are barely larger than a poppy seed and have six legs rather than eight.
Their mouthparts are tiny so a tight-weave cotton or synthetic sock can pose a real barrier. But the problem is that the larvae can crawl in the gap between sock and pant cuff or between the loose knit of an athletic sock. Then they move up the leg and attach wherever the skin is warm.
The bites usually show up as a cluster of intensely itchy red bumps, sometimes dozens at once, appearing hours after the exposure. Lone star larvae are generally not considered significant disease carriers. But the reaction is unpleasant all the same.
It’s easier to prevent ticks than to treat them. You can do this by tucking pants into socks so there is no gap to crawl through. Permethrin-treated socks, shoes, and pants are the single most effective step, since permethrin drops ticks on contact. Stay center-trail and out of low brush from midsummer into fall. Shower within a couple of hours and run the day's clothing through a hot dryer for ten minutes.
If you find larvae attached, remove them by taking them off the skin with sticky tape or scraping gently, then wash the area.
If ticks are a problem on your property, Mosquito Squad of Long Island can help. Mosquito Squad treats the brushy edges and ground cover where ticks wait for a host. This will help you protect your family with up to 90% reduction in pest activity on a recurring cycle.
