My poor husband. He's not a Southerner and had no idea what a chigger was until he got down here. He's just miserable when he gets them - the bites last for weeks. I have a relatively low reaction to them, but I make up for it with the welts I get from mosquitoes.
(Explaining to him why we had a random sock full of sulfur hanging by the door... Hehheheheh.)
Mine definitely last about a week before fully healed and not itchy. And god forbid it's on the boot line and I have to do lots of walking at work... they'll blister up half an inch high from the friction