But do they have itch mites? (I left the fest COVERED with this, BTW...still feel putrid) This brings a level of ultra-fun to any event and I bet they work really, really cheap.

BUG TRAPS TO BE ANALYZED FOR ITCH MITE
By James Janega | Tribune staff reporter
6:12 PM CDT, August 14, 2007

Illinois public health officials today collected bug traps left out overnight in the Chicago area to determine if a rash of reports of a skin irritation in recent days might be the work of a dreaded southern summer pest: the itch mite.

So far, officials say, it might be the itch mite, or it might not.

"Technically, from a science standpoint, we really want to be careful. We don't know what it was," said Kitty Loewy, spokeswoman for the Cook County Department of Public Health.

"It looks like it, sounds like it, feels like it," Loewy said. "We want to be really careful about this."

So far the only evidence officials have is anecdotal—splotchy, scratchy rashes from area residents who had spent time in forest preserves, golf courses and local parks.

Public health officials released data this afternoon that showed at least 288 cases of suspicious rashes since Aug. 1 had been reported in suburban Cook County, with more elsewhere.

Hundreds more rash cases were investigated at emergency rooms without a connection.

They number of cases seemed to peak Sunday, when more than 50 were reported. The most cases, 27, came from Chicago Heights, followed by 18 cases in Streamwood and 17 cases in Palatine, according to county data broken down by zip code. More than two dozen zip codes were affected.

County officials also released information from studies in Kansas and Nebraska of the oak leaf gall mite, Pyemotes herfsi, which is thought to be the same as or similar to the mystery mite affecting people in Illinois.

That mite feeds on the larvae of a type of fly that lays eggs in oak trees. When its food source runs out, the mites drop out of the trees and float on the wind in search of other hosts. Though they do not feed off of humans, their powerful venom causes severe irritation as they probe soft, wet flesh for other food sources.

Sticky traps were set in area parks and on private property Monday night, said Melanie Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health. Scratching victims had visited the wooded areas before seeing symptoms, she said.

This morning, the traps were being collected and sent to a Chicago-area laboratory to be reviewed by entomologists.

The work could confirm whether the Chicago culprit is the same species of itch mite that caused scratching outbreaks in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Texas in 2004. The bug in those cases also can drop with leaves or branches onto unsuspecting victims below. Victims and public health officials have said that many of the reported cases of itching are on the shoulders, torso and arms.

The victim doesn't feel the bite or experience symptoms for 12 to 16 hours. Showering within four hours of contact can prevent the pests from moving from clothing to skin, state health officials say. Wearing a DEET-based insect repellent also deters the mites, along with mosquitoes and other summer pests. The itch mite does not carry diseases such as West Nile virus, Loewy said.