Types of Bites and Stings

There are at least 1 million different kinds of insects and other bugs. Here are some of the ones most likely to bite and sting:

• Mosquitoes like to be around pools of water, people and food. Their bites are probably the most common insect bites. They suck your blood and cause a reaction when their saliva is injected into your skin, leaving a small red welt that itches. Almost everybody gets mosquito bites, and they are usually nothing to worry about. Sometimes, however, mosquitoes can carry disease, so be on the lookout for symptoms of illness after a bite. To learn more, visit Dangerous Bites and Stings.
• Fleas usually like to bite dogs, cats and other warm-blooded animals, and sometimes us. The tiny brown bug leaves a small red bump when it bites and sucks blood. The bites itch and usually show up in groups on the body. Flea bites are a nuisance but are not harmful.
• Bedbugs are small flat bugs found in many homes. They like to hide during the day and come out at night to search for blood.
  Bedbugs can be a problem even in the
  cleanest of homes, but they tend to be more common in tropical areas, housing with a high turnover like apartments, hotels and cruise ships, and in homes with pets. Bedbug bites look like tiny red bumps and feel itchy. When the bites are scratched, they may become infected.
• Chiggers, also called mites, are so tiny you need a magnifying glass to see them. These bites look like little red bumps and
  make the skin very itchy. They also can get
  infected if you scratch them.
• Bees and wasps can sting, which may be scary, but is not usually very serious. The stings cause pain and make the skin red or swollen for a few hours. If symptoms from a sting persist or become worse, it may indicate an allergy to the venom. These allergies can be very dangerous and, in rare cases, deadly. To learn more, visit Dangerous Bites and Stings.
• Spiders bite when they feel threatened, but most are not dangerous. The exceptions are the black widow and brown recluse spiders (see below for more information). Other spider bites are typically small puncture wounds that can barely be seen, but they can be painful, itchy and may swell. Spiders rarely bite more than once, so if there is more than one mark on the skin, it’s probably not a spider bite.
• Black widow spiders have a small, shiny black body (only about one-half inch long), long legs and an orange, hourglass shape on their bellies. The spiders are found all over the United States, Mexico and in parts of southern Canada. Black widow spiders like to hide in dark, quiet places such as under porches, in attics or basements, or wood piles. When people come near these spiders, the insects may get scared and bite. The bite is painful and often causes a mark on the skin that looks like a halo with a
  pale circle surrounded by a red ring. The
  spider’s venom contains poison and can be very dangerous, especially for young children. Black widow spider bites should be immediately treated by a doctor. Symptoms to watch out for:
• Painful cramps in the first few hours after a bite.
• Aches all over.
• Throwing up or nausea.
• Chills, fever and headache.
• Brown recluse spiders are about the same size as the black widow but are brown and have a small, dark brown spot on their heads. They are found mainly in the South and the Midwest. The spider lurks in dark, quiet places like the black widow spider, and its bite also can be dangerous for young children and requires immediate care by a doctor. This bite, however, does not hurt very much at first, and you or your child may not even realize there was a bite. After a while, the bite may become tender, red and swollen. Often there are blisters. Also watch out for fever, chills, a rash, vomiting or nausea. Sometimes it takes two months or more for these bites to go away, and they can become infected.
• Ticks are tiny bugs found in woody areas. They latch on to the skin to suck blood. The black-legged deer tick, or Ixodes scapularis, is a primary carrier of the bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) that causes Lyme disease, an infection that results in flu-like symptoms. These ticks are very small, about the size of apoppy seed, and their bites may cause a round, bull’s-eye-shaped rash around the area ofthe bite. Nearly all cases of Lyme disease are found in the Mid-Atlantic and northeast states. A number of cases also have been reported in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Northern California. If you live in a tick-infested area, inspect the skin carefully after spending time outdoors.

 

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