Insect Bites and Stings

BITES:

Mosquitoes, fleas, scabies, bed bugs, ticks, red bugs, and spiders are several of the many insects that commonly bite people. When these insects bite, they pierce your skin and inject an irritating substance into your body. This then causes you to have an allergic reaction. 

Each of these insects has its own distinctive characteristics: 

MOSQUITOES
- Mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide that you breathe out. They are most commonly found in places that are warm and humid. They also particularly enjoy lingering around areas that have standing water (such as water in flower pots, bird baths, ponds, puddles, pools, etc.). Though usually harmless insects, they can transmit diseases such as Malaria and West Nile Virus.

FLEAS
- Fleas are attracted to the carbon dioxide that you breathe out and the warmth of your body. Besides feeding on humans, fleas actually prefer to live on animals such as dogs and cats. Even though they are parasites, they can survive and successfully reproduce without food for many weeks. In addition to giving you itching bites, they can also transmit diseases such as the bubonic plague (a severe bacterial infection) and endemic typhus (a bacterial disease). 

ITCH MITES
- Itch mites, also known as Sarcoptes Scabei, can burrow up to 1 cm into your skin and feed off your blood. Some of the common sites where you can find them include your fingers, wrists, and buttocks.  Because these are contagious parasites, they can spread from person to person when two people come into direct physical contact with each other. 

BEDBUGS
- Bedbugs are tiny insects that are the size of a lentil bean. With the ability to survive months without blood feedings, they tend to hide in the cracks of walls, bedding, floors, furniture, rugs, and even picture frames during the daytime and actively bite humans at night. 

TICKS 
- Ticks are small insects that look like spiders. In addition to feeding off humans, they can also live off your pets. They are largely responsible for transmitting diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease.

RED BUGS 
- Red bugs, also known as chiggers, live in shrubs, trees, and grass. They move very fast and can only be seen by the naked eye when they are traveling in groups. 

SPIDERS
- Most spiders found in America are not dangerous. However, the black widow and brown recluse spider can inject venom into your body, resulting in serious and potentially deadly symptoms. Black widow spiders have a shiny black body and can be recognized by the red hourglass marking on their underbelly. Hiding out in dark places such as garages, they are generally not aggressive unless disturbed. Brown recluse spiders are brown and oval in shape. Their most distinctive features are their 3 pairs of eyes and the fiddle-shaped marking located on their back. They also usually do not bite unless provoked. 

STINGS:

Scorpions, wild honeybees, killer bees, papers wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, and fire ants are some of the common insects that can sting you. These insects have a stinger that they can use to pierce your skin and inject venom into your body.

SCORPIONS
- Scorpions are found in the Western and Southwestern parts of the US. They particularly like cool, damp places like basements. They have four pairs of leg and a small pair of claws in the front. Their stinger is located at the end of their tail. Even though not all scorpions are poisonous, some of them are extremely dangerous.

WILD HONEYBEES
- Wild Honeybees are found in the Western and Midwestern parts of the US. They often live in hollow tree trunks. Most honeybees are light brown in color. They are usually not very aggressive. However, when provoked, they will attack and sting. Once they have injected their venom into your body, they will leave behind their stinger in your skin, pull away, and die.

KILLER BEES
- Killer Bees, also known as Africanized Bees, are found in the Southwestern parts of the US. It is very hard to distinguish between Wild Honeybees and Killer Bees. However, when disturbed, Killer Bees become much more aggressive and can sting many times. Unlike Wild Honeybees, Killer Bees do not leave their stingers in your skin after stinging.

PAPER WASPS, HORNETS, YELLOW JACKETS 
- Paper Wasps, Hornets, and Yellow Jackets are found in the Southern, Central, and Southwestern parts of the US. Paper Wasps, Hornets, and Yellow Jackets have thin and long bodies. They are all most famously known for the papery nests that they make. Paper Wasps build open-celled nests in the shape of an umbrella, often hanging from the ceiling of porches. Hornets build their closed nests in trees and Yellow Jackets make their closed nests either below the ground or in the cracks of sidewalks. All three of these insects can sting multiple times. They do not leave their stingers in your skin after stinging.

FIRE ANTS
- Fire Ants are found in the Southern and Western parts of the US. They live in very large mound nests that can be as high as 15 inches. Fire Ants are dark reddish brown in color. Unlike most ants, they will bite and sting.