by | May 30, 2024 | Healthy Living
What Are The Most Common Bites and Stings in the Southeast?
You’re sitting on the patio after a meal at a local restaurant when you begin to absentmindedly scratch a slight itch. You think nothing of it until about the third time you go to scratch and realize that not only has the itch intensified, but more spots are itching, and some are painful. When you glance at the area, you see several raised bumps. You sigh as you head to the car and the bug bite ointment at home.
Why Understanding Insect Bites and Stings Matters
Being able to identify several types of insect bites and stings is not just a matter of curiosity but a skill that can safeguard your health and that of those you love. Understanding insects and their potential harm can inform your response as you seek to prevent potential long-term health complications, especially for vulnerable groups like young children. Knowing the habits of insects gives better control over avoiding the unpleasant surprise of bites and stings and helps us take preventative and protective steps.
What Happens When You Get Bit or Stung?
When an insect bites or stings, it injects substances into its host that can lead to a variety of reactions that can vary significantly—from slight itching to tissue death surrounding the bite site as in the case of a brown recluse spider bite.
The main reason insects bite or sting is to find food or in self-defense. For instance, mosquitoes require blood meals for reproduction while insects like yellow jackets and mud daubers sting primarily when they feel threatened. Unfortunately, stings and bites can cause a severe allergic reaction for some.
The Seven Most Common Culprits:
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes in the Southeast aren’t just annoying, buzzing adversaries. They are constant reminders of a warm climate, where the Northern house mosquito and Asian tiger mosquito thrive. These blood-sucking insects are drawn to warmth and humidity, making the Southern states an ideal breeding ground. To identify a mosquito bite, look for small, round, itchy bumps that appear soon after a sting or swollen or hard spots appearing a day after the bite. In rare cases, you may experience a high fever with severe symptoms that need immediate medical care. The real concern lies in potential diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes, such as West Nile Virus and Zika virus.
Ticks
Ticks are rampant across North America, with particular prevalence in the Southeast due to its wealth of wooded areas. The Lone Star tick and Black-legged tick are known carriers of several pathogens. Identifying a tick bite can prove challenging as they are usually painless and cause barely noticeable symptoms except for redness at the bite site or small bumps. These tiny creatures might be carriers of Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, characterized by high fever, severe headache, and muscle pain often requiring immediate medical care. Lone Star ticks can also transmit Alpha-Gal syndrome which causes mild to extreme allergies to mammal meat and sometimes to dairy products and gelatins.
Fire Ants
Fire ants, native to South America, have established substantial colonies in the Southeast. They thrive in warm, sunny conditions and can create large mounds in various environments including yards, parks, and pastures. The sting of a fire ant is characterized by an intense burning sensation followed by the formation of a blister. These stings cause mild skin irritation but at times could lead to serious health risks such as severe allergic reactions requiring immediate medical care.
Fleas
Fleas seek the warmer areas of the body and bite when looking for a blood meal. Their bites often look like lines or clusters of red bumps with reddish halos around them. The pain and intense itching come from the materials the fleas inject at the bite site. Flea bites can have a rash around them. Fleas can transmit tapeworms and carry plague and typhus.
Spiders
The brown recluse spider is known for its necrotic venom. The bite site may initially exhibit mild pain with small blisters forming later on, leading many victims to underestimate its severity. The black widow spider’s bite can cause severe systemic reactions necessitating prompt medical treatment. Fortunately, neither spider is aggressive, only biting when feeling threatened.
Bees and Wasps
If you’ve been stung, the instant sensations of sharp pain and intense heat often follow a game of swatting and ducking leaving no mystery about the culprit! Bee stings are usually followed by immediate swelling as they leave their barbed stinger embedded in the skin along with a venom sac. As long as the stinger is in the skin, it keeps pumping venom. Wasp stings are significant medical risks in the southern U.S., on the other hand, don’t lose their stingers, allowing them to inflict multiple painful stings if threatened or disturbed. An ice pack applied intermittently at 10–15-minute intervals can reduce swelling and pain.
Chiggers
Chiggers are tiny mite larvae that attach themselves to the skin when one brushes past infested vegetation. Chigger bites typically develop small blisters or bumps in the affected area that may turn red. Washing with mild soap and water followed by over-the-counter oral antihistamines or creams containing hydrocortisone can help relieve symptoms.
How Can I Prevent Insect Bites And Stings?
Protective clothing like long sleeves and pants is crucial to prevent insect stings in areas of high insect activity. Using insect repellent containing DEET or picaridin is very helpful against fleas and ticks. For bee-related concerns, avoid scented lotions or colorful clothing to minimize attraction.
To prevent your yard from becoming a pest breeding ground, keep the grass short to deter ticks and place gravel or wood chips between any woods and your home. Mosquitos reproduce in water left pooling on surfaces or in containers, so be sure to eliminate any standing water around your yard and house. Eliminating breeding grounds for pests is an effective deterrent.
When To Seek Medical Care
The best way to know if one might have a severe reaction is by observing any systemic signs beyond the bite or sting site. The following symptoms can all point toward anaphylactic shock and severe reactions require immediate medical attention.
- There is significant swelling beyond the sting site—especially in the face, eyes, tongue, or lips
- Dizziness occurs
- There is difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Chills and a fever over 100 degrees occur
- A bite or sting looks red and swollen pointing to an infection
- There is a rapid drop in blood pressure
By recognizing the differences between mosquito bites, tick bites, and spider bites, one becomes better equipped to manage potential health risks. Knowledge is power, and understanding common insect bites and stings gives individuals some control over their interactions with buzzing, biting, and stinging insects.
