Five More Bugs To Be On The Lookout For

If you have ever had an anaphylactic reaction to an insect sting or bug bite, you probably will be wary of bugs for the rest of your life. Desensitization treatment is the only way to lessen your risk of a fatal reaction to the next sting or bite. But what if you just tend to be allergic and you haven't had that dangerous encounter with a six-legged creature quite yet?

Of course you will want to be on the lookout for ants, bees, and wasps, but here are five additional buggy pests of which to be aware during warm weather.

1. Fire ants.

People who live where fire ants have not spread often don't realize that the tiny, black, ant they see in the Southern United States, or in Latin America, is a fire ant, not a harmless sugar ant. The fire ant has killed off almost of all of its competitors in the southern United States. This extremely aggressive ant travels in packs that inflict painful bites on unprotected skin. In large numbers, they have been known to kill both pets and people. The bites of the fire ant make tiny, red, painful bumps on unprotected skin. They last about 72 hours, can leave marks that take weeks to go away, and are treated with cold compresses and Benadryl.

2. Chiggers and mites.

Not strictly speaking "insects," these eight-legged creatures (mites) and their larvae (chiggers) are common pests on the hiking trail. They produce small areas of intense inflammation of the skin, often traveling beneath clothing before they leave their mark. Unlike fire ant bites, chigger bites are usually red through and through, unlike the yellow-capped fire ant bite. In Asia, chiggers and mites can carry infectious diseases, such as scrub typhus.

3. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Ticks.

Another bug that produces prominent symptoms is the tick that carries Rocky mountain spotted fever. Most often encountered, as you might imagine, in America's Rocky Mountains, the tick-borne microorganism that causes this disease needs 3 to 6 days to incubate before it causes symptoms. While there is often an allergic component to the reaction to the tick, the primary problem is the infection, which causes a blotchy red rash and fever. Prompt antibiotic treatment can save lives. If you notice you have been bitten by a tick while on the hiking trail, don't mash it with your fingers. Carefully remove it with tweezers so that it does not inject the microorganism into your bloodstream.

4. Bedbugs.

Bedbugs are tiny insects that feed exclusively on blood. They are mainly active at night, when there are humans nearby to provide their blood meals, but they are not strictly nocturnal. Bedbugs are infected with up to 26 microorganisms that also infect humans, but whether they actually spread these infections to the humans they bite has not been ascertained. A bedbug remains in contact with human skin for up to 20 minutes while it fills itself with blood. Anesthetic chemicals released by its mandibles allow the bedbug to feed and escape unnoticed, but an allergic reaction to the bug's saliva causes an intense itching reaction several hours later. Detection devices such as the Bed Buggy can prevent bites, and cortisone lotions and antihistamines can help with the itch.

See Also: Long-Acting Allergy Vaccines On The Way

5. Dengue fever

Planning a trip to the tropics? Be on the lookout for dengue fever. Spread by the bites of the Aedes mosquito, this infection causes severe joint pain and a widespread rash that looks like spots of normal skin tone on a background of reddened skin. If you notice these symptoms, see a doctor right away--medical treatment will be required.