Everything You Need to Know About Bug Bites | Everyday Health

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Everything You Need to Know About Bug Bites and Disease
All this means there’s an increased focus on research on bug bites and their effects.
Bug bites and stings come in all shapes, sizes, and severities — from itchy red lumps to pimply rashes and even large, rotting flesh lesions. And while most bug bites or stings have some distinct hallmarks (you’ll find much more on those below), experts are quick to point out that identifying an offending bug based only on its bite or sting can be a major challenge.
“A lot of the time, we’re not able to tell what pest bit someone from the bite alone,” says Charles Allen, PhD , a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University in San Angelo. Other bug experts say the same. “Different people react differently to bites,” says Lee Townsend, PhD , an extension professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
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Both Drs. Townsend and Allen say that unless a person actually sees the insect or arthropod that caused the bite or sting, it can be difficult (or impossible) for a doctor to say for sure what type of bug was at fault — or even if a bug was at fault. Rick Vetter , a retired entomologist at the University of California in Riverside, says doctors might misdiagnose bacterial infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , as spider bites. (He coauthored a paper published in the May 2017 issue of JAMA Dermatology warning doctors of the dangers of such misdiagnoses, which according to the article, are not uncommon.) ( 3 )
The bottom line is that correctly identifying and treating bug bites, stings, and rashes is important. Here’s what you should know about the signs and symptoms of some of the most common bug bites found in the United States, and what to do about them.
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Identifying Mosquito Bites — and How to Treat Them
Only female mosquitoes bite. And the itchy red bump that often results is caused by proteins in the mosquito's saliva, explains Jonathan Day, PhD , a professor of medical entomology at the University of Florida in Vero Beach.
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In response to these saliva proteins, the human immune system releases a compound called histamine, which helps wound-healing white blood cells flood the area of the mosquito bite. It’s this histamine that produces all of your familiar mosquito bite symptoms. “The swelling, redness, and itch — that is your body responding to those foreign proteins,” Dr. Day says.
He notes that swabbing a bite with rubbing alcohol can relieve the itch. So can hydrocortisone and over-the-counter antihistamine drugs. Of course, mosquitoes can transmit a range of viruses and infections, from Zika and West Nile to dengue fever. If a person develops muscle aches, fever, or any other flulike symptoms after being bitten, they should see a doctor, the CDC advises. ( 4 )
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Identifying Spider Bites — and How to Treat Them
While spiders are often blamed for large or unusual skin lumps, sores, or lesions, experts say that spiders bite far less often than most people assume.
“People wake up in the morning, find a red mark, and immediately call it a spider bite,” says UC Riverside’s Vetter. But most of the skin issues that people pin on spiders are actually other types of bug bites or skin problems, he says.
What do legitimate spider bites look like? That depends on the type of spider, Vetter says.
Brown Recluse Spiders These bites sting, and they can resemble anything from small blisters — similar to mosquito bites — to large, rotting flesh sores, Vetter says. Along with a wide variety of skin symptoms, brown recluse bites can cause chills, fever, nausea, and other flulike symptoms. ( 5 ) The venom in a brown recluse’s bite is poisonous and, in some rare cases, can result in a coma, kidney failure, or even death. 
Black Widow Spiders These bites can cause skin lesions, ranging from small red marks to angry, streaky red patches of inflamed or oozing skin. “But most of the reaction will be on the inside,” Vetter says. Black widow bites contain potentially deadly amounts of venom and tend to be painful right away. While that pain starts around the bite site, within an hour it often spreads to the chest or abdomen, depending on whether the bite occurred on the victim’s upper or lower body. Other symptoms can include everything from headaches, muscle weakness, and difficulty breathing to seizures, numbness, and painful muscle cramps.
Hobo Spiders, Wolf Spiders, House Spiders Their bites and those of other domestic spiders do not contain venom that is of medical importance to humans, Vetter says. They can bite, but, he adds, the result is likely to be similar to a beesting — meaning a sharp pain, followed by a painful, swollen red lump at the bite site. ( 6 )
For nonvenomous spider bites, washing the injury with soap and water, applying ice, and taking over-the-counter pain or anti-itch medications are the best courses of action. But if you experience any of the systemic symptoms mentioned above — headaches, muscle weakness, flulike symptoms — seek medical attention immediately. ( 7 )
Most of the more common bug bites and stings are harmless. But some do require medical attention. Here’s how to know what to do about them.
Identifying Tick Bites — and How to Treat Them
Nowadays, everyone’s worried about ticks and Lyme disease . And that worry is warranted. Ticks are proliferating rapidly, and more than 300,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year — a figure that has nearly tripled since the 1990s. ( 8 )
The most straightforward way to identify a tick bite is to find a tick on your skin — whether it’s crawling free or its mouthparts are buried in your skin, says Richard Ostfeld, PhD , a distinguished senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. He says that ticks range in size from something smaller than a poppy seed to something as big as a jelly bean.
While tick bites tend not to itch or hurt like other bug bites, they can still cause a red welt or itchy lesion to rise on the skin after the tick has dropped away, Dr. Ostfeld says. If the tick transmitted Lyme disease pathogens into its victim’s skin, an expanding circular red rash, often in the shape of a bull's-eye, may appear within a week to 10 days of the bite. ( 9 )
If this sort of rash appears, or if a tick bite leads to muscle aches, headaches, nausea, or any flulike symptoms, see a doctor immediately. These are all signs of serious tick-borne illnesses, including Lyme, and antibiotic treatments can help stop the illness. ( 10 ) According to the CDC, if a tick is attached to your skin for less than 24 hours, your chance of getting Lyme disease is small. (10)
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Identifying Mite and Flea Bites — and How to Treat Them
Fleas and mites aren’t related. (They’re actually totally different species.) But people often think of mites and fleas as similar because they’re tiny bugs that live in groups and can infest our homes and pets.
What differentiates mites from fleas?
Mites Several types of insectlike organisms that feed on animals or plants are classified as mites. ( 11 ) There are dust mites (which feed on human dander), house mouse mites (which like to feed on mice), and chicken mites (which feed on fowl), among others. Chiggers (see the next section) and scabies are also types of mites. Mites are close cousins with spiders and ticks, and they tend to show up in people’s homes only when rat, mouse, or bird nests are present, says Mike Merchant, PhD , a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University in Dallas. Mite bites tend to cause an itchy skin rash, which may feature small lumps or pimples. Treating these with anti-itch creams or ices can relieve the itching or redness, and the rash and lumps typically go away within a week, Dr. Merchant says.
Fleas These blood-sucking, wingless insects usually come into contact with humans via their pets or unwelcome crawl-space critters like possums or feral cats, Merchant says. Unlike most mites, fleas are large enough to see or feel on the skin, and their bite usually produces small red bumps that may be itchy and tend to appear in clusters of three or more. ( 12 ) Fleas don’t jump very high and are usually found low to the ground, so the rash they cause may often appear on the ankles or legs. Again, ice and anti-itch creams may help.
Both mites and, in particular, fleas can transmit potentially serious infections or diseases — including typhus and spotted fever. If a bite victim notices any nonlocalized symptoms, like muscles aches or flulike symptoms, see a doctor. ( 13 )
Scabies is caused when a human itch mite burrows into the upper layer of skin, where it feeds and lives.
Identifying Chigger Bites — and How to Treat Them
Chiggers are an immature mite that lives outdoors in woody or overgrown areas. They feed on mammals, including humans, Townsend says. But chiggers aren’t bloodsuckers; they feed on cells and tissue, he explains.
Like many other insect bites, chiggers leave a small, inflamed red welt on the skin. But chigger bites often appear in clusters, and the bugs like to bite in hot, sweaty areas of a person’s body, especially inside of socks, at beltlines, or behind knees, Townsend says. If you notice groupings of red welts in these areas, there’s a good chance that chiggers are to blame.
Chiggers don’t transmit disease, and they drop off on their own, Townsend says. If you notice them, wash the area immediately with soap and water, then use ice or anti-itch cream to control the skin symptoms, which should fade in a week or less, he says.
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Identifying Ant Bites — and How to Treat Them
When it comes to biting and stinging ants in the United States, the most common culprit is the fire ant, which populates most of the American South and West, Merchant says. Because these tiny red ants like to build their nests in the middle of mown fields, garden plots, and other sunny places, it’s easy for people to end up stepping or kneeling down on them without realizing it and suffer dozens — or hundreds — of bites, he says.
A fire ant’s bite causes a painful, heat-filled stinging sensation, and a small red welt will form almost immediately. Within a day or two, this welt will often develop a white pustule that may be itchy or painful, he says.
Some other ants, namely red harvester or carpenter ants, also sting or bite. But those types are much less common than fire ant stings, Merchant says. Both tend to cause a stab of pain, similar to a beesting, and a small red welt that may become itchy or painful.
In all cases — and like many other bug bites or stings — ants can transmit infections or illnesses. If a bite victim notices any muscle pain or flulike symptoms, seek medical attention. The same goes for problems swallowing, swollen limbs, or any other signs of an allergic reaction. But if the symptoms are just red skin welts, washing them with soap and water and using over-the-counter anti-itch or pain meds should suffice. ( 14 )
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Watch Out for These Other Common Bug Bites and Stings
Along with the biting or stinging pests mentioned above, a handful of others are also fairly common, and their bite symptoms are worth knowing.
Bed Bugs These bites typically look like clusters of small red welts — often on the face, neck, arms, or hands — although they may not be visible at all. ( 15 ) Most people identify bed bug bites after noticing skin welts and finding the small (but visible) bugs on their beds or mattresses. ( 16 )
Lice Bites from lice almost always affect a person’s scalp or other places where hair is present , and they are usually identified by an itchy sensation. (They’re often too small to see.)
Wasps Stings usually cause painful quarter-size red welts, although reactions vary from person to person. They may cause serious allergic reactions, including swelling of the throat, lips, or mouth. ( 17 )
Black Flies These bites are painful and can cause anything from a small cutlike wound to a golf-ball-size lump. They can cause fever, headaches, and other serious reactions — all of which require medical attention. ( 18 )
The Most Common Bug Bite Complication Is a Secondary Infection Caused by Scratching
The most common complication associated with bug bites is a secondary bacterial infection, usually caused by scratching or picking at a bug bite with dirty fingernails, Day says. Regardless of the type of bug bite, if a person notices the skin issue become larger, redder, more painful, or more inflamed after a day or two has passed, that could indicate a bacterial infection, he says. The same holds for muscle aches, chills, fever, or other systemic symptoms.
If any of these bite symptoms emerge, see a doctor. You will likely be prescribed oral or topical antibiotics to get the infection under control, Day says.
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic has information on a variety of illnesses and common health problems. It also has information on what you should do about spider bites , tick bites , and  mosquito bites , as well as other bug topics. You can also find out more about the clinic’s ongoing research and connect with providers.
KidsHealth
KidsHealth is an online source of health information to help children and families. The site is run by the nonprofit Nemours. It has information for both parents and kids. And when it comes to bug bites, KidsHealth has information on brown recluse spider bites , mosquito bites , tick bites , and more.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
This government agency protects both environmental and human health, and, accordingly, the site features useful information about bug bites. The breadth of content differs for the different types of bug bites. For example, the site has very thorough resources about bedbugs , ticks , and mosquitoes . The site also features a handy tool that allows you to determine the best insect repellent for you based on the insects you need protection from, for how long, and any specific ingredients you’re looking for.
Favorite Resource for How to Avoid Bug Bites (and Related Diseases) While Traveling
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC is the government agency within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services tasked with increasing the health security of the country and protecting Americans from disease. The CDC’s website has guides on different types of bug bites and potential disease they may spread. You’ll also find helpful travel warnings about bug bites and bug-borne diseases.
Favorite Resource to Identify Bug Bites
Orkin
This pest-control company serves more than 1.7 million residents and businesses around the world. Suffice to say: It knows bugs, and it has put together a useful identification guide to help you narrow down what bit you based on photos, the appearance of the bite, and accompanying symptoms.
Favorite Sources for Bug Spray and Insect Repellent Information
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports is known for its consumer product ratings. The group’s insect repellent buying guide gives you information on different types of insect repellent, what to look for when buying one, and a comparison of how different products tested against one another. (Yes, the testing process involves volunteers getting bitten by all sorts of insects. Read about that process on the site, too.)
Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI)
REI is an outdoor gear and apparel retailer. But in addition to the supplies it sells, the brand also hosts classes and events for outdoor activities and provides a lot of helpful information on its site — including an everything-you-need-to-know explainer on the different types of insect repellent options (including sprays, lotions, clothing, and airborne solutions).
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Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking
Langley R, Mack K, Haileyesus T, et al. National Estimates of Noncanine Bite and Sting Injuries Treated in U.S. Hospital Emergency Departments, 2001–2010.  Wilderness Environmental Medicine . March 2014.
Illnesses from Mosquito, Tick, and Flea Bites Increasing in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . May 1, 2018.
Stoecker WV, Vetter RS, Dyer JA. Not Recluse — A Mnemonic Device to Avoid False Diagnoses of Brown Recluse Spider Bites. JAMA Dermatology . May 2017.