Other Bites & Stings

Once thought to have been eradicated 50 years ago, bedbugs are making a comeback. These tiny insects feed on the blood of humans and animals. Bedbugs were all but wiped out by the pesticide DDT....

Catfish are large, bottom-dwelling fish that can be found all over the world in freshwater or marine habitats. Catfish are known for their trademark large mouths and whiskers. In addition to these...

A yellow jacket sting falls into the category of insect bites referred to as hymenoptera, which includes stings or bites from bees, ants, hornets and wasps (yellow jackets). The hymenoptera sting...

Sea lice is a term commonly used to describe Swimmer's itch (also known as sea bather's eruption or Cercarial Dermatitis). Actual sea lice are parasite bugs that affect fish and sea lice describes...

Lindane is used to cure lice and scabies. Also known as Benzene hexachloride or Gamma hexachlorocyclohexane, Lindane is only prescribed if you have tried other medications and they have not...

Mites can be a pain, literally. Mites feed off their hosts, typically rats or birds, biting them and sucking their blood. Biting mites can cause irritation and discomfort for both pet and humans...

Scabies is a skin infection caused by the scabies mite, technically Sarcoptes scabiei, burrowing in the skin. A scabies infection is highly infectious even before any symptoms of the scabies rash...

Pinworms are the most common roundworm infection. Pinworms are highly infectious, and they can live off a host for up to two weeks. Pinworms generally infect humans, then begin their life cycle...

The Puss Caterpillar, aka Asp, is one of 50 caterpillar species in the United States that is poisonous. It is actually the larvae of the Flannel Moth. This article will explain how to identify the...

Hookworm is a generic name for a small group of parasites that latch onto the intestines of their victims through hook-like appendages near their mouths. Millions of people worldwide become...

Oak spider mites, or Oligonychus bicolor, are tiny reddish-brown mites that primarily causes major leaf bronzing in the bottom leaves of oak trees. They lay their eggs, which look like red...

Tapeworms rarely cause symptoms within their human or animal hosts. Most of the time, those who are host to a tapeworm don't even know they are infected, unless the parasite grows too large. At...

The life expectancy of body lice is an average of 30-40 days. Body lice typically attach themselves to clothes or human hair and then transfer to the human body to feed. Body lice are slightly...

Scabies is a skin condition that can be treated by prescribed oral medications, lotions and creams. This rash consists of intense itching and painful blisters.

Itchy bites, often a result of an attack by a mosquito, can be among the most unpleasant and lingering forms of itchy skin. It happens because these blood-feeding insects inject an anti-coagulant...

Depending on the season, time of day, and weather, field work in rural or wilderness areas can be burdensome when thousands of obnoxious insects are bothering you the entire time. Insects, such...

Chiggers are a tiny red mite (sometimes called red bugs) that leave very itchy bites---commonly on the ankles, although bites show up elsewhere, too. Contrary to popular belief, chiggers do not...

Scorpions are members of the arachnid family and are closely related to spiders. Like their better- known cousins, they use their venom to kill or paralyze their prey. It is costly, in terms of...

Chigger bites are the bane of outdoor campers and backyard barbecue afficionados. This wee pest--less than 1/150th of an inch in diameter--is the larval form of the Trombiculidae mite. Contrary to...

If you were stung by a Scorpion or a Wasp, one of the easiest ways to get rid of the sting is by following the steps in this article.

Trypanosoma brucei, or T. Brucei is a species of parasite that lives within a mammal's bloodstream and is known to cause several neurologic conditions, most notably, African sleeping sickness. ...

The stem and leaves of the stinging nettle plant possess tiny defensive quills. When touched, these quills inject toxins into the skin. While uncomfortable, the side effects are generally mild.

Sea urchins live on the bottoms of shallow oceans all over the world. Some urchins are flat and others are round, but all are covered with long spikes that they can imbed into the skin of other...

Sea urchins are beautiful creatures that live on the sea floor under shallow ocean waters. Although fun to look at, humans should never touch or move sea urchins. Unfortunately, it is possible for...

Head lice are very small insects that live on the scalp, which is also where they lay their eggs. They survive longer when on the scalp, but how long can head lice live without body contact?

Harvest mites, most commonly known as "chiggers", have a bite that itches more than any other common insect bite. Worse still, the bites are harder to treat than others, and can last for...

You're sitting on your lawn chair when the very excited mosquito starts fluttering near your ear. Swiping at it, you yell angrily. There are ways to avoid mosquitoes and mosquito bites. Mosquitoes...

A mite that can lay twenty-five eggs on a single human hair follicle, live from fourteen to eighteen days, and is prevalent among humans may sound like an epidemic. However, because mites do not...

Ancient Hawaiians made use of all the plants in their homeland. Some were used as food, some as medicine, some for building, cordage and fiber. The plants they used for medicine are called the...

Lice begin their lives as nits. These are the eggs laid by the female louse in a host's hair. In her lifetime, which is about a month long, the average female will produce more than 100 nits. It's...

How to avoid Tapeworms. Whether it be you or your dog, tapeworms can be a problem. Here is how to avoid them at all costs.

Skin mites are a group of microscopic organisms that burrow into a mammal's skin. For humans, most skin mites are not a problem. A few, however, are easily transmitted and spread. In most cases,...

Scorpion stings are a major health concern in underdeveloped countries. In Mexico, scorpion stings account for about a thousand deaths per year, whereas in the United States only a handful or...

Mites are tiny creatures (less than a millimeter long) that look somewhat like insects. However, they occupy the Arachnida class of the Arthropod phylum along with spiders and ticks. Most mite...

Onchocerciasis disease is more commonly known as river blindness. Onchocerciasis is the result of an infection by Onchocerca volvulus, which is a parasitic worm. The parasite is introduced into...

Herpes B is a virus that is common among primates. The disease manifests itself as lesions on the skin. Herpes B is generally not considered a human disease, but, in rare cases, humans have been...

Some insect bites are merely annoying while others may be uncomfortable or even dangerous. Usually the reaction is only in the area of the puncture and may cause itching, slight swelling or minor...

There aren't many things yuckier than being eaten alive by a mite. Scabies symptoms can range from an itchy rash that looks like pimples, to squiggly red lines where they've burrowed under the...

Related to ticks, mites are an extremely successful group of insect-like invertebrates. Their success is due in part to their microscopic size and also to their ability to thrive in a wide variety...

Mites, or Sarcoptes scabei, can lead to a skin infestation known as scabies. Commonly referred to as a sexually transmitted disease, the infestation is transmitted by close skin to skin contact as...

Imagining mites in your home may not be the most exciting idea, whether it be dust mites, mites found on your pets, scabies, or any other kind of creepy crawlies that may be lurking around or near...

In tropical waters, sea urchin spines can cause terrible infections and are (except for by the following method) extremely difficult to remove. Tweezers will crush the spines in the skin, and the...

Gnats can be as irritating and pervasive as mosquitoes, and just as hard to eradicate. To prevent gnat bites it may seem easiest to just soak yourself in a DEET-based insecticide, but if you are...

Scorpion stings are often painful and sometimes potentially dangerous. However many people don't tend to know what they should do about a scorpion sting if they have never been stung before....

Mites are microscopic invertebrate organisms that often act as parasites--feeding off of animals, humans, plants and even mold. There are over 45,000 classified species of mite, and they are...

Just the thought of a human skin mite infection can make your skin crawl. Human skin mites are a type of arachnid called sarcoptes scabiei, more commonly known as scabies. They burrow just under...

Sea lice actually are not lice at all. They are the microscopic offspring of jellyfish; However, since their effects are similar to those of head or pubic lice, they have gained the nickname of...

If you have children, then chances are you will encounter a head lice infestation at some point in time. If you find that your child has head lice, don't panic. Head lice are bothersome but not...

Crabs, or pubic lice, are parasites that get nourishment from human blood. An infestation of pubic lice can easily occur after you have sex with someone who has pthiriasis (crabs). Pubic lice like...

Most human skin parasites bite and leave, but some dig in for the duration. Almost all skin parasites, whether they feed and leave or feed and stay, cause itching and swelling of the skin. Left...