Summer Safety: Treating Bug Bites and Stings

June 17, 2004 -- You're out on the porch with a glass of lemonade and a good book when along comes unwanted visitor: a mosquito. Or a bee.

Bugs are one of the unpleasant accompaniments to warm weather, but from their perspective, they're simply trying to survive — and reproduce.

"When insects and their relatives — spiders and ticks — bite or sting you, they are doing it for one of two reasons," said Dr. Michael J. Raupp, a professor with the University of Maryland's department of entomology. "Either they want to get food for development or laying eggs, or they are defending themselves or their hives."

In the average bee hive, there might be 30,000 honey bees. But you would not get stung unless you crashed into it, in which case female worker bees would defend their hive to the death, Raupp said.

Honeybees can sting you just once. Their stinging cousins — paper wasps and yellow jackets — do not have a barbed stinger, which means they can sting you multiple times.

"The best thing to do is squash it and get away," Raupp said. Bees and wasps may cause a life-threatening allergic reaction in 1 to 1.5 percent of the population.

If you are stung by a bee, remember to scrape away the stinger, rather than pull it out, doctors advise.

"Never squeeze the stinger or use tweezers," ABCNEWS' Medical Editor Dr. Tim Johnson said. "It will cause more venom to go into the skin and injure the muscle."

Remove the stinger by scraping a fingernail over the area, or by using a 4-by-4-inch piece of gauze and wiping it over the area.

Geeky — But Tick-Free

If you are unlucky enough to have an American dog tick get under your skin, it will attach itself and feed for more than 10 days. After the feeding, the tick can lay up to 5,000 eggs, and increase in size up to 120 percent.

Ticks can also carry ehrlichia and Lyme disease. But if you know where they congregate, you can try to avoid them.