Who, besides bedbugs, can bite? - briefly
Various arthropods and mammals bite humans, such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, spiders, certain flies, and domestic animals like dogs and cats. These bites may cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, or transmit pathogens.
Who, besides bedbugs, can bite? - in detail
Many creatures other than bedbugs are capable of delivering bites that cause irritation, allergic reactions, or disease transmission.
Insects
- Mosquitoes: inject saliva containing anticoagulants; can transmit malaria, dengue, Zika, West Nile virus.
- Fleas: bite humans and animals, causing itching and potential transmission of plague or murine typhus.
- Ticks: attach for hours, feeding on blood; vectors for Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis.
- Lice (head, body, pubic): feed on human blood or skin debris, causing pruritus and secondary infection.
- Sand flies: transmit leishmaniasis; their bite produces painful papules.
- Horseflies and deer flies: deliver painful punctures, can cause allergic reactions and transmit tularemia.
Arachnids
- Spiders: most species produce harmless bites; however, widow, recluse, and brown recluse spiders inject neurotoxic or necrotic venom.
- Mites: chiggers (Trombiculidae) embed larval mouthparts in skin, causing intense itching; scabies mites burrow, leading to dermatitis.
Mammals
- Dogs and cats: may bite during aggression or fear, resulting in puncture wounds and risk of bacterial infection (e.g., Pasteurella).
- Rodents: bite when handled, can transmit hantavirus or rat-bite fever.
Reptiles and amphibians
- Snakes: some non‑venomous species bite defensively, causing mechanical injury; venomous snakes inject toxins that can be lethal.
- Lizards (e.g., monitor lizards) and certain frogs may bite when threatened, delivering painful wounds.
Birds
Other arthropods
- Ants: fire ants deliver painful stings; carpenter ants may bite and inject formic acid.
- Wasps, bees, hornets: sting rather than bite, but the puncture delivers venom causing localized or systemic reactions.
Marine organisms
- Jellyfish: tentacle contact causes nematocyst discharge, producing sting‑like bites.
- Marine leeches: attach to skin, feeding on blood and causing irritation.
Each of these organisms employs a different mechanism—mandibles, proboscises, chelicerae, or stingers—to breach the skin. The clinical consequences range from simple erythema to severe systemic illness, emphasizing the need for accurate identification and appropriate medical response.