We are going to be talking about stings and bites and all of the ouchy things that come
along with insects.
But first I wanted to talk about the difference between a bite and a sting and poison and
venom and of course the Schmitt Sting Pain Index which is used pretty often to describe
how painful a bite or a sting is from certain insects.
So Simon, what's the difference between poison and venom?
Well, about horrible.
But venom is generally injective and poison is, let's say when you touch something like
a poison dart frog for instance, it's like brought through the skin whereas venom would
be a bite or a sting or something that's injected on an apple basis.
That's why I would best describe it.
Yeah, no, you did.
That's perfect.
So venom, like you said, needs to be injected.
So like spider bites, mosquitoes do have a venom.
Oh my gosh, my cat is making so much noise.
I'm sorry.
And then poison needs to be ingested or basically eaten.
Okay, so that's good.
And then the difference between bites and stings, which is actually kind of funny because
they are very similar, but typically sting is not within the mouth.
So it's not something that the mouth does, although there are several insects that do
sting with their mouth.
And then the bite is like the initial like...
Okay.
Terry has asked, what is the worst bite or sting that you've ever received or got?
I, you know, I've been really fortunate for me.
I've been really fortunate.
I haven't been bitten or stung by anything super terribly, but I have gotten stung by
a bee and I guess for me that was like the worst thing because it does burn.
And I got it like right here on my arm.
What about you, Simon?
What's the worst thing you've ever been stung or bitten by?
It would have been an assassin bug.
Assassin bug.
It's got to be been stung by a scorpion numerous times by scorpions.
Assassin bug has got to be the most painful and horrible thing I've ever been bitten slash
stung slash invaded by.
Yes, invaded.
Okay.
Good, good.
Yeah.
They, assassin bugs are rated a four on the Schmidt sting pain index.
And so we're going to talk about that as well.
What exactly the Schmidt sting pain index is.
It's a measurement of the relative pain that an insect sting or a bite can cause to a human
being.
It ranges from one to four and then there's like points in the middle.
So it's like 1.2, 1.3.
And Schmidt was actually, he was obviously a scientist and he basically allowed himself
to be stung by over a thousand different insects.
And then he, yeah, maybe a little crazy, I don't know.
But he, and then he would go and rate those stings based on his index there that, you
know, he'd be like, okay, he got stung by like bees and wasps, mosquitoes.
I mean, pretty much anything that can sting, he probably got himself stung by it.
And then he rated things.
So as we go through and talk about these different insects and stuff, I will also be including
their rating on the Schmidt pain scale.
If I found it, if I didn't find it, I'm sorry.
I'll rate it myself if I've been stung by it.
So yeah, I think the first thing is probably also the most common, which would be mosquitoes.
And mosquitoes are, I mean, they're prevalent all over the world.
Usually they're found around like standing water.
So like lakes or swamps, ponds, stuff like that.
There are like 3,500 species of approximately of mosquitoes.
And they're also known to, to spread or transmit serious diseases like yellow fever, Zika fever,
malaria and dengue, which I don't really know what dengue.
Sorry?
Dengue fever, horrible.
Yeah it's awful from what I know.
It's quite common in Africa.
It's a very horrible disease that basically causes a fever and makes you ill.
Yeah.
But I'm pretty sure that their sting only scores about one because the symptoms of a
bite or a sting for it is kind of like a bite.
It's, it's, it's a, it's an invasion.
We'll put it in the invasion.
But yeah, they're, they're
I have an idea if you give the three options, because like you say, there is three, isn't
there?
It's like you've got your bites, you've got your stings.
And then you've got some that's like in the middle, basically like, like a mixture of,
you know, assassin bugs and mosquitoes, mosquitoes, you know, they all, they all inject something
into it.
They all inject venom into it.
So they're both, they are a sting, but they also are a bite because they come from this
end.
Yeah.
And the thing is that they, they plunge into you.
So it gives a lot of people the heebie-jeebies.
So I can understand.
I can totally understand.
But okay.
So symptoms from a mosquito invasion is you're going to get some redness around the bite,
swelling, itchiness, obviously.
And then that's about it.
Some people do have allergic reactions to that, which can include all sorts of other
symptoms like a fever, you know, hives, breaking out in hives, having, having issues like that.
Anaphylaxis is a big deal.
So if you do happen to get anaphylaxis from any of these insects, go to the hospital for
sure and get treated with, with your antihistamines.
Yeah.
It's, it's, anaphylaxis is no fun for sure.
A lot of, some people even, they, they feel like they can't breathe.
So they, they have, what did they call that?
Pulmonary distress?
Yes.
It's, it's horrible.
I, I've experienced that on many occasions.
My wife has experienced that.
Last time I experienced that, I was at a reggae.
Oh wow.
I can absolutely understand.
I actually blacked out because of the breathing part, where when you panic about your breathing,
you tend to hold your breath so you black out.
So you can, you know, in which is your body's way of saying, chill out, you know what I mean?
Just, just have a lie down, chill out.
Right.
Calm down.
Yeah, antihistamines, it's, it's really dodgy.
So if you are allergic to anything, make sure that you get to a hospital.
Yes, absolutely.
It's always handy.
So I have, I have antihistamines there on my, on my desk, right to my hand.
Because it's always handy because you, especially if you keep things, tropical stuff, it's always
handy to have a few different ones hanging around because you never know what your allergic
to.
You might get bitten by a spider that you've kept for years.
You might not know it, but you might be allergic to it.
So it's always good to have them hanging around.
Right, the EpiPen.
They won't do you any harm.
Pop a couple of each.
It's a good thing to do.
It's better to be safe than sorry.
As far as, you know, as far as I know, I'm not allergic to anything.
So again, I'm really fortunate about that, but my mom is allergic to bee stings.
So bees and wasps, if she gets stung, she, she, she can get that anaphylaxis.
So definitely very dangerous for that.
Kerry has a really good question as well.
She says, are bed bugs considered venomous?
No, actually, I don't believe they're, they could be.
They're, it's not, they're not venomous.
They are venomous.
They come under a similar, a category as mitra where they, they inject to dissolve what they're
eating.
That's true.
So they're similar to mosquitoes.
I think they do have like a chemical in their saliva that kind of calms the skin down during
a bite so that you don't really feel it, you know, until later, then it starts to itch.
And they are, they are a type of mite.
So yeah.
And that, as we know, mites are arachnids and most arachnids are venomous.
So I would imagine they probably do have a little bit.
I don't know.
I've never even looked into that to be honest.
But I think that might be a pure guess.
Yeah.
I'm going to say that they would inject something, even if it's something like a numbing agent.
Yeah.
Because there's a lot of things out there that will inject you with a numbing agent.
So you don't even know they're eating you.
Yeah.
Right.
Headlights.
Yeah.
Headlights are like that.
Yep.
Absolutely.
And with bed bugs, they, the way you can tell if it's a bed bug mite is, you know, they
is they will have breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one setting, essentially.
So you'll have more than one bite of the same type of bite.
Usually it's like, like I said, like groupings of three.
So breakfast, lunch and dinner.
But I mean, the outliers are out there, of course, but for, for reference, that's how
you can tell that your bite is a bed bug.
And they are easily killed by a diatomaceous earth.
So if you happen to get a hitchhiker bed bug or something like that, and you want to get
rid of them because trust you probably do.
Diatomaceous earth is a fantastic way because it basically immobilizes them.
It cuts up their little legs and then they can't move and they can't bite.
They can't procreate.
So that's a good, good, good information for everybody.
Mosquitoes are, let's see.
So getting back to mosquitoes.
So the treatments that you can use to, for mosquito bites, obviously you can wash with
soap and water.
So washing that area will help to get rid of some of the venom.
You can use an ice pack to reduce the swelling.
And then of course, there's a old, kind of an old like holistic way of using baking soda
and a little bit of water and making a paste and then placing that over the bites.
And then it says to apply it for about 10 minutes.
And then usually it helps to resolve those symptoms and to ease up that mosquito bite.
And then of course, antihistamines like Benadryl, Allegra, Claritin, whatever.
And then also applying Aloe Vera on the skin is very helpful for reducing those symptoms.
Every time I've been in tropical countries, I always take quinine.
Just in case, because of mosquitoes, which repels chances of malaria.
Right.
Well, that's good.
So quinine is like the original medicine for malaria.
Oh, see, I didn't know that.
That's amazing.
If you're going to a tropical country to work or to play or whatever, quinine is, quinine
tablets are the thing you should be taking about two weeks before you even fly to them
to get them in the distance.
And then it prevents malaria, which is...
Oh, that's cool.
It's very good for people who weigh a lot like how you sit.
Yeah, absolutely.
I think that's fascinating.
I didn't even know that.
They make you sick.
Okay.
So if you don't take them, be prepared for a very, very upset tummy, some people, and
they can make you pretty vomiting.
So yeah, that's really good.
It's not nerves.
It's quinine.
It does work against mosquitoes.
Oh, good.
I'm here.
I got bit thousands of times.
Oh, yeah.
No, I do get bit by mosquitoes, but it's pretty rare.
I have a negative blood type, so perhaps that's...
I've got a weird blood type.
So I kind of...
But mosquitoes are interesting because they are attracted.
They can basically see or sense carbon dioxide that is exhaled by humans, by other creatures.
And so that's what attracts them.
They're attracted to pheromones and alkaloids within your body and your system.
They can smell that, and that's what brings them to you.
I'm not going to wave a flag here for smoking.
Yeah.
But at the time in the 90s when I was a brothel lot, I used to smoke.
And when I smoked, I could tell a cigarette was smoking.
No mosquitoes.
Yeah.
Okay.
So maybe they don't like nicotine.
I don't know.
Maybe.
I don't smoke.
Right.
Don't smoke, but maybe mosquitoes don't like it.
Okay.
So the next creature, the next insect on my list for bites and symptoms and whatnot are
fire ants.
Fire ants are actually pretty common here in the States, especially in the Southwest
regions.
We do get fire ants here in Colorado, and they can be freaking painful.
So there are 200 species of them.
They occur in tropical regions and some temperate regions of North America, as I said.
They scale a 1.2 on the Schmidt Sting pain index, which again is kind of fascinating.
And the symptoms of a fire ant bite can include severe burning or a fiery sensation, swelling,
redness, and the venom is actually can, it compounds in the body.
So if you get bit once by a fire ant, okay, you're going to feel that burning and itching,
but then if you get bit second and third time, it gets worse.
So the more you get bit by a fire ant, the worse the stinging and the itching is going
to become because it just compounds.
It's a sting.
Uh-huh.
It's a bite.
It's a stinging.
Is it a sting?
Is it?
I'm pretty sure it's a bite.
A fire ant will sting and then sting several times.
It will grip onto you with its jaws and then it will use its abdomen and sting you several
times over and over.
Yeah, they're vicious.
Vicious.
Yeah, I think they're evil creatures.
Yeah, no, absolutely.
You know how ant colonies are.
There's millions of them.
So if you're messing with the ants, the fire ant nest or the mound, you're asking for trouble.
Yeah, right.
They're invasive in the USA.
Uh-huh.
They actually started off at Blight in Peru and they've moved on through Central America,
through Mexico, into the United States and they're going northwards.
I do believe a few years ago we've had a big government operation to try and get rid of
the fire ants from the USA.
That failed miserably.
Yeah, no.
Fire ants are smarter than we are.
So they really are.
They're pretty...
They just moved on.
I did the opposite.
They tried drowning and all sorts of things.
It was quite fascinating.
I saw that note so long ago on a documentary on Netflix.
That's interesting.
That's really interesting.
Oh, Eden Invert says that fire ants bite and sting at the same time.
So they're one of those in the middle.
They're an invasive...
Hold on.
And sting.
Yeah, they're an intruder.
There we go.
So the bite and sting is at the same time.
See?
And that's...
There we go.
Okay, good.
Good to know.
Thank you.
Some common treatments, obviously, for fire ant stings is you're going to want to wash
any of the bites or the area with soap and water.
I always find it's good to take a shower.
And then, of course, like a cold compress, so like ice pack or something that you can
like wrap around and kind of apply that pressure.
That's going to help those stings.
Anti-histamine and then hydrocortisone.
So it's a type of cream.
So hydrocortisone is a type of cream that you can apply to bites and stings.
And it actually really helps with the itching and swelling and pain and all that.
So yeah, there's that.
I recommend hydrocortisone.
So pretty much for any bite or sting.
Does zinc and gas fire work?
I mean, we haven't got fire ants, so I just...
Yeah, you guys are lucky.
You don't get fire ants.
They're over here.
They're in the Western Hemisphere.
Nothing.
It's good unless you're like me where you like bugs and then you have to buy them all
in from abroad.
But yeah, we don't get anything here.
But yeah.
Yeah, right.
If zinc and gas flow, what are you going to call it?
The stuff you put on for napkin rash.
Yeah.
You know, like the white cream.
I'm just wondering if that would help.
Yeah, it's usually called cortisone here.
You can get it.
Yeah, this cortisone, which is a different cream, if you like.
Right.
Napkin rash cream is generally made of zinc and castor oil.
Yeah, diaper rash.
Yeah.
Yeah, that stuff's good.
Diaper rash, sorry.
I actually broke that down to nappy rash.
I didn't remember that you don't call them nappies.
Yeah, diaper rash.
Right.
It's very similar though.
Diaper rash cream is really similar to cortisone.
So I mean, they're only as far as I know, they're pretty close.
Bugs Galore says pseudo creams.
Pseudo cream?
Yeah.
I've never heard of pseudo cream.
Do you know what that is?
Yeah, if you know what she's talking about more than I do as far as the creams and stuff
are concerned.
There you go.
You're talking to a man who with Kitchell really has never changed a nappy.
So thank you.
Wonderful.
Okay, so the next thing on my list would be the Africanized honeybees.
Here in the States, a lot of people know them as murder hornets and all that fun jazz.
So we call them murder hornets.
I don't know who coined that term, but they're not actually deadly.
They're just Africanized honeybees.
So these guys are hybridized bees that actually were created by a lab in an effort to create
a bee that was a lot more productive than the normal honeybees.
They wanted this honeybee to produce honey at a faster rate than what honeybees actually
do.
Instead, they created an incredibly aggressive and violent bee that everybody calls a murder
hornet and they don't actually produce honey any faster than regular honeybees.
So again, one of those wonderful examples of a manmade creature that it didn't do what
we wanted it to do.
But the stings are no more painful than like a European honeybee.
So it's not as bad.
I mean, obviously the sting is going to be painful because you're going to get that redness,
the itchy, the swelling, probably a little burning on the Schmidt pain scale.
It's a 2.0.
So it's kind of in the middle.
It's definitely a sting that you're going to know.
But the problem with them, the reason that we call them murder hornets is because they
are actually prone to sting with a lot less provocation.
So you could be within the general area of this Africanized honeybee and it'll just sting
you because you're in its area.
So they can be very aggressive.
And of course, if you mess with the hive, you're going to get the entire clan of them.
And that's when it can become very deadly for people.
And especially if you have any kind of allergies to bees or wasps or anything, then the more
or more stings you get from an Africanized honeybee, the worse it's going to be for you.
So definitely seek out medical treatment and the hospital if you are allergic to this,
to any kind of bees.
Because again, anaphylaxis is no joke.
Treatment obviously for a sting from Africanized honeybee is going to be washing with soap
and water, which I can say is kind of a treatment for every little sting and bite.
And then you're going to want to do like a cold compress.
So like ice pack, some anti-histamine, anti-inflammatories, and hydrocortisone.
But I just I wanted to really emphasize that these guys are not deadly to normal people
who aren't allergic.
And they are a 2.0.
I mean, I would say that's pretty normal for a bee or a wasp sting.
They're painful.
I think there are movie scripts waiting to happen.
I mean, we took this bee and this bee and put them in a lab to produce another bee.
And now they took over and everyone calls them murderites.
That's just a film script.
It's nothing more than that.
But I think one of the other things you got to touch on by mentioning those and the way
people perceive them is pretty much the way people perceive most books.
It's like, is that going to bite me?
Is it going to sting me?
Is it going to kill me?
People think they're a lot worse than they actually are.
Yeah.
In most cases.
And it's only because of the lack of education.
I mean, you don't expect everybody to know every single book and every single thing that's
going to happen to you and if it bites you.
But even common things, I've seen people not know if they can bite or sting.
Yeah, absolutely.
You're going to die if a black widow bites you, for instance.
No.
That's a cotton one.
Which, you know, unless you're very unlucky and you are allergic to it, you're not going
to die because of that.
Right.
A giant will bite you unless you're allergic.
Must date this.
Unless you're allergic, everything.
Yeah.
But most things will not kill you.
No, I agree.
Most things are not going to kill you for sure.
They are.
Some things will bloody hurt.
Oh, yeah.
You're in a topic.
You know, that's basically it, you know, if you can handle a bit of ices, then you can
handle the critter.
Let's see.
Go on, you have a quick look.
Most things won't bite and sting you unless you are a perpetrator.
Right.
You're going to be poking it.
Right.
You're not going to come out and bite, to sting you or feed off you unless you're poking
at it, apart from mosquitoes because they're a square.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, 100%.
Seriously, most of these creatures, they don't want anything to do with you except for mosquitoes.
They are happy to bite.
Horrible things.
Carrie says Africanized honeybees are like a flying pit bull with territory issues.
I love that.
That's an awesome comment, Carrie.
Thank you for that.
Very funny.
She's right.
But I've only seen documentaries, et cetera, and read a couple of papers.
But, you know, so I don't, I've not seen one from experience.
So, it's been a experience, until you actually see something with your own eyes, you can't
emphasize how big it is or how creepy it is or whatever.
You know, because filmmakers put creepy things in on purpose.
You know, they'll do it, I'll say, oh, that's creepy, we'll keep that.
But they won't show it just angling around doing its normal thing.
Right.
Yeah, no.
It's, you know, the media really kind of hypes everything up, makes them a lot more fearful
than they actually are.
So that's, I don't know, I guess that's that culture.
You know, that's the fear culture, I guess you could say.
Okay.
So the next thing I've got on my list is botflies.
Botflies, they're also known as what?
What are they also known?
I should have wrote it down, but these are flies that essentially when they lay their
larvae, they lay them inside of an animal skin.
So typically animals get botflies, but there are a couple of species that will infect a
human being.
So essentially what they are, they are actually the larvae of a chunky bee-like fly with rounded
head and like a rounded body.
So they look really, really chunky.
And the larvae are basically short pudgy segmented grubs that, you know, they live inside the
flesh.
So what they do is they'll like burrow in, they've got hooks and all kinds of gross things
that allow them to basically move inside the flesh of an animal or some people.
There are about 40 species of botfly.
And so the symptoms, I mean, you're going to get a welt, like a pretty decent size welt.
There's probably going to be some itching, a bit of swelling, redness, all these things.
And then the treatment is occlusion.
What that means is you're going to basically suffocate the creature out of your skin or
out of your animal skin.
So occlusion, you're going to put like over the lesion, you're going to put a substance
like petroleum jelly, which we call Vaseline, bacon fat, beeswax, heavy oil, glue, nail
polish or chewing gum.
And then you basically put that over the lesion.
And then for several hours, you're going to leave that there and wait for the larvae to
basically migrate to the surface.
And then once it does, it can be removed with tweezers or forceps or anything like that.
So it is something that you can do at home, but a lot of people would prefer to go to
the doctor to actually have it removed because it can be a very intrusive operation.
A lot of people are kind of squeamish.
They don't want to, you know what I mean?
I get that.
Like this is something that makes me kind of squeamish.
I don't want to bot fly in my body.
Ugh.
I'll tell you what, if you're not squeamish, you can actually search for bot fly removal
on YouTube and find videos of it.
Yeah, absolutely.
And then pulling the larvae out of people's foreheads and other places.
It's like those pimple popping videos.
Oh God.
It is right.
But for some reason they're very satisfying.
So I don't know.
It's kind of a thing.
But yeah, bot flies, you can definitely watch videos on how to remove them and everything
like that.
The treatment is going to be the same for animals.
It's basically that occlusion and you wait for the larvae to surface, you'll see the
welts get a little larger.
And then at that point you can just squeeze them out or tweeze them out, you know, that
kind of thing.
It sounds a lot more painful than it probably is.
And this is one that I didn't find the Schmidt pain scale for these guys.
I would assume that like while they're in your flesh, it's not quite as painful because
they probably exude some kind of toxin or something that makes your skin and makes your
body like not notice.
So I don't know.
I wouldn't know.
But yeah, they're so it's a big thing right now in California that bot flies are a problem.
So I wanted to include them because just because of that, I was hoping to help some of my friends
in California.
Who knows?
So the next next thing I've got are centipedes.
They're sting they're actually again, they're kind of in that middle range.
They're a venomous creature, but they have to bite you.
So it's like a bite and a sting all in one.
And it can be very painful.
And the larger the centipede, the more painful the bite or sting is going to be.
But they are rarely deadly.
So usually they're not deadly at all.
So again, back to being allergic really.
And quite fascinating creature the way they like the front pair of legs over time turn
into what's called a toxicocna, which is how it bites you, which is the I think everybody
calls them pincers, don't they really?
The part that injects the venom.
Yeah, it's.
Most people call them pincers.
St. Jarlsbury's actually called it toxicocna.
Right there.
They're very similar to true spiders because they're they're things essentially are like
side to side.
So they they're pinchers.
Yeah.
Rather than, you know, fangs.
Okay, so let's see.
They actually some of some centipedes can produce a toxin like variety of toxins like
histamine, serotonin, cardio depressing toxin S, which I didn't look that up, but I'm absolutely
certain that that means that it's going to slow your heart rate down a bit.
And they can produce some serious health problems for people who are allergic to wasp and bee
stings.
Again, there's that allergy.
So if you know that you have those kinds of allergies, then and you do happen to get bit
or stung by, you know, a centipede, definitely go seek treatment at the hospital.
And the symptoms from these guys is to puncture wounds.
So you're going to see those puncture wounds, redness, swelling.
And then, of course, treatment for this is applying heat or because hot water, because
that will dilute the venom.
Ice packs for swelling, anti histamines, anti inflammatory.
And again, of course, cortisone or that hydro cortisone, that's really going to help as
well.
And puncture wounds.
So this is something that I promised in the description that I would help people understand
how to treat puncture wounds because, yeah, puncture wounds are actually kind of difficult
to treat because they have a tendency to get infected a lot easier than other wounds.
So how you treat a puncture wound is if there's something inside of the puncture wound, you
want to get that out.
Obviously, you know, just remove that from the skin or wherever the wound is.
And then you're going to flush the wound with water, lots and lots of water.
You can use saline.
You can use water.
You can use hydrogen peroxide.
That's a really good one to use because that also will sterilize any of that infectious,
you know, bacteria or anything like that that could be inside the puncture wound.
But you want to flush it, flush it, flush it, flush it.
When you think that you're done flushing, probably not flush it again.
And what I mean by flushing is you're essentially going to squirt or you want to squirt as hard
as you can, like a lot of pressure with that liquid into the wound, like directly into
the wound, flush it out.
And then once you're done doing that, you want to make sure that it stays dry and clean.
Bandages usually helpful, but bandages can also cause some of that moisture and stuff
to remain there.
And that's what you don't want because it can create more infection.
So basically that's how you treat a puncture wound.
So you just flush it out real good, keep it dry and clean.
That's it.
It sounds a lot harder than it probably is, but flushing is probably the hardest part.
So yeah, that's how you treat puncture wounds.
What do you think Simon?
Did I nail it?
Did I get it?
Yeah, I think so.
I mean, it's like, even else is there.
A puncture wound is a cut, isn't it?
No, it's a cut that could be easily infected if something like a sting, for instance, like
a bee or a wasp sting could be.
Well, a bee can definitely leave it behind.
And that can get infected.
I think the closest I can think of to that is probably a splinter.
Yeah, absolutely.
Where the flesh around the foreign object gets infected.
Yeah, yes.
So it would be treated the same way, really.
Absolutely.
Carrie wants to know if we can ice it, if they swell.
Absolutely.
You can definitely put ice on it if it swells, because it is probably going to swell.
Puncture wounds are not the most fun of wounds.
So any kind of intrusive thing in your skin is most likely going to swell.
So that's just your body's way of saying, hey, something's wrong over here.
You can use neoproxen or maybe IQ-prevent, which are anti-inflammatories.
They should both do the trick.
Yeah, absolutely.
Neuro-prevent, as well as some of the...
Sorry, my cats are so silly.
Sorry?
My cats are making so much noise.
I am so sorry I was just distracted.
I've got a mantis here next to me on the front, and it keeps turning down on me, and it looks
like it's going to fly in my face.
So I keep having to pick him up.
It's another feeling.
No worries.
He's not crazy, though, at least.
He's not known to be.
He's just threatening.
All right.
So the next and last thing on my list, other than most painful stings in the world, I'm
going to talk about brown recluse.
So brown recluse spiders, they're very common here in the United States.
This is probably the one bite that is probably the worst bite that you could possibly get
here in the States.
A lot of people think that it's the black widow, but these guys are far worse because
of the nature of their venom.
They are a necrotoxic venom.
So what that means is...okay, so let me paraphrase this.
Essentially there are two types of venom.
So you've got the first type, which is the neurotoxic, which is going to affect things
like the nervous system.
So that's going to affect your heart rate, your breathing, what you're feeling, paralytics,
that kind of thing.
The other type of venom is going to be your necrotoxin, which is what the brown recluse
has.
So basically what that means is anything, any living cell that this toxin touches, it's
going to kill it.
So it's a necrotoxin.
And this necroneurotoxin, that also applies to rattlesnakes or venomous snakes.
So there are some snakes that if they bite you, you're going to see the flesh and the
living cells and organisms in that area is going to start to die.
And that's why they actually require medical attention pretty quickly so that we can flush
all that out and keep it from killing too many of the cells because people have lost
limbs like legs, feet, fingers, toes, stuff like that from these kinds of bites.
So a brown recluse, there are 11 species of brown recluse in the United States.
They're established in 16 states, which are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee,
and Texas.
So if you live in any of those states, you probably have seen some brown recluse.
So the symptoms of a brown recluse bite is going to be reddened skin.
Obviously around the bite, you're probably going to have those puncture wounds, although
it is a pretty small spider, so I doubt you would really see it.
The skin can blister.
It also can turn a deep blue or purple color and even black.
If it's black, purple, definitely go seek medical treatment because a recluse bite is
not anything you want to mess with.
There's going to be some mild to intense pain and itching, and it can actually last for
two to eight hours.
If you get fever, chills, headache, body aches, nausea, any of those things, then that's probably
an allergic reaction.
Again, go seek that medical treatment.
But if it's a relatively small bite and it's not quite as serious, you can wash the area
with soap and water using tetanus prophylaxis and then anti-histamines, anti-things like
that, but this is a pretty serious bite.
Like I said, with that neurotoxin or that necrotoxin, it is going to kill any of the living cells
around the bite.
So if you get a pretty decent bite and envenomated pretty deeply, it's definitely a bite you
want to go to the hospital to get treated for.
I've known people who got bit by a brown recluse and they have lost chunks of their leg.
They've got this scar that's just like, oh yeah, that's when I got bit by a brown recluse.
I just wanted to dispel that.
Everybody thinks that the black widow is worse, but no.
It's the recluse.
I'm not saying that they're...
I'm sorry.
We don't have either.
Yeah, you don't even have them.
Yeah, sorry.
But yeah, I mean, I don't want to fear monger about this spider because they serve a purpose.
They obviously take care of pests and other insects and things like that.
But if you do happen to get bit by a recluse, it's not a fun bite.
It really is not.
The reason they're called the recluse is because you rarely see them, isn't it?
They are in places like in little holes and garages and cells or basements, as you would
say, and places where there's not going to be one running across your tabletop and in
the kitchen.
They are in secluded places that you can expect spiders to be.
They're very shy.
Very, very shy.
Well, recluse, if you could even say.
Right.
I mean, the last thing they want to do is bite you anyway.
So I mean, you really have to make the recluse pretty upset or defensive for it to bite you.
I actually, I don't usually do this, but I will promote one thing and that would be tarantula
cat.
She has one as a pet.
She does keep a brown recluse as a pet because she found it somewhere in her house.
And then she just was like, I want to keep you and film you and check it all out.
But the cool thing about her video on it is that she is basically dispelling the rumors
that spiders just want to bite you for no apparent reason.
She basically caught this creature and then made an enclosure for it and then boom, put
it in the enclosure.
And as much as she was messing with it, it was running from her.
It was calm.
You know, it didn't want to mess with her, you know?
So I just want to put that out there that this is not a spider that is aggressive.
It won't bite you just out of nowhere.
It's a very docile species.
Same with the black widow.
They're very docile.
They're not, you know, they're not aggressive.
They're not just going to bite you for no reason.
So yeah, just, you know, they are.
It is a dangerous bite.
It can be very painful.
You definitely are going to need to seek medical attention.
But if you get bit, most likely it's, you know, that you almost squished it.
You know, it's a defensive maneuver, you know?
So yeah, there it is.
And then the last thing I've got is the most painful stings or bites in the world.
And this is according to a lot of these are actually according to the Schmidt, you know,
pain index.
So the first one we've got is the bullet ant.
These guys, the bullet ants, I believe are native to like tropical regions.
And they definitely score a four on the Schmidt pain index.
The next one we've got a warrior wasp.
It's again, it's a four on the Schmidt index.
They're native to tropical forests of the Americas.
So you know, central and South America.
Orange spider wasp in Australia is a four on the pain index.
These guys actually hunt the giant huntsman spider that is native to Australia.
So it's a wasp.
It's similar to like the tarantula hawk here.
And that also is one that was the most painful sting.
So the tarantula hawks here in the States, if you get stung by one of those guys, it's
a four on the Schmidt pain index.
And then the last one is going to be the horrid assassin bug, which is a four on that pain
index.
They are native to the West African tropicals.
Yeah.
So you have firsthand experience of being stung or bit, you know, invaded by an assassin
bug.
I felt dirty afterwards.
It felt awful.
Yeah.
It's several times.
Yes.
Oof.
It's pretty.
So would you say that it's a four?
Is that accurate?
And that's Tessarrest, but unfortunately I'm not mad enough to do that.
I believe in and not play with other things.
The thing with the assassin bugs is I actually sell assassin bugs.
So getting bit is one of those things because they generally hide on the back.
So when you put your hand in, you pick the back up.
If you put your finger on one, you're getting it.
You know, that's it.
Yeah.
It's going to go after anything that moves.
I mean, you know what I mean?
They're predators.
This little finger moving.
So to them, you're a bug that's moving and they want the lunch.
So it's your fault.
But yeah, a few times now and it's not a pleasant feeling.
No.
It's very pleasant.
And it does well.
And it makes you feel dodgy for quite a few hours.
So feel a bit.
Don't do it.
Yeah, don't do it.
It's very painful.
So that's what I've got for stings and bites.
A lot of antihistamine.
And a lot of the symptoms are the same.
You know, that redness, swelling, itching.
If you do get that anaphylaxis, that is definitely something that happens.
Again, you know, seek medical treatment.
Go to the hospital.
Don't dilly-dally with that because it's very dangerous.
Otherwise, that's it.
Yeah.
Bites.
Also, if you've got underlying health conditions, it's a good idea.
Oh, yeah, that too.
Even if something happens, it's a good idea.
Like if you've got heart problems, for instance, or kidney or liver, and you get bitten or
stung by something, it's always a good idea.
Just go to the hospital and explain the situation.
Nine times out of ten, it won't be anything.
It's better to be safe than sorry.
Yeah, as you said earlier, some bites speed up your heart, and some people do not want
that to happen.
Right.
So, stop your kidneys functioning properly or your liver.
And if it's already not functioning properly, it's a good idea to get yourself down to A&E
or accident and emergency.
Absolutely.
That's what you call it the emergency room ER, don't you?
Yeah, we got the ER.
Explain the situation.
And if you can, explain what has bitten you exactly.
Right.
And usually it is very helpful if you know exactly what bit you or stung you.
Sometimes you don't know these things.
So I mean, that's a whole other topic of how to tell what you've been bitten by.
But usually, like with bees or wasps and stuff, usually they die within a few minutes of stinging
somebody.
So that one's, you'll probably find it.
But as far as spiders, spider bites and stuff, they'll bite and run.
So you might not know what bit you.
And same thing, same with like...
Always works.
Yeah, right?
Always works.
Always.
Mean.
They're not that tough.
Yeah.
Give them that and a shovel.
You're all right.
Then take it with you.
If you can, just take it with you.
Put it in a little plastic bag, take it with you.
If you can't identify yourself, you know, and don't trust Google.
Yeah, yeah.
Do not choose Google ever to ID anything for you.
Right.
You need somebody who knows what they're looking at to tell you what it is, not Google.
Yeah.
Google will get it.
Okay.
It's not a fact if you see on Google.
Yeah, because usually, you know, they can kind of form a treatment plan for you around
like what bit you or stung you or whatever.
So usually it's, you know, it's helpful, but it's not always necessary.
All right.
Well, let's do a shameless plug.
It's you know, what do you got going on this week?
I've got a repot this.
Oh cool.
This was a birthday present from Boogs Galoa.
I've got to repot this because this dentist seems to have taken a liking to it.
So he's going to get this this week.
Very nice.
And then just sorting things out because there's a show coming up on August the 3rd in Bristol,
UK.
Awesome.
So got to sort some things out for that.
And the usual shots open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
So there you go.
And I will make some videos.
I'm going to make a video on cockroaches.
Best feeders.
Which are the best cockroaches to feed?
Oh cool.
Okay.
With an index with like, like a Schmidt index, but not as brave.
So I'm going to do the same thing for cockroaches.
Which ones are the best to feed for all inverts, not just mantis.
It will be covered the full range.
So okay.
I love that.
That sounds like fun.
So I'm looking forward to it.
Awesome.
Um, I actually will be dropping my spider shop unboxing today.
So that's what I've got going on.
That's my shameless plug.
And then I have, um, my usual kind of rehows videos, but you know me, I don't just do a
rehows.
I include all the information.
So yeah, you know me.
That's why I watch video tomorrow because in a minute, first is Switzerland.
Yes.
Go England.
Got to watch the football with your own Europe.
You see, otherwise you just lose your right.
You're going to be missing out on a big part of the European experience.
If you don't watch at least one football game, I agree.
I agree.
That's cool.
Exactly.
I have played every single one of them.
So yeah, that's cool.
The habit.
Yeah.
All right.
How are we doing?
All right, Simon.
That's all we got.
I appreciate it.
Uh, thank everybody.
Thank you guys so much for watching and, uh, adding comments and, and you know, asking
your questions.
We really appreciate it.
Um, we will see you guys next week on Inverticast.
We're so glad to be back.
I am.
Um, and so, yeah, heck yeah, man.
All right.
Thank you again.
See you later.
Let's get it.