8 dangerous bugs to avoid this summer

Honey bees, as you've probably heard, are in danger. But Africanized honey bees (commonly called "killer bees") are a danger, having caused the deaths of more than 1,000 people worldwide. Africanized bees look like average honey bees, but are a hybrid strain that can get extremely defensive to the point of aggression—they can chase people for more than a quarter of a mile. Although their stings are no worse than those of typical honey bees, killer bees attack in swarms, resulting in hundreds or thousands of stings. Killer bees have colonized in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida, California, Louisiana, and Arkansas, and continue to move northward.

Triatomine bugs—more commonly called "kissing bugs" because they tend to bite victims around the mouth or eyes while asleep—are now found in 28 states, particularly in Southern states. Approximately 50% of these nocturnal bloodsuckers carry a parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi), which they pass to humans, dogs, rodents, and other mammals that they bite. Humans or animals infected with this parasite have about a 30% risk of developing chronic Chagas disease, which can lead to cardiac and/or intestinal complications even years later.

Yellow sac spiders are one of the most aggressive spiders in North America, often biting without provocation. They're probably responsible for more human bites than any other species of spider. Rather than waiting in their sac-like webs, they roam about in search of prey. Their bite causes a burning pain that can last up to an hour, along with redness, swelling, and itching, followed by rash and blistering. Yellow sac spiders have been commonly found in New England and the Midwest, but their range has likely increased over time, spreading throughout most of the United States.

The Arizona bark scorpion is the most venomous scorpion in North America—the only native scorpion considered to be life-threatening. Its sting can cause excruciating pain, numbness, tingling, and vomiting. Although it dwells throughout Arizona (as its name implies), the bark scorpion is found from southern California into western New Mexico. It's a good climber and can be found in between rocks, in trees, or high on rock walls—but also in houses: in a sink or bathtub, a dark closet, or climbing up a wall. They hide during the day to avoid the heat, but come out in the cool of the night to hunt.

These harmless-looking brown spiders like to stay hidden in small dark areas, but bites from these venomous arachnids are believed to rise during summer months, perhaps because people rouse these creatures from the dark corners of garages, basements, attics, and yards. The brown recluse is found in 15 states, chiefly in the South and Southwest. Their venom is known to be extremely painful. The bite wound usually reddens within several hours. This is followed by a systemic reaction within 24-36 hours, characterized by restlessness, fever, chills, nausea, weakness, joint pain and, in rare cases, convulsions and death. The bite wound and the surrounding tissue may blacken and die, and eventually shed.

Also known as blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), deer ticks carry Lyme disease and other infections—and are now found even in America's largest cities. While frequently reported in New England, Lyme disease carried by deer ticks also occurs in Eastern and Midwestern states, and coastal California; however, Lyme has been reported in nearly every state. Deer ticks also transmit pathogens that cause anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and the rare but deadly Powassan virus. And their territory is expanding—the number of counties in which deer ticks are now established has more than doubled in the past 20 years.