Learn all about giant water bug bite pain scale, symptoms and treatment options.
After seeing a water bug for the first time you may have some questions. Things like do water bugs bite and how to get rid of water bugs may be at the top of the list. While it is quite hard to see, these pests are more annoying than anything else. They have a particular hunting and feeding strategy. Giant water bugs bite has a proper use for spiders. They have a unique feature rostrum, used for sucking and piercing and have real effects on plants.
Giant water bugs go by a number of different nicknames. They’re called toe biters for their habit of sampling people’s feet (which, as you might imagine, is a startling and painful experience). Some call them electric light bugs, because as adults these winged behemoths can and do fly, and will show up around porch lights during mating season. Others call them fish killers.
In Florida, people sometimes call them alligator ticks. No matter the nickname, they’re big and they bite. A giant water bug eats just what you would expect a large, predaceous, aquatic insect to eat: other insects, tadpoles, small fish, and snails.
Yes, they definitely bite a human. Any individual may be prone to bug bite especially people working outdoors, in wooded or rural locations. Children and older adults are more susceptible to severe reactions from a bug bite.
What is Giant water bug
The Giant Water Bug is one of the largest insects in the U.S. and Canada. Giant water bugs are approximately 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in length. Some species grow as long as 4 inches (10 cm). Because it often turns up under street lights and porch lights, it is also one of the most asked about insects. It is commonly mistaken for a beetle or even a cockroach. Alternate names include toe biter because they can deliver a nasty bite and electric light bug because they are attracted to lights.
Giant water bug bite Pain
Water bugs do bite, which is part of the reason they are sometimes referred to as “toe-biters.” These pests are considered harmless because they don’t search out humans to bite. If they feel threatened or you startle them, their bite can be painful. There are no warnings about water bugs, so you can care for the bite like you would anything else. On very rare occasions, someone who has been bitten could have an allergic reaction and if that is the case, you should seek medical attention immediately.
Giant water bug bite Pain Scale
The bites are painful, but they do not cause any major harm. These are not lethal to humans, and you can consider them as harmless. But sometimes after getting bitten by a water bug, people develop fever, muscle cramps, vomiting, and an increase in heart rate, swelling, difficulty in breathing. In that case, you should take the medical care as soon as possible. These insects have toxic saliva capable of provoking intense pain and paralysis in vertebrates. Victims experienced intense, excruciating pain and 1 manifested hypoesthesia in the forearm. Bites by Belostomatidae are often reported by clinicians working in areas where these insects live, but there are no detailed case reports in the medical literature.
Giant water bug bite Symptoms
Giant water bug bite Symptoms are:
- Initial symptoms: Itching, redness along with bumps, the mild sensation of burning, provocating intense pain or minor swelling, pulsatile excruciating pain with mild or massive edema.
- Severe symptoms: Fever, vomiting, nausea, and muscle cramps, rapid heart rate, difficulty in breathing, swelling around the throat and lips, confusion. Seek medical attention if severe symptoms do not subside.
Giant water bug bite Treatment
Giant water bug bites are treated by many methods including home remedies along with medical treatment.
- Wash the affected bite area with water and soap. Make lather thick soap foam on bite site. Rub it smoothly all over the surface repeatedly .Leave the soap for few seconds or minute and do not rub it off. Allow the soap to dry off on the bitten area. This will prevent itchiness and skin infection.
- A paste of water and baking soda, add some water to baking soda and make a thick paste and apply it on the bite area. And leave it there for an hour or so until it dries off then rinse it with cold water.
- Dip a cotton ball in some lemon juice and dab it onto the site of rash to reduce itchiness.
- Aloe Vera gel has both antifungal and antibiotic properties which help to prevent secondary infections.
- Ice packs may be used to reduce some swelling.
- Apply the over the counter steroidal creams like cortisone or 1% hydrocortisone. These creams reduce itching and inflammation. Use it correctly for a week and follow the instructions.
Giant water bug bite Poisonous
Giant water bug bites have a beak with little stout, and they inject their toxic saliva which contains proteolytic enzymes and leads to liquefying tissues further proceeding to paralysis of vertebrates. They grab their prey including fish, turtle, crustaceans, snakes, occasionally human toes and inject the poisonous saliva into that site. They play being dead when caught by people, and fluid is released through their anus to enhance this effect. But suddenly they arise to live and sting their prey.
