Bites, stings, and diseases caused by summer pests can bring big trouble

Deer flies and horse flies can deliver painful, itchy bites as glowing as transmit tularemia, a bacterial disease, the Washington State Department of Health said in a statement. Horse and deer flies be active during the day. They’re ordinary around ponds, streams, and marshes. Consumers should wrap exposed skin and make use of a repellent, the department advises.

Honeybees and bumblebees will sting to guard a hive or nest, but they’re important pollinators of flowering plants. Bees looking for nectar or pollen gone from the hive or nest will rarely sting, except when stepped resting on or deliberately provoked the bacterial disease.

If a bee stings you, remove the stinger by scrape the back of a straight-edged object similar to a credit card across the stinger, the department recommends. Don’t use tweezers to eliminate stingers – these may squeeze the venom sac and increase the quantity of venom released. If you’re bitten or stung, immediately remove nearby rings and contracting items because the affected area may swell.