Let’s Talk Safety: Don’t Get Bit or Stung Safety Instructions for Insects

This column addresses safety issues of interest to water and wastewater personnel, and will appear monthly in the magazine. The Journal is also interested in receiving any articles on the subject of safety that it can share with readers in the “Spotlight on Safety” column.

Insects can be more than annoying; bites and stings can be carriers of disease or cause allergic reactions that, when severe, can often be deadly.

Every workplace needs to be protected from such occurrences. As a good employer, you want to protect your workers from diseases spread from insect bites and stings, as well as complications that can arise as a result of allergies, bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

With this in mind, you need to take the right precautions and measures to protect your employees from insects.

Mosquitoes may carry West Nile virus, which can cause very severe flu-like symptoms and even death from a fatal brain infection. The mosquitoes carrying West Nile are around in the summer, particularly August and September, and feed on humans, horses, and birds. We’ve known about the virus only since 1999. The mosquitoes can contaminate multiple victims, but West Nile can’t be transferred from human to human. Most people who are bitten don’t even know they have been and never develop symptoms, but some can get very ill, and some die every year.

To prevent a proliferation of mosquitoes, don’t leave standing water around work areas for them to breed in. Turn empty flowerpots, buckets, and other containers upside down and don’t let water accumulate in old tires or tanks. If there is a birdbath, change the water at least once a week, and stock fish in a pond or water fountain to eat the mosquitoes and their larvae.

Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants outside, especially at dawn and dusk, which is when mosquitoes are feeding. Use a sunscreen with diethyltoluamide (also known as DEET), which provides the best deterrence to these pests.

The West Nile virus is particularly dangerous for older workers and those who are immunocompromised. They should use a repellant with 10 percent DEET or less. The repellant also works to keep away spiders and other insects. A chemical called Permethrin, found in some repellants, is good for clothing, shoes, etc., and it retains its effectiveness through many washings.

Other chemical products you can use for protection, and their active ingredients and minutes of protection, are shown in the sidebar.

Bees and spiders can be encountered anytime, and their stings or bites usually cause only itching, redness, and maybe swelling at the bite or sting site, but sometimes these encounters can be serious. The victim may have a severe allergic reaction, or the bite may be poisonous.

For bee stings and spider bites: S Make sure you and the victim are safe from further contact with the pests. If the victim is allergic to insect bites or stings, or shows signs of an allergic reaction, summon medical help by calling 911. S If stung by a bee, look for the stinger.

Scrape away the stinger and venom sac with something with a dull edge, like a credit card or ice scraper. Don’t touch it with your hands.

Squeezing the attached venom sac can make things worse. S Wash the bite or sting area with running water and soap, if available, or with waterless hand cleaner. S Use ice wrapped in a towel, if available, to reduce swelling. S Benadryl® or calamine lotion can help with itching. Don’t scratch. S Watch the victim for at least 30 minutes for signs of a severe allergic reaction.

Signs of a bad allergic reaction are: S Trouble breathing S Swelling of the tongue and face or hands S Fainting

If any of these occurs, call 911, get a first-aid kit, and look for an epinephrine pen (EpiPen). You or the victim should open the pen and push it into the leg, between hip and knee. If the victim stops responding, begin CPR.

For poisonous spider and scorpion bites, call 911, then follow the procedures for insect and spider injuries. If the victim stops responding, start CPR.

Ticks are found on the bodies of animals and in the woods. While most are not dangerous, some ticks carry Lyme disease, which can make people very sick.

As soon as you find a tick on yourself or a coworker, remove it and look for others. The longer the tick stays attached, the greater the chance of getting a disease. Don’t use the old remedies of trying to burn the tick off or pouring alcohol on it.

Grab the tick by its mouth or head and gently pull it straight up. When you lift the tick and skin, hold it there a moment; the tick may let go.

Wash the bite under running water and use soap, if available, or waterless disinfectant hand cleaner. If you live in an area where there may be Lyme disease, or if you don’t know if you do, call a doctor for advice.

Ticks spread bacteria via their bite, which the victim may not even notice. Infected ticks do not usually spread their Lyme for the first 36 hours. The first symptom of infection is likely to be a round, red rash, and a blood test nay show antibodies in the blood. Then can come flu-like symptoms, joint and muscle pain, headache, fever, and severe tiredness. The symptoms may not appear for up to a month, and the victim may have long forgotten how the tick may have been acquired.

Later-occurring symptoms of the disease include tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, poor memory, weakness of the face muscles, and trouble focusing thoughts. Lyme disease can be successfully treated with antibiotics.

Insects can be found in almost every area in and outside the workplace, but can be more prevalent in dirtier or messier areas. Keep areas like workbenches, closets, and under desks as clean as possible. The cleaner you keep the work area, the lower the chances are that insects will come for, let’s say, discarded food.

As a company manager or safety expert, you need to be the most prepared of all. Understanding risks from insects is just one more piece of an overall safety program. Given that insect stings and bites can be just as common as typical workplace hazards, they must also receive the same amount of risk assessment to provide a safe workplace for all employees, regardless of that workplace being an office, a bushy hillside, an aging warehouse, or out in the field.

For more information, visit the Mayo Clinic website at mayoclinic.org, and search “insects.” S