Summertime comes and it seems like everybody’s running out the door to get a healthy dose of vitamin D.  But we’re not the only ones coming out of hibernation.

With warmer temperatures come swarms and (worse) infestations of all kinds of creepy crawlies.  Check out the list below of the worst summer bugs and the health risks they pose:

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes, like barbecues and beach trips, have become emblematic of summer.  These tiny blood-suckers like to hang out in humid areas or near standing pools of water, but they’re pretty common everywhere across the U.S.

They gained a fair amount of infamy a few years ago, when they were attributed with the spread of West Nile virus, but though those fears have long since died down, that doesn’t mean mosquitoes don’t still pose a threat.  Besides the irritating, itchy marks their bites leave on your skin, mosquitoes can also carry and transmit a variety of diseases including malaria and Dengue Fever.

Minimize your risk of being bitten by mosquitoes by avoiding still water, wearing long sleeves when possible, and using mosquito repellant products.

Bees

While mosquitoes are generally considered the most common summer bug, bees are definitely the most feared – and with good reason.  Accidentally knock down a nest, and you could have an angry swarm on your tail.  Bees stings are no joke.  For those that are allergic, it only takes one to go into anaphylactic shock.  For those who aren’t, 8.6 stings per pound of body weight is considered toxic and may result in death.  The risk is minimal for adults, but considerably larger for children.

In less serious cases – i.e. you’re only stung by one bee and you aren’t allergic – it’s important to get the stinger out of your skin as soon as possible to reduce the severity and amount of venom released into the surrounding area.  Studies show it doesn’t matter whether you pinch or scratch it out – just get it out.  Afterwards, wash the wound and treat with a cold compact to alleviate pain.  Using antihistamine or other products that contain a skin coolant may also help.

If the symptoms appear severe, or if the sting occurs on the neck or mouth, seek medical attention immediately.  Swelling in these areas could cause suffocation.

Termites

Termites tend to burrow in underground nests in the winter, but come summer, they resurface in droves.  While the bugs pose little threat to human health, they can do a lot of damage to houses – thousands of dollars worth of damage, to be precise.

And if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that the ensuing stress and anxiety can be severely detrimental to your health.

If you suspect your house has termites, call someone to survey as soon as possible.  For the sake of your own mental health, if nothing else.

Bedbugs

We made it through the massive bedbug infestation of summer 2010, but some experts claim it may get even worse in 2011.  Here’s hoping that prediction doesn’t come true.

Bedbugs can live in your bed, furniture and clothes and leave itchy, painful bites on your skin.  A good way to tell if you have them is to check your sheets for blood spots.

There is usually no treatment for bedbugs but if the itching is especially severe, your doctor may prescribe steroid creams or oral antihistamines.

To get rid of bed bugs, there are a number of sprays on the market, but you’re best bet is to call a pest control expert.

Forty percent of American children have seasonal allergies. When a parent has allergies, his or her child will probably have them too.

Most allergies tend to appear in childhood. So, if you have seasonal allergies as an adult, you probably started getting them as a kid.

As children, boys get more allergies than girls, but as they get older, women usually catch up to men.

Even though we say allergies are seasonal, they can occur year-round. In the spring, you can get allergies to grass and pollen, and in the fall you can get allergies to ragweed, molds and spores of different kinds.

Allergies occur when pollen, mold or dust kick your immune system into high gear, triggering a release of histamines, those chemicals that are mostly responsible for the sneezing, the runny nose, the itchy throat, and the watery eyes.

If teenagers weren’t properly exposed to their environment as children, their immune system won’t be able to recognize as harmless the pollen, dust and mold spores around them every day.

Loading the Virus Protection Program

Your immune system is essentially a system of specialized cells and organs that protects you from outside threats such as viruses, bacteria and other biological outsiders.

It is during the first decade of life that it learns which biological intrusions it needs to protect you against. What this means is, if you don’t get exposed to many of the harmless biological threats in your environment during your first decade of life, if you do not challenge the immune system early, you may pay the price with seasonal allergies and asthma throughout the rest of your life.

I’m talking about the dangers of over protecting our children. Some of this overprotection has been institutionalized in the form of widespread use of antibiotics, vaccinations against various diseases, cleaner food and water, and better living conditions.

But some parents may make this “problem” worse by keeping their kids at home in a “sterilized” environment – never taking them to the park, never letting them play in a sandbox, never letting them roll around in the grass, never letting them have a pet at home, and keeping them away from other kids who may be sick.

By underexposing our children to bacteria, certain viruses, and other minor threats in the environment, their immune systems will not develop the appropriate responses, and they may end up with seasonal allergies and other problems of an inexperienced immune system.

Studies show that if you have a pet when you’re a kid, you are less likely to get asthma. The same applies to running and rolling around in the grass at the park when you are three years old; those who do tend to have fewer seasonal allergies later on. A little exposure is a good thing.

Allergy Prevention

Prevention is the best treatment for seasonal allergies. Have you heard of spring cleaning? They don’t call it that for nothing.

If people in your household have allergies, it is important to do a thorough cleaning of the house, especially in the spring, by removing all the dust that has collected in your house over the winter.

It’s a good time to shampoo your rugs, vacuum all the nooks and crannies, and remove the mold from all kitchen, bathroom and garage surfaces.

If you have allergies in the spring and summer, take a few precautionary steps to avoid bringing allergens back into the house.

When you come in from the outdoors, don’t bring the clothes you’ve worn outdoors into the bedroom; change in another part of the house and take a shower, if you can.

Avoid being outdoors from the late morning to early afternoon, as those are the peak hours for pollen production. Keep your windows closed if you’re really allergic.