What's biting, and why.
Field notes on ticks, mosquitoes, and the diseases they carry. Every claim on every page is sourced to the CDC, the EPA, or peer-reviewed research, and the sources are listed at the bottom of each piece so you can check them yourself.
Does Bug Spray Expire? What EPA's Label Rules Actually Require
EPA requires an expiration date only when a formula is known to change. Heat, freezing, old bottles, and disposal.
Read it → Field notesBug Spray and Sunscreen: Which Goes On First, How Long to Wait, and Why Not a Combo
Sunscreen first, then repellent, 15 minutes apart. Why combination products fail, and what the picaridin studies show.
Read it → Field notesPicaridin Lotion vs Spray: Which Form Actually Works Better?
A 12-hour trial found spray and lotion equal at equal dose. What actually decides protection, and what our read of EPA's data shows at 14 hours.
Read it → Field notesCan You Put Bug Spray on Your Face? Yes, Hands First, and Here Is Why the Label Says So
Hands first, never sprayed at your face. The eye warning explained from EPA's rules, eye first aid, and a child's face.
Read it → Field notesBug Spray on Clothes or Skin? What Goes Where, What DEET Does to Synthetics, and How to Wash It Out
DEET is a plasticizer, not a dye: what it does to synthetics, what permethrin is for, and how to wash it out.
Read it → Field notesShould You Wash Off Bug Spray? What the Label Says About Bedtime, Hikes, and Kids
Yes, wash it off when you come indoors. It is printed on the label. Sleeping in it, kids, and the smell.
Read it → Field notesWest Nile Virus in NYC: 2026 Case Counts, Spray Schedule, and How to Protect Yourself
The borough numbers as NYC Health posts them, the September 8 and 10 spray zones, and what the city and the CDC say to do.
Read it → Field notesCan I Put Mosquito Repellent on My Dog?
Why a human label does not cover a dog, how licking changes the math, and what to use instead.
Read it → Field notesCan I Use DEET on My Dog?
What NPIC reports about pets and DEET, and the route that is actually labeled for dogs.
Read it → Field notesPicaridin and Dogs: What the Label Decides
A skin repellent registered for people is not a dog product. How to read that label honestly.
Read it → Field notesPermethrin Around Pets: Dogs, Cats, Clothing, and Labels
Dogs, cats, treated clothing, and the label lines that separate them.
Read it → Field notesHow to Keep Mosquitoes Away From a Patio Dinner
Water, fans, screens, clothing, candles, and skin repellent, each doing only the job it can do.
Read it → Field notesMosquito Repellent Candles: What They Can and Cannot Do
Spatial products are not skin repellents. What the label and the field trials say.
Read it → Field notesHow Long Chigger Bites Itch, Why They Look Like They Spread, and What to Do
Chiggers are larval mites that inject skin-digesting saliva, which is why the bites outlast mosquito bites. The hot-shower rule, CDC bite care, and how to keep them off.
Read it → Field notesChigger Repellent: What to Look For, According to Public Health Guidance
Illinois DPH names repellent the first line of defense against chiggers. What the guidance says about DEET and picaridin, and which of 631 registered products state a chigger claim.
Read it → Field notesGnat Repellent: What Gnats Actually Are and How to Pick One
Biting gnats are usually biting midges. The actives Illinois DPH names, the label words CDC says to look for, and the two cheap tools that clear a porch: fans and finer screens.
Read it → Field notesBlack Fly Bites: Why They Bleed, Why They Swell, and What Helps
Black fly bites cause considerable swelling and bleeding and heal slowly, per Illinois DPH. CDC bite care, infection signs, and the head-first prevention plan for buffalo gnat season.
Read it → Field notesBlack Fly Repellent: How to Pick One for Buffalo Gnat Season
Illinois DPH names DEET and picaridin for biting flies, paired with hats, light-colored clothing and head nets. The full buffalo gnat playbook, from the label to the bee bonnet.
Read it → Field notesSand Flea Bites: What Actually Bit You at the Beach
The sand fleas biting American beachgoers are usually biting midges or sand flies, not fleas. How to tell the three apart, per CDC and state health guidance, and what to do about each.
Read it → Field notesMosquito Repellent and Pregnancy: CDC Guidance on EPA-Registered Products
CDC: when used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women. The actives it lists and the rules that condition it.
Read it → Field notesWhy No-See-Um Bites Itch So Much, How Long They Last, and How to Treat Them
Clusters of itchy welts from an insect you never saw: biting midges. CDC treatment steps, infection signs, and the screens, fans and repellents that stop the next round.
Read it → Field notesNo-See-Um Repellent: How to Pick One That Actually Lists Them
CDC says to use an EPA-registered repellent labeled for flies, biting flies, or Culicoides. How to read the label, which actives are named, and what to use alongside.
Read it → Field notesNo-See-Ums: What They Are and What Repels Them
Biting midges 1 to 2.5 mm long, small enough to cross a window screen. What the CDC says about their bites, and which repellents are labeled for them.
Read it → Field notesInsect Repellent for Hiking and Backpacking
Gear, trailhead, trail, and the back-at-camp routine, sourced end to end.
Read it → Field notesPermethrin and Picaridin: The Two-Layer Tick and Mosquito System
Why the CDC pairs treated clothing with skin repellent.
Read it → Field notesNatural Bug Repellents: EPA Registration, Plant Oils, OLE, PMD, and Evidence
Registered plant-derived actives, the exemption loophole, and the study data.
Read it → Field notesEhrlichiosis: The Lone Star Tick's Signature Illness
The lone star tick's signature illness, in CDC numbers.
Read it → Field notesPicaridin vs DEET: What the Sources Actually Say
EPA, CDC, AAP, and NPIC on both actives. Neutral, sourced, tabled.
Read it → Field notesHow Long Does Picaridin Last?
Protection times by formulation, from EPA's own listings.
Read it → Field notesThe Lone Star Tick
The white-dot tick, its range, and the illnesses the CDC links to its bite.
Read it → Field notesAedes aegypti Mosquito: Identification, Bites, Range, and Disease
The day-biting container breeder behind dengue and Zika.
Read it → Field notesDo Bug Zappers Work on Mosquitoes?
Two field studies counted the catch. Mosquitoes were 0.22 and 0.37 percent of it.
Read it → Field notesDEET Safety: EPA Reviews, CDC Guidance, Kids, and Common Questions
EPA reviews, poison-center data, and the folklore, sorted.
Read it → Field notesMalaria Prevention for Travelers: CDC Yellow Book Checklist
The Yellow Book's map, the drugs, and how bite protection fits.
Read it → Field notesWhen Is Mosquito Season?
Health-department months and temperature thresholds, region by region.
Read it → Field notesVector-Borne Disease in the US, by the Numbers
One million reported cases, and what the CDC's counts actually measure.
Read it → Field notesHow to Remove a Tick
Fine-tipped tweezers, straight out, no heat or petroleum jelly. What the CDC actually says.
Read it → Field notesTick Identification Guide: Species, Pictures, Regions, and Risks
The species that bite people in the US, and what each can carry.
Read it → Field notesLyme Disease Prevention
Transmission, the attachment window, and the layers that lower your risk.
Read it → Field notesAlpha-Gal Syndrome Timeline: How Long After a Tick Bite Symptoms Start, and Whether It Goes Away
The lone star tick bite that can trigger a delayed allergy to red meat.
Read it → Field notesWhen Is Tick Season?
Nymphs drive most disease in late spring and summer; adults run into winter.
Read it → Field notesPermethrin-Treated Clothing: How Often to Re-Treat, How Long It Lasts, and Why It Never Goes on Skin
How treated fabric works, and why it never goes on skin.
Read it → Field notesWhy Mosquitoes Bite Some People More
Carbon dioxide, skin odor, heat, and colour. What holds up, and what does not.
Read it → Field notesWest Nile Virus in the United States
The bird cycle, the late-summer peak, and who is actually at risk.
Read it → Field notesMosquito With White Stripes on Its Body: How to Tell If It Is an Asian Tiger Mosquito
A daytime biter that breeds in anything holding water.
Read it → Field notesStanding Water and Mosquitoes: Weekly Yard Checklist
The only home mosquito control with real evidence behind it.
Read it → Field notesHow to Treat a Mosquito Bite
Why bites itch, what actually helps, and when a bite needs a doctor.
Read it → Field notesDengue and Travel
Where the risk is, the daytime biting pattern, and the warning signs.
Read it → Field notesMosquito Repellent for Kids: CDC and AAP Age Rules
What the CDC and AAP guidance says, by age.
Read it → Field notesDo Ultrasonic Repellers Work?
What the trials found, and the FTC's long history with these devices.
Read it → Field notesDo Citronella Candles Work? Evidence on Plant-Based Repellents
What the evidence shows about candles, torches, and plant oils.
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