Tag: tick borne diseases

New York’s Most Dangerous Insects and How to Stay Alive

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn New York, Survival PrepperLeave a comment

Most New Yorkers believe danger comes with sirens, crime statistics, or subway platforms at 2 a.m. They look up at skyscrapers and down at their phones, convinced that nature is something safely locked away in upstate forests or petting zoos. That assumption is a liability.

As a professional survival prepper, I don’t subscribe to the fantasy that concrete replaces biology. New York State—yes, including the city—is home to insects capable of killing you quietly, painfully, and often with no warning at all. You don’t need to be camping in the Adirondacks to be at risk. You just need to be unprepared, distracted, or ignorant.

This article isn’t written to scare you—it’s written to keep you alive. Whether you live in a Manhattan high-rise, a Brooklyn brownstone, or a rural cabin upstate, insects don’t care about your zip code.

Let’s talk about the most dangerous insects in New York State, how they can end your life, and what you can do to survive them.

1. Deer Ticks (Blacklegged Ticks)

Threat Level: High
Primary Danger: Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis
Where Found: Statewide, especially wooded areas, parks, suburban yards

Ticks don’t sting, buzz, or announce themselves. That’s what makes them so dangerous. The blacklegged tick, commonly known as the deer tick, is responsible for Lyme disease—a condition that can destroy your nervous system, joints, heart, and cognitive function if untreated.

In severe cases, untreated tick-borne illness can lead to heart failure, neurological damage, or death.

How to Survive:

  • Wear long sleeves and pants in grassy or wooded areas—even in city parks.
  • Use permethrin-treated clothing and EPA-approved insect repellent.
  • Perform full-body tick checks daily.
  • Remove ticks immediately with fine-tip tweezers.
  • Seek medical attention if flu-like symptoms appear weeks after exposure.

Ignoring ticks because you live “in the city” is a rookie mistake.

2. Mosquitoes

Threat Level: High
Primary Danger: West Nile Virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)
Where Found: Statewide, especially near standing water

Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths worldwide than any other creature. New York is no exception. West Nile Virus appears every year, and while many survive, severe cases can cause brain swelling, paralysis, and death.

EEE is rarer but far more lethal, with mortality rates up to 30%.

How to Survive:

  • Eliminate standing water near your home.
  • Install window screens and repair gaps.
  • Wear light-colored, long clothing outdoors.
  • Use DEET or picaridin repellents.
  • Take fevers and neurological symptoms seriously—seek care immediately.

That backyard barbecue or rooftop hangout isn’t harmless.

3. Yellowjackets

Threat Level: Very High
Primary Danger: Anaphylactic shock
Where Found: Parks, garbage areas, backyards, city infrastructure

Yellowjackets are aggressive, territorial, and common in New York. Unlike bees, they sting repeatedly. For individuals with venom allergies—many of whom don’t know it yet—one sting can cause rapid airway closure and death within minutes.

Urban environments actually increase encounters due to trash and food waste.

How to Survive:

  • Avoid bright clothing and strong scents outdoors.
  • Keep food sealed and garbage secured.
  • Never swat—slowly back away.
  • Carry an EpiPen if you’ve had reactions before.
  • Call emergency services immediately if swelling or breathing difficulty occurs.

One sting is all it takes.

4. Bald-Faced Hornets

Threat Level: Extreme
Primary Danger: Multiple stings, venom overload
Where Found: Trees, utility poles, building edges

Despite the name, bald-faced hornets are aggressive wasps with powerful venom. Disturbing a nest—even accidentally—can result in dozens of stings in seconds.

Venom toxicity and allergic reactions can be fatal, even in healthy adults.

How to Survive:

  • Identify and avoid aerial nests.
  • Never attempt DIY removal.
  • Hire professionals for nest elimination.
  • If attacked, run immediately and seek shelter.
  • Get medical care after multiple stings.

Bravery doesn’t beat venom.

5. Fire Ants (Emerging Threat)

Threat Level: Growing
Primary Danger: Allergic reactions, infection
Where Found: Southern NY (spreading north)

Fire ants are slowly expanding northward. Their stings cause intense pain, blistering, and in some cases anaphylaxis.

Urban heat islands make cities ideal breeding grounds.

How to Survive:

  • Watch for mound-like nests.
  • Avoid walking barefoot outdoors.
  • Treat stings immediately.
  • Seek emergency help for systemic reactions.

Climate change doesn’t ask permission.

6. Brown Recluse (Rare but Possible)

Threat Level: Moderate but Serious
Primary Danger: Necrotic venom
Where Found: Occasionally transported via shipments

While not native, brown recluse spiders occasionally appear via freight and storage areas. Their venom can cause tissue death, infection, and systemic illness.

How to Survive:

  • Shake out stored clothing.
  • Use gloves in basements and storage units.
  • Seek medical care for unexplained necrotic wounds.

Rare doesn’t mean impossible.

7. Fleas

Threat Level: Moderate
Primary Danger: Disease transmission, severe infection
Where Found: Pets, rodents, subways, buildings

Fleas historically carried plague. Today, they still transmit disease and cause severe infections, especially in unsanitary environments.

How to Survive:

  • Treat pets regularly.
  • Control rodent infestations.
  • Clean living spaces thoroughly.

Urban density multiplies risk.

Final Survival Advice for New Yorkers

The New York City lifestyle teaches dependence—on infrastructure, services, and assumptions of safety. Insects don’t care about any of that.

Survival comes down to:

  • Awareness
  • Prevention
  • Rapid response

You don’t need to love the outdoors to respect its threats. You just need to be prepared.

Because bugs don’t care how tough you think you are—or how urban your life looks on Instagram.

Colorado Insects That Can Kill You and Why You’re Not Ready

On By The.Daily.ChristianIn Colorado's Deadliest InsectsLeave a comment

Let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate: nature does not care about you. Colorado doesn’t care about you. The mountains don’t care. The plains don’t care. And the insects crawling, flying, biting, and stinging their way across this state certainly don’t care. The world likes to sell you a postcard version of Colorado—clean air, blue skies, hiking trails, and sunshine. That’s the lie. The truth is that this state is crawling with small, angry, venomous, disease-carrying creatures that can ruin you—or kill you—faster than you think.

And before anyone jumps in with “technically that’s a spider, not an insect,” save it. When you’re on the ground in pain, your body shutting down, taxonomy won’t save you. Survival will.

This article isn’t here to comfort you. It’s here to warn you.

1. Wasps, Hornets, and Yellowjackets: Death by Allergy or Numbers

Let’s start with the obvious menace most people underestimate: stinging insects. Yellowjackets, paper wasps, hornets, and various bees are everywhere in Colorado—from urban backyards to remote campsites.

For most people, a sting is painful but survivable. For others, it’s a death sentence.

Anaphylaxis doesn’t announce itself politely. Your throat swells, your blood pressure drops, your airway closes, and panic sets in. If you don’t have immediate access to emergency treatment, you’re done. No heroics. No second chances.

Even if you’re not allergic, multiple stings can overwhelm your system. Disturb a nest while hiking or mowing the lawn, and you won’t be dealing with “one or two stings.” You’ll be dealing with dozens.

Survival Reality Check:

  • Know whether you’re allergic before you’re in the wilderness.
  • Carry emergency medication if prescribed.
  • Avoid ground nests like your life depends on it—because it might.
  • Don’t rely on cell service to save you. Out here, help is often far away.

2. Mosquitoes: The Silent Disease Delivery System

People laugh at mosquitoes. They shouldn’t.

Colorado mosquitoes are known carriers of West Nile virus, which can lead to severe neurological damage or death. You don’t feel it happening. You don’t hear it coming. You get bit, you move on, and days later your body starts betraying you.

The danger here isn’t drama—it’s invisibility. No venom. No warning. Just consequences.

Survival Reality Check:

  • Use insect repellent consistently, not occasionally.
  • Avoid stagnant water areas, especially at dusk.
  • Don’t ignore flu-like symptoms after heavy mosquito exposure.
  • Prevention is the only defense—there is no fast cure.

3. Ticks: Tiny Parasites with a Long Memory

Colorado is home to several tick species, including the Rocky Mountain wood tick. These things latch on quietly and stay there, feeding while transferring bacteria and viruses into your bloodstream.

Colorado tick fever is real. So are other tick-borne illnesses that can leave you hospitalized or worse.

Ticks don’t need wilderness. They thrive in grass, brush, and even suburban yards. You don’t have to be “roughing it” to get hit.

Survival Reality Check:

  • Do full-body checks every time you’re outdoors.
  • Remove ticks properly and promptly.
  • Don’t assume symptoms will show up immediately.
  • Treat tick bites as serious business, not an inconvenience.

4. Black Widow Spiders: Venom with a Bad Attitude

Yes, spiders aren’t insects. No, that doesn’t make them less dangerous.

The western black widow is present in Colorado and carries neurotoxic venom that can cause severe pain, muscle spasms, breathing difficulty, and systemic reactions. While deaths are rare, “rare” doesn’t mean impossible—especially for children, older adults, or anyone with underlying conditions.

They like dark, quiet places: woodpiles, sheds, garages, and yes, sometimes your home.

Survival Reality Check:

  • Wear gloves when handling debris or firewood.
  • Shake out boots and clothing left outside.
  • Seek medical attention immediately after a bite.
  • Ignoring symptoms is how people get into real trouble.

5. Blister Beetles: Chemical Warfare in a Shell

Blister beetles don’t sting or bite, which makes them more dangerous than you think. They secrete cantharidin, a toxic chemical that causes severe skin blistering and can be deadly if ingested.

Livestock deaths from blister beetles happen every year. Humans aren’t immune to the toxin’s effects—it can damage the digestive and urinary systems.

They’re common in Colorado during warmer months, especially in agricultural areas.

Survival Reality Check:

  • Never handle unfamiliar beetles with bare hands.
  • Wash skin immediately after contact.
  • Keep them away from food and water sources.
  • “Harmless-looking” is a trap.

6. Kissing Bugs: Rare but Real

Triatomine insects—commonly called kissing bugs—have been documented in Colorado. They can carry Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite responsible for Chagas disease.

The disease can cause long-term heart and digestive damage and may be fatal years after infection. Most people don’t even realize they’ve been infected until the damage is done.

Survival Reality Check:

  • Seal cracks in homes and sleeping areas.
  • Use screens and reduce outdoor lighting that attracts insects.
  • Don’t ignore unexplained symptoms after insect exposure.
  • Just because something is “rare” doesn’t mean it won’t be you.

Final Thoughts: Survival Is a Mindset

Here’s the part no one likes to hear: the world is not getting safer, cleaner, or more forgiving. Medical systems are strained. Response times are slow. People are distracted, complacent, and unprepared.

Insects don’t care about your optimism.

Survival in Colorado—or anywhere—requires awareness, preparation, and a healthy distrust of anything small enough to crawl under your defenses. You don’t need to panic. You need to pay attention.

Because out here, it’s never the big threats that get you.
It’s the little ones you didn’t take seriously.