Venemous Worries about the Outdoors

While my parenting Worry List ebbs and flows as my children grow, a constant on the list is the threat of spider and bug bites. In southeast Tennessee, it is not uncommon to find black widow spiders hanging out between garden rocks, ticks dropping from trees and brown recluse spiders lurking about. Recently, the threat level – and worry level – has included “moonbathing” copperhead snakes on our front steps. Oh, the joys of summer!

I have found that the best way to combat my worries about the impact of these creatures on small children is to empower myself, and my children, with information. If we know what the dangerous bugs, spiders and snakes look like and how to avoid them, then we are safer. Additionally, I won’t barricade my children indoors all summer long. For instance, we keep a guide to reptiles and amphibians in a “nature basket” in our living room; a few years ago, I was pleased when my daughter, who was three at the time, brought the guide to me and said, “Look, Mommy, this is a copperhead,” with the thick book opened to the pictures of copperhead snakes.

I have also learned that if I get online to research this topic, I will walk away frantic with worry, as the worst-case scenarios always seem to make it to the top of search engine results. So it has been important for me to find real people with real stories and information – such as our family pediatrician or a naturalist at our local nature center – to help me understand how often these dangerous bites happen (not often) and what to do if a child is bitten (call 911 and head toward the hospital, where they are equipped with antivenoms to take care of these types of issues).

With each passing summer that we avoid a venomous tragedy, I have come to understand that the creatures I fear are not sitting outside the door waiting to attack. In fact, most of the time, they can’t get away from us – and the two curious dogs that accompany us outdoors – fast enough.

A photo slide show of North American bugs and spiders – and their bites – can be found at WebMD.com. I found it to be a quick and helpful way to identify bugs and spiders and understand implications and incidences of bites.

Also, to help in the battle against the world of the bugs, a guide to natural insect repellents can be found at TheDailyGreen.com. While we have had some luck with the Burt’s Bees brand of insect repellent, I think it still takes some trial and error testing with some of these brands. Please feel free to comment if you have found a brand that has worked well – or not worked well – with your family.

Hope you find some time to play outside today!

Tagged as: natural insect repellents, North American bugs and spiders, outdoor worries, parent fears in the outdoors