Insect Stings & Bites Safety Checklist For Outdoor Workers

The late Spring and Summer months are prime feeding season for bees, wasps, mosquitoes, spiders and other outdoor insects and arachnids. And that can create dangers for construction, forestry, mining, landscaping, oil and gas processing, farming and other workers who work outdoors during those months. While bug bites and stings are an everyday occurrence, their consequences may go beyond normal pain, rash, swelling and itching, especially when victims are allergic to the thing that bites/stings them. In addition, some insects transmit diseases like the ticks that carry Lyme disease or the mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus.

Bottom Line: OHS coordinators must provide safety information and training to outdoor workers who are exposed to potentially hazardous insects. To meet that objective, you can distribute the Checklist below which provides basic safety information about insect and spider bites and stings, including:

• Precautions workers should take to avoid stings and bites;
• The signs and symptoms of danger they should look for after getting stung or bitten; and
• The basic first aid measures for treating different kinds of stings and bites.

You can adapt this Checklist based on the insect hazards that lurk at your own particular outdoor work sites.