When we think about the deadliest animals on Earth, usually scary animals come to mind.  Lions, tigers, bears…crocodiles!

When it comes to deadly animals, don’t count the little guys out.  Fact is, while elephants and hippopotamuses account for a combined 1,000 deaths each year, when considering the most deadly animals on Earth, we need to think small.  Sharks are frightening and deadly, but how many of us actually have a shark encounter in our lifetime?  What are the animals that all humans come in contact with every day?

Insects are deadly – very much so!

The deadliest animals are all insects.  We commonly come in contact with bugs.  Flying bugs, crawling bugs, jumping bugs.  It might also surprise you that of these deadly insects, spiders, while frightening creatures for many of us, are not on the list.  As a matter of fact, the most toxic spider to humans, the Australian funnel web spider, has not killed anyone since the early 1980’s.  These deadly insects might surprise you.

Tsetse fly

The tsetse fly is one of the deadliest animals on the planet.  A bite from this creepy-crawler can cause itchiness, fever, and joint pain by infecting victims with “African sleeping sickness” or just “sleeping sickness.”  Infection is treatable, but if it goes to the brain, it can be fatal.  The tsetse fly is found only in Africa, and the WHO reports that there were 40,000 confirmed cases of sleeping sickness in 1998, but estimate that up to 300,000 cases went undiagnosed, unreported, and untreated.  Untreated, sleeping sickness has a fatality rate of nearly 100%.  In 2009, cases had decreased to less than 10,000.  In 2018, there were less than 1,000 cases of sleeping sickness.

Assassin bug

According to the CDC, the assassin bug, or kissing bug, can be found in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America.  There are 11 known species of the assassin bug in the United States.  Perhaps one of the most frightening aspects of this insect is that if found indoors in the U.S., it is likely to be under or near your bed!  It gets the name “kissing bug” because it often bites on the face.  Assassin bugs can infect humans with Chagas Disease, but it’s not the insect’s infected saliva that transmits infection.  In fact, when the assassin bug is feeding on blood from humans, often while they are asleep, they are also depositing waste…insect feces to be exact.  It is through infected feces, which inadvertently comes in contact with the bite wound or mucus membrane, that Chagas Disease is transmitted!  Chronic Chagas Disease can cause gastrointestinal issues and heart problems, which can be fatal.  See the assassin bug in action!

The mosquito is the deadliest animal on the planet.

Mosquitoes are annoying at best, and they are nowhere near as scary as the other two bugs on the list.  However, they are not just the deadliest insect, but the deadliest animal on Earth.  Mosquitoes carry dangerous, potentially fatal diseases.  The deadliest mosquito infection is malaria.  According to WHO, there were an estimated 228,000,000 cases of malaria reported in 2018, with 272,000 deaths worldwide.  Children under the age of five accounted for more than 65% of malaria deaths.  94% of those deaths were in sub-Saharan Africa.  Mosquitoes also transmit EEE, or Triple E, which is also potentially fatal.  Though rare, EEE infections have a 30% death rate.  Patients who recover from EEE are often left with lifelong cognitive impairment.  Last year, we saw a number of EEE cases in the United States, including here in Massachusetts.

Take advantage of professional Central Mass mosquito control.

Not protecting your yard from mosquitoes could be a gamble on your family’s health, and that gamble could bear disastrous results.  Trust a professional mosquito control company to spray your yard with barrier mosquito control spray for ultimate protection.  This year, more than ever, Central Mass families are finding themselves at home, and enjoying the spaces outside their homes.  Whether you are spending an entire day performing yard work, or a few minutes watching the sun come up, you could be at risk for a deadly mosquito bite.  Do not take the chance.  Scheduling regular sprays every couple of weeks will greatly decrease your odds of encountering harmful mosquitoes in your yard – by up to 95% in fact!

Also read: Is the deadliest animal smaller than a fly?