Are you worried about aphids harming you or your pets? Are Aphids Harmful to Humans?
Are aphids poisonous? Do they bite? Will aphids give me a rash? Why does it hurt when an aphid is on my skin?
Are you sure it’s an aphid and not another little pest? In this article, we’ll find out if aphids are harmful to humans.
Are Aphids Harmful to Humans?
No. Aphids are not poisonous or dangerous to pets or humans. They do not look at us as hosts and we don’t serve them any benefit except for the plants that we take care of in our gardens.
Aphids need to produce honeydew as they feast off plants. The honeydew irritates plants, but nourishes ants. It doesn’t harm humans or pets.
Their mouth parts are called stylets. They are prickly and may feel like tiny needles on your skin, but you are not getting bitten. A slight rash could develop on very sensitive skin, but there is no transfer of poison.
Are Aphids Harmful to Skin?
Aphids do not wish to harm you and your largest living organ, which is your skin. Thrips can bite and you might be mistaking on for the other. We are grateful to be of service to you in this article to help you find out that aphids are safe.
Aphids do not enter, prick or puncture your skin. Their mouthparts are called stylets and they can feel like tiny needles used to pierce plant leaves or stems. They cannot pierce through your skin.
Only those with extremely sensitive skin can feel a temporary impact from an aphid that is short-lived and will not cause further irritation.
Are Aphids Harmful Eating?
Aphids are not harmful to humans if we ingest them. They are edible little creatures that we may not have noticed from time to time when eating plants that weren’t washed or rinsed off well.
Some cultures eat aphids on purpose for their nutrients. The taste of an aphid could be bitter or sweet. It all depends on the type of plant they were feeding off.
Their residue that they leave behind is called honeydew. It is named such because it is said to be sweet and ants in particular, love to feast on it.
What Disease Do Aphids Carry?
Aphids do not carry diseases, but they are able to transfer them from one plant to another. Aphids cannot transfer diseases to humans or pets. They are totally safe for us and they are not a nuisance if their population is kept as bay on certain plants without spreading all over your garden.
Potyviruses are a large group of plant viruses that aphids are known to transfer to other plants that host them.
Unfortunately, the relationship is not symbiotic and they can gravely impact the plants who can wither or degrade under intense infestation or through the introduction of these potyviruses.
Are Aphids Harmful to Humans or Pets?
No. Aphids are not harmful to humans or pets. These little critters are considered nuisance pests and deserve to mentioned in detail on this site for the following reasons:
- Aphids multiply rapidly.
- They feed of plants in our garden.
- Plants get overrun by aphids.
- Aphids can transfer potyviruses from one plant to another.
- Aphids attract ants who love to feed off the honeydew they leave behind.
- Plants can succumb to aphid infestations and wither, degrade or die.
Aphids are not going to harm you or your pet, but if you care deeply for your garden, you may need to flush them out.
Spray the underside of leaves and consider dish soap mixed with water to suffocate them. Afterwards, a quick spray with only water from a garden hose will wash off the dish soap.
Do Aphids Make Humans Itch?
Aphids should not irritate the skin or make you itch. Some people have more sensitive skin than others. The smallest fruit fly can make my wife itch. I barely notice.
There is no poison or irritant to make you itch or feel a rash coming on. The itchy feeling could be the result of thrips and not aphids, because the former bites and the latter does not.
In rare cases, there are reports of some minor swelling or redness that appears when the prickly mouthparts of aphids make accidental contact with human skin.
These mouthparts are call stylets and they are like tiny needles meant to pierce plant tissue. They do not wish to harm you or your pets.
Do Aphids Bite?
No. Aphids do not bite. The biting feeling could be coming from the needle-like stylets which are their mouthparts. They pierce plants in order for them to consume the juices inside. Aphids are unable to chew and cannot bite.
You may have brushed by an aphid and felt the tingly stylets, but it should not leave a bite mark or scar. If you see a bite, you will be assured that it didn’t come from an aphid. It could have been a thrip or another bug instead.
How Do Aphids Cause Disease?
Aphids only cause disease in plant and never on human or plants. Leaves of plants can develop mold by fungi that enjoy the honeydew left behind from aphid attacks on plants.
Potyviruses can also be transferred from one diseased plant to another through aphids. Thankfully, they cannot transfer it on human or pet skin. Aphids are harmless for humans and they are even edible.
Should I Worry About Aphids?
No. There is nothing to worry about when it comes to aphids. They are garden pests and if you don’t tend to a garden, you have no care in the world for anything they do.
What they do is find a plant to host them and they begin piercing through its soft tissue to ingest or suck in juices. The plant could end up being damaged, diseased or dead.
None of this happens to humans or pets. If you have a garden or care for plants, you may want to keep their population under control. A few aphids are fine, but they can multiply rapidly.
Can Aphids Cause a Rash?
There will be no reason to visit a dermatologist if you feel itchy from an aphid making contact with your skin. They do not carry toxins that irritate humans or pets.
They are not like mites that burrow or lay eggs in skin. They are not ticks, fleas or even thrips who bite us. Aphids are only interested in sucking the sap from plants.
The slight itchy feeling or redness on your skin could have been cause by the prickly mouthparts of aphids that did not pierce through your skin. The contact is minor and should not be anything to be concerned about.
Can Aphids Survive On Hair?
No. Aphids cannot live on hair or fur. They will receive no nourishment and will die very soon. Aphids are looking for nutrient rich plants that contains sap or juices for them to pierce and absorb.
Your skin or hair contains nothing that aphids are interested in. Aphids will not puncture your skin or remain on your body on purpose. They cannot transmit or transfer diseases to you.
Do Aphids Bite Humans?
No. Aphids cannot bite humans. The mouthparts on aphids are designed for piercing plants only. They cannot get through your skin and they won’t even try.
Your blood or tissue does not nourish an aphid. They need sap from plants to survive. Aphids do not have:
- mouth
- jaws
- teeth
Their mouthparts are called stylets. They use stylets to prick through the epidermal layer of plants.
Are Aphids Harmful to Dogs or Cats?
If you are worried that your dog or cat has been bit by an aphid, think again. It was probably one of the following:
- Fleas
- Ticks
- Mosquitoes
- Mites
- Ants
- Bees
- Botflies
- Hornets
- Kissing Bugs
- Spiders
- Wasps
As you can see, there are no aphids in the list above. They do not harm cats or dogs. If aphids accidentally land on the fur of your favorite companion, they will hitch a ride and hopefully land on a plant to find nourishment.
An aphid will fall off your pet or remain on the fur until they die shortly after. Aphids cannot bite your dog or cat and cannot spread or transfer any diseases to them.
Conclusion
Aphids are harmless to humans and animals. In very rare occasions, there are reports of aphids leaving small skin irritations in Taiwan or other Asian regions under specific species that do not exist in Europe or North America.
Even those rare occasions didn’t produce lasting harm because aphids do not have any need for humans or animals since we cannot provide any nutrients to them.
They need plant tissue and specifically, the rich sap or juices inside them. Aphids are safe to eat as well. If you think you have been bitten by an aphid, it’s more likely that it was other bugs such as thrips or mites.
Thanks for visiting ThePestManagement.com for the best information to help you to make the pest control process easy, safe & affordable.
