• Blog
  • Main Website
  • Commercial Pest Control
  • Pest Control Reviews
  • Contact Us
deBugged
  • Blog
  • Main Website
  • Commercial Pest Control
  • Pest Control Reviews
  • Contact Us
Home  /  Crawling Insects  /  Biting and Stinging Insects – The Schmidt Pain Index
stinging insects
10 July 2015

Biting and Stinging Insects – The Schmidt Pain Index

Written by Rentokil Pest Control Ireland
Crawling Insects ant control, bites and stings, black garden ants, fire ant bites, garden ants, stinging insects, wasp nest, wasp sting, wasps Leave a Comment

With the summer months in full swing, and wasps, bees ants and bed bugs all on the loose, it’s a good time to brush up on our knowledge of biting and stinging insects, in preparation for their peak season.

The Schmidt Pain Index – What is it?

The Schmidt Pain Index was created by Justin O. Schmidt, an entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Centre in the US state of Arizona. Essentially it is a big list of all the stings and bites you can get from an insect to which both Schmidt and his team subjected themselves in order to collect this data.

The pain index puts each insect on a pain scale of 0-4. 0 being completely harmless, with no pain whatsoever to 4 which in Schmidt’s words “You don’t want to know… The pain is so immediate and intense and it shuts down all illusions of life as normal. Imagine sticking a finger in a 240 volt electrical socket”

[Source: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150312-the-worlds-most-painful-insect-sting].

As well a determining a level of pain for each insect, the Schmidt Pain Index also provides information in regards to the duration of the pain. The description of the pain suffered by each insect sting/bite can be quite hysterical, but getting stung by some of these insects is no laughing matter. Not only does this provide information around the pain, but also in a way everyone can understand.

Schmidt has also gone on to study the chemistry behind the pain caused by insect stings and bites (the venom), as well as how and why insects use venom as part of their defense mechanism.

 

The Pain Index

By 1990 the Schmidt Pain Index covered 78 different insect stings and bites all with their own ratings and unique descriptions. So without further ado, here’s some of my favourite ratings…

Don’t worry, most of these nasty stingers won’t be found in Ireland but make for some interesting reading just the same!

Ants

Everyone has encountered ants in their lifetime, but how many of you have been bitten by one? Each of these species of ant brings its own unique level of pain to the table from the mild snap of the fire ant to the excruciating agony of the bullet ant, these tiny creatures are not to be messed with.

Fire Ant

  • Pain scale rating: 1.2
  • Duration of pain: 2- 5 minutes
  • Description: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet and reaching for the light switch.

Red Harvester Ant

  • Pain scale rating: 3.0
  • Duration of pain: 1- 8 hours
  • Description: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.

Bullet Ant

  • Pain scale rating: 4.0+
  • Duration of pain: 12- 24 hours
  • Description: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3” rusty nail in your heel.

Did You Know the Satere-Mawe people of Brazil use bullet ants as part of their initiating rights to become a warrior? The young boy must wear a glove made from live bullet ants and endure 10 minutes of bullet ant stings.

The most common ant found in Ireland is the Black Garden Ant
The most common ant found in Ireland is the Black Garden Ant

Not to fear, the most common ant species found in Ireland is the black garden ant and that little crawler doesn’t even have a sting.

Bees

Most people have crossed paths with some sort of bee in their lifetime, from the humble bumble bee to the busy honey bee. The majority of the time we see them collecting nectar, helping to pollinate plants. But have you ever been stung by one? If you have then you might be able to relate to Schmidt’s accurate descriptions.

Sweet Bee

  • Pain scale rating: 1.0
  • Duration of pain: short
  • Description: Light. ephemeral, almost fruity. As if a tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.

Honey Bee

  • Pain scale rating: 2.0
  • Duration of pain: 4-10 minutes
  • Description: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns your skin.
Honey Bee
Honey Bee

Did You Know bees die after delivering a sting? Their stingers are barbed thus causing it to get stuck in our skin. As the bee tries to pull away she rips her stinger from her body which causes her untimely death.

Wasps and Hornets

Now it’s on to the bee’s more aggressive cousins Wasps and Hornets. Anyone who has ever come across one of this stinging insects knows how painful their stings can be so its no surprise a range of different wasp species were featured on the Schmidt pain index.

A little known fact is hornets are actually a species of wasp.    

Bald Faced Hornet

  • Pain scale rating: 2.0
  • Duration of pain: 3- 4 minutes
  • Description: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.

Paper Wasp

  • Pain scale rating: 3.0
  • Duration of pain: 5- 15 minutes
  • Description: Caustic and burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.

Tarantula Hawk

  • Pain scale rating: 4.0
  • Duration of pain: 3 minutes
  • Description: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath.

There may be hundreds of species of wasps, hornets and bees found around the world. Only a few of these are seen as real pests here in Ireland, and some of them don’t even sting. The Common and German Wasps are the two most commonly found wasp species in Ireland and the ones responsible for causing painful wasp stings. (but not as painful as the Tarantula Hawk)

Common Wasp
Common Wasp

Did you know you can book a wasp treatment online with Rentokil?

Click here and receive a €10 discount!

These are only a handful of the insect stings and bites rated by Schmidt and his team. Schmidt is currently working on the latest version of the pain index. It is said that the new pain index will include even more insect stings that Schmidt will subject himself to in the name of science.

Insect Stings and Bites

As you can tell from the insects described on the Schmidt Pain Index, suffering from a sting or bite can be quite painful, unless you’re talking about bullet ants in that case it will be excruciating.

If you feel you have a pest problem which can cause a nasty sting or bite then taking the time to contact a professional can save you from being another victim of the insects on the Schmidt Pain Index.

Call us today on 1890 666 444 or check out our website at www.rentokil.ie

Share On
 Previous Article Chocolate Chirp Cookies
Next Article   Happy Birthday Rentokil

Related Posts

  • The amount of silverfish in Ireland’s capital has been nearly ‘Dublin’!

    March 24, 2022
  • How To Catch Bed Bugs In Your Home & Business

    February 19, 2021
  • Image of silverfish and tips of how to get rid of silverfish

    Silverfish! What Are They And How To Get Rid Of Them?

    October 24, 2019
  • bed bugs in hotel rentokil

    Six steps for housekeeping staff to identify bed bugs

    June 10, 2019
Rentokil Pest Control Ireland

Rentokil Pest Control is Ireland's longest-established, best known and most trusted pest control service provider. We lead the way in developing innovative, environmentally friendly and sensitive pest control solutions for the detection, prevention and elimination of troublesome pests. We have protected many Irish homes and businesses from pest problems for more than 90 years. Our customers trust our professional services, so they rate us excellent on Trustpilot. For more information, please call 1890 666 444.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Need some advice?

Talk to one of our experts:

For your Home

0818 882 438

For your Business

0818 882 428

Checking...

Ouch! There was a server error.
Retry »

Sending message...

Quick Form

Fill in the form below and we will be in touch soon


Find us on Twitter

Find us on Facebook

Find Us on LinkedIn

Rentokil Pest Control

Rentokil Pest Control is part of Rentokil Initial — one of the world’s largest providers of business services. Formed over 80 years ago, the company has grown to become UK’s longest-established, best known and most trusted pest control service provider.

Camberley.
3,500+ employees



Rentokil Pest Control

Categories

  • Birds
  • Commercial Pest Control
  • Countries
  • Crawling Insects
  • Flying Insects
  • Property Care
  • Rodents

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DEBUGGED BLOG


Latest Video

Recent Posts

  • Do Moths Eat Clothes? April 26, 2022
  • The amount of silverfish in Ireland’s capital has been nearly ‘Dublin’! March 24, 2022
  • Top counties for fleas in Ireland in 2021
    Ireland’s Top 5 Worst Affected Counties For Fleas In 2021 February 23, 2022
  • Featured Video Play Icon
    What Attracts Moths To Your House? March 1, 2021

© 2022 Rentokil Initial plc and subject to the conditions in the Legal Statement.

  • Pestaurant
  • Noises in the Attic
  • Top Household Pests
  • Specialist Services
  • Why Rentokil
  • RI Supplier Code
  • Supplier Terms and Conditions
  • Manage Cookies
  • Company Information
  • Legal Statement
  • RI Supplier Code
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • eBilling
myRentokil
myLearning
  • Ambius.ie Ambius.ie
  • Initial.ie Initial.ie
  • Rentokil-Initial.com Rentokil-Initial.com