What's biting in Germany right now
Bite activity in Germany peaks April to August. June is the busiest month of the year at 23% of all records. Narrow yours down below, then confirm it with a photo in the app.
This page tells you what's around. The app tells you what bit you — photo in, likely species, severity read and a day-by-day care plan out.
Download free for iPhoneNarrow it down in three taps
Free · nothing to install to get a shortlistMost recorded in September
Answer 2 more for a sharper shortlist- Head lice bites Strongest match · 92%
Concentrated behind the ears and at the nape. Usually until treated.
Read the full profile → -
Bald-faced hornet sting Also possible · 93%Often several — the colony defends aggressively. Usually swelling for several days.
Read the full profile → -
Deer tick bite Also possible · 85%Single, usually in a skin fold or hairline. Usually bump a few days; untreated rash weeks.
Read the full profile →
Photograph the bite in the app and it picks between these for you — with a severity read and what to do today. This page narrows the field; it does not diagnose you.
Confirm with a photoFree download · iPhone The year, month by month
Share of all recorded sightings in Germany. Pick a month to re-run the shortlist above for that time of year.
From GBIF biodiversity records, snapshot 2026-09-14. Records track when people observe and report specimens — close to activity, not identical to how often anyone gets bitten. Methodology.
What actually bites you in Germany
Honey bees top records like these because they are the most photographed insect on earth — read this as "definitely present here", not as a ranking of risk.
What is different about Germany
Two tick-borne illnesses rather than one: Lyme borreliosis nationwide, plus TBE in designated southern regions where a vaccine exists.
Bed bugs, scabies and head lice ignore weather entirely — a bite pattern in the middle of Germany's quiet season points there first, see what is biting me at night.
- Breathing trouble, or swelling of the lips, tongue or throat after a sting
- A red area that is spreading, hot and painful — especially with a red streak
- Fever, chills or feeling generally unwell in the days or weeks after a bite
- An expanding rash appearing 3 to 30 days after a tick bite
- A bite getting worse rather than better after 72 hours
Call 112 for emergencies. Your Hausarzt for anything else; pharmacies advise on bites without an appointment.
The seasonal data behind this
Across 175,107 verified records for Germany, biting and stinging activity concentrates in April to August — June alone accounts for 23% of sightings, and December is the quietest month of the year.
Germany has one feature that separates it from Britain and France: tick-borne encephalitis. The Robert Koch Institute designates risk areas — largely Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, extending into Thuringia, Saxony and Hesse — and vaccination is recommended for people who spend time outdoors there. That is a decision to make before the season, not after a bite.
| Month | Activity | Share | Mostly |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0% | Aedes mosquito, Head lice bites, Bed bug | |
| February | 2% | Aedes mosquito, Head lice bites, Bed bug | |
| March | 6% | Castor bean tick, Honey bee, Aedes mosquito | |
| April | 11% | Castor bean tick, Honey bee, Mosquito | |
| May | 12% | Castor bean tick, Honey bee, Paper wasp | |
| June | 23% | Castor bean tick, Honey bee, Paper wasp | |
| July | 17% | Castor bean tick, Honey bee, Paper wasp | |
| August | 19% | Castor bean tick, Honey bee, Paper wasp | |
| September | 6% | Castor bean tick, Honey bee, Paper wasp | |
| October | 3% | Castor bean tick, Honey bee, Yellowjacket | |
| November | 1% | Yellow sac spider, Aedes mosquito, Head lice bites | |
| December | 0% | Aedes mosquito, Head lice bites, Bed bug |
Calculated from GBIF biodiversity records for Germany, snapshot 2026-09-14. Records reflect when people observe and report specimens, which tracks activity closely but is not the same as how often anyone gets bitten. See our methodology.
Year-round regardless of season
Weather does not affect everything. Bed bugs, scabies and head lice depend on people rather than temperature, so a bite pattern in the middle of Germany's quiet season points to those first — see what is biting me at night.
Species linked to illness here
- Castor bean tick bite — Lyme borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis (central and eastern Europe, not the UK), anaplasmosis
- Mosquito bite — West Nile virus, La Crosse encephalitis, dengue (Gulf Coast and Southwest, local cases), chikungunya (rare, travel-linked)
- Aedes mosquito bite — dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever
- Flea bite — murine typhus (Gulf Coast, California, Hawaii), cat scratch disease bacteria carried between cats, flea tapeworm (mainly in children who swallow a flea)
- Deer tick bite — Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus (rare)
- Scabies rash — secondary bacterial skin infection is common from scratching
Most bites transmit nothing. What matters is the follow-up: note the date, and report any fever or expanding rash in the weeks afterwards to a clinician, mentioning the bite and where you were.
Stings rather than bites
Honey bee, Paper wasp, Yellowjacket, Bald-faced hornet are recorded in Germany. Stings differ from bites in one way that matters: they can cause anaphylaxis in sensitised people, and that risk does not depend on how mild previous stings looked. Anyone who has had a severe reaction should carry an adrenaline auto-injector.
Common questions
When are insect bites most common in Germany?
Sighting records for Germany concentrate in April to August, with June the single busiest month at 23% of all records. December is the quietest.
What bites people most often in Germany?
By verified records the most frequently reported biting and stinging species are castor bean tick, honey bee, paper wasp, yellowjacket, mosquito.
Do bites stop completely in winter in Germany?
No. Bed bugs, scabies and head lice depend on people rather than weather and continue year-round. What stops is the outdoor season — mosquitoes, ticks, wasps and biting flies.
Stop guessing from a table.
One photo → likely species, severity, and a care plan you can re-check as it heals.