What bit me in New Jersey?
20 biting or stinging species have verified records in New Jersey. The fastest way to narrow it down is where on your body the marks are and how they are arranged — below the knee in clusters points to fleas or chiggers, lines on uncovered skin point to bed bugs, scattered single bumps point to mosquitoes. Bite season here runs roughly April to October.
Active around now in New Jersey
- Honey bee
- Bald-faced hornet
- Lone star tick
- American dog tick
- Carpenter ant
- Paper wasp
- Deer tick
- Yellowjacket
- Black widow spider
- Horsefly
Recorded biting species in New Jersey
| Species | Looks like | Where on body | Records | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honey bee sting | single | feet — bees are often stepped on in clover, hands | 3,502 | June to September |
| Bald-faced hornet sting | often several — the colony defends aggressively | head, neck | 1,070 | July to October |
| Lone star tick bite | single, sometimes dozens at once when larval "seed ticks" swarm | legs, waist | 813 | April to July |
| American dog tick bite | single | scalp, neck | 695 | April to July |
| Carpenter ant bite | single or a few | hands, arms | 682 | April, May, June, September |
| Paper wasp sting | usually single | hands, head | 482 | June to September |
| Deer tick bite | single, usually in a skin fold or hairline | groin, armpits | 261 | March, April, May, November |
| Yellowjacket sting | single or several — this wasp can sting repeatedly | hands, face | 248 | May, August, September, October |
| Black widow spider bite | single site | hands, forearms | 166 | July to October |
| Horsefly bite | single, occasionally two | legs, back | 110 | June to August |
| Yellow sac spider bite | single, sometimes two nearby | neck, arms | 49 | March, April, May, October |
| Kissing bug bite | clusters, often on the face near the lips or eyes | face, lips | 43 | June to August |
| Deer fly bite | single or a few, often on the scalp and neck | scalp, neck | 31 | May to July |
| Wolf spider bite | single site | hands, feet | 11 | May, June, September, October |
| Bed bug bite | lines or zigzags of three or more — the classic "breakfast, lunch and dinner" | arms, shoulders | 8 | July |
| Scabies rash | symmetrical, in finger webs, wrists, waistline, armpits and groin | finger webs, wrists | 8 | July |
| Flea bite | clusters of three or four, or short irregular groups | ankles, shins | 7 | June, August, September, October |
| Mosquito bite | single bumps scattered over exposed skin | ankles, lower legs | 5 | June to September |
| Black fly bite | several, along the hairline, ears and ankles | hairline, behind the ears | 3 | May to August |
| Head lice bites | concentrated behind the ears and at the nape | scalp, behind the ears | 3 | July |
Record counts come from the GBIF biodiversity database and reflect how often a species is reported and identified in New Jersey. They are a guide to what is plausible here, not a census — and they say nothing about how likely you are to be bitten indoors.
Bite season month by month
Of the 20 species recorded in New Jersey, 20 are active in June — the peak of the local season. The humid subtropical climate here is what sets those boundaries: species that need warmth disappear at the edges of the year, while the indoor ones do not care.
| Month | Species active | Notably |
|---|---|---|
| January | 3 | Bed bug, Scabies, Head lice bites |
| February | 3 | Bed bug, Scabies, Head lice bites |
| March | 6 | Honey bee, Lone star tick, Bed bug |
| April | 14 | Honey bee, Lone star tick, American dog tick |
| May | 18 | Honey bee, Lone star tick, American dog tick |
| June | 20 | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Lone star tick |
| July | 20 | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Lone star tick |
| August | 19 | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Lone star tick |
| September | 17 | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Lone star tick |
| October | 13 | Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Deer tick |
| November | 5 | Yellow sac spider, Bed bug, Scabies |
| December | 3 | Bed bug, Scabies, Head lice bites |
Narrowing it down in three questions
- Where on your body? Below the knee in clusters points to fleas or chiggers. Uncovered skin — arms, shoulders, neck — points to bed bugs or mosquitoes. Along a sock line or waistband is close to diagnostic for chiggers.
- How are they arranged? A line or zigzag of three or more suggests bed bugs. Scattered single bumps suggest mosquitoes. A curved group with white pustules the next day means fire ants.
- Indoors or outdoors, and when? Bites that appear overnight in one specific bed are a different problem from bites after an afternoon in tall grass. In New Jersey the outdoor season runs April to October; the indoor species run all year.
Stings rather than bites in New Jersey
Honey bee, Bald-faced hornet, Carpenter ant, Paper wasp, Yellowjacket are recorded here. Stings differ from bites in one way that matters: they can cause anaphylaxis in sensitised people, and that risk does not depend on how bad previous stings looked. Anyone who has had a severe reaction should carry an adrenaline auto-injector.
Species associated with illness here
- Lone star tick bite — ehrlichiosis, Heartland virus, tularemia, STARI, alpha-gal syndrome (red meat allergy)
- American dog tick bite — Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, tick paralysis (rare, resolves on removal)
- Deer tick bite — Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus (rare)
- Kissing bug bite — Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi) — rare in the United States but the reason this bite is taken seriously
- Deer fly bite — tularemia (rare)
Most bites from these species transmit nothing. What matters is the follow-up: note the date of the bite, and report any fever or expanding rash in the following weeks to a clinician, mentioning the bite explicitly.
Seek medical care if
Call emergency services now for difficulty breathing, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, dizziness or fainting, or hives spreading away from the bite.
- difficulty breathing, 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 that is getting worse rather than better after 72 hours
Year-round in New Jersey
Weather does not affect everything. Bed bugs, scabies and head lice depend on people rather than season, so a bite pattern in January in New Jersey points to those first — see what is biting me at night.
Get a photo assessment in the app
Everything above is free to read. The app adds what a page cannot: point your camera at the bite and get an assessment of the most likely cause, a severity read, and a day-by-day care plan — including the specific signs that mean you should be seen.
iPhone and iPad. Free to download.