Otolaryngologists or paramedics at emergency rooms in rural areas, when asked whether an insect can get into the ear, answer that such cases are by no means rare. Several hundred people annually discover uninvited “guests” in their ears. Flying or crawling pests can cause a lot of trouble for a person, especially a small child.
Don’t panic, you can remove an insect from your ear without any health consequences.
What insects can get into the ear?
An insect can fly into the ear by accident, or crawl in, attracted by the smell of earwax. The ear canals may contain:
- various beetles (Coleoptera);
- small lepidoptera – moths, butterflies;
- flies, midges.
- cockroaches;
- spiders (they are not insects, but are able to penetrate the ear canal, for example, when a person is sleeping).
Spider
On a note! There is a common myth that the scary and terrifying earwig can enter a person's ear. There she will gnaw through the eardrum, make her way straight into the brain and lay eggs. The earwig is sometimes also confused with the two-tailed one because of its forked “tail.”
Spiders can't get caught in their own webs
This myth sounds pretty plausible. We often see flies entangled in webs, but we never see spiders entangled in them. Therefore, we conclude that spiders are immune to their own webs. It's simple! But no, in fact, spiders are not immune to their own stickiness. They simply move along their webs very carefully so as not to get stuck. Contrary to popular belief, not all spider webs are sticky. Some spiders make their webs with small drops of glue scattered throughout them to prevent them from stepping on them themselves. If they step on one, it won't be a big deal since it usually takes several to get them firmly stuck. So when a fly gets caught in a web, there's a good chance it'll land on more than one of those glue droplets. Other spiders weave webs so that only the circular threads are sticky, and the ray threads are not, so that they can move along them.
Is the presence of insects in the ears dangerous?
Any insect cannot live in the ear canal for a long time; it will try with all its might to leave the ear. This causes some discomfort, even pain:
- hearing disorder, deterioration;
- dizziness and loss of coordination due to continuous mechanical irritation of the eardrum;
- itching in the ear caused by movement of the limbs. For some people, especially young children, itching causes an irresistible urge to scratch the affected area. Scratching leads to scratches and inflammation.
- flies and other flying insects on their legs are capable of carrying pathogenic bacteria that cause various diseases. The risk of infection increases if the skin in the ear canal is scratched or damaged.
- A bee or wasp sting in the ear can be painful and also cause a severe allergic reaction, including anaphylactic shock.
You accidentally swallow N number of spiders per year
This is another statement that people accept as fact. However, most people who know what is not true will tell you that there is no scientific basis for it. Actually it is there, but it's not what you think.
In fact, this myth became so widespread because of a woman named Lisa Holst. She wanted to prove that people will believe almost anything they read online. So she created a newsletter with false facts and emailed it out several times and is now reaping the laurels of having proven her point millions of times as her false fact has become one of the most widely shared “facts” about spiders. However, she did not invent the myth. She simply took it from the book Insect Fact and Folklore, knowing it wasn't true, painted it to make it seem true, and inadvertently contributed to the fact that the Internet is 90 percent fact. lies.
What to do if an insect gets into your ear?
If an insect is found in the ear, the first thing to do is to calm down, then begin to act. For medical assistance, you should consult an otolaryngologist. A specialist will remove the insect using tools.
After removing the insect from the ear, you need to make sure that no parts of the pest, such as legs or stings, remain inside. Unnoticed insect particles in time can cause inflammation and infection inside the ear.
The ear canal should also be disinfected. If the skin is damaged, it makes sense to instill antibiotics.
Allergies caused by a bite are treated with antihistamines.
Important! All medications are prescribed only by a doctor after a personal request for help!
First aid
If an insect gets into your ear, you can first try to remove it yourself.
- The first way is to tilt your head to the side. The ear into which the beetle crawled should be at the bottom. Gently move your ear with your hand. The pest may fall out of the ear canal.
- You can shake your head slightly, as if you were pouring water out of your ear after bathing.
- Another way: sit upright and direct a direct beam of light into the ear canal, for example, from a table lamp or flashlight. Insects usually strive for a light source, so there is a high chance that the pest will leave the ear on its own.
Light in the ear
Preparing for the procedure for removing an insect from the ear
There are no special preparation measures for the procedure of removing an insect from the ear. Just relax, the doctor will carefully remove the pest.
There is no reason to panic; doctors often have to remove foreign objects from the ear canal. Removing an insect is no more difficult than washing the ear plug; the same methods are used.
Removal methods
If you seek medical help, the doctor can remove the insect from your ear in two ways:
- rinse with plenty of saline solution;
- remove with thin long tweezers.
Folk remedies for removing insects from the ear
If the medical facility is far away, for example, you are in the country, you can try to get the insect out of your ear yourself, using ancient folk methods:
- Drip an oil solution (camphor oil, any vegetable) - 4-5 drops, tilting your head so that the ear with the uninvited guest is on top. Next, you can lie down and tilt your head so that the affected ear is down. If the insect is small (midge, mosquito), it will “float out” along with the leaking liquid.
- If the insect is large enough, for example, a fly, a cockroach, the oil will clog the breathing holes, the pest will not be able to breathe and will die. The dead insect will stop moving and annoying, and it will be easier to remove it.
- Instillation of any alcohol-containing products:
- vodka;
- boric alcohol;
- medical alcohol (70%);
- etc.
will lead to the death of the insect that has climbed into the ear.
- Using hydrogen peroxide. Gently drop the product into the ear canal. When the liquid comes into contact with skin secretions, it will begin to foam profusely. Foam may dislodge insects.
- You can rinse your ear yourself with warm water, pumping it under pressure from a syringe without a needle or from a syringe (bulb), only after making sure that there is an insect in the ear.
Hydrogen peroxide
Important! If there is not an insect in the ear and you try to remove it with liquid, it can be dangerous. The foreign body will gain moisture, swell and completely block the ear canal, which can cause inflammation and pain.
Female black widow spiders eat their males
This myth is not completely false. It is rather misinterpreted. Female black widows actually eat their males, giving rise to the term "black widow" in society, meaning an extremely suspicious or angry woman. But in fact, if this happens, it is not as often as many people believe. There are many different types of black widows, and only a few of them eat their males. Even so, they only eat their males if they are hungry, which is as good an excuse as any.
Male spiders are much smaller than females, their body size is less than 25 percent of the female's, and when they mate, they must be very close to the female's mouth, making it difficult to escape, but they can still manage to run away. Therefore, although this myth is partially justified, it is given much more attention than it deserves, since of the few species of black widows that practice eating males, only a few succeed in this. The reality is not as sinister as popular culture makes it out to be.
What not to do?
If any insect gets into your ear, do not do anything rash.
- Do not try to remove the insect with hard, sharp objects:
- cotton swabs;
- toothpicks;
- hairpins and pins;
- tweezers;
- knife;
- screwdrivers.
These objects can pierce the eardrum, scratch, and injure the ear canal.
- Do not use hazardous liquids for rinsing and instillation:
- brilliant green;
- iodine solution;
- alkali;
- acid;
- sweet alcoholic tinctures;
- urine.
This can cause a burn or inflammation.
- You cannot avoid taking any measures if you know for sure that an insect is located in your ear.
Haymaking spiders have the most powerful venom
It's a myth you've probably heard more than once: harvest spiders have the most powerful venom of any spider, but they don't have fangs to inject it. First of all, it is worth noting that most people are not aware of the fact that there are actually no “hay spiders”. There are a huge number of insects that are summarized by this name. Some of those mistakenly called by this name, such as harvestmen and long-legged mosquitoes, are not even spiders. In addition, both of them have no poison at all, they are simply insects. Long-legged spiders (pholcid house spiders) are the spiders most often called hay spiders, and although they have venom, they are considered completely harmless to humans.
The spider is inseparable from the web
Many are sure that a spider does not exist without a web, but not all species weave one.
These amazingly strong networks are a way of obtaining food. Spiders use webs to catch insects. However, some species hunt easier. Wolf spiders, for example, burrow into the ground. They use stones and weave funnels from spider webs for insulation in winter. They openly pursue prey.
Tarantulas also hunt on their own and shoot webs to stay on surfaces they slide off. Philodromid spiders feign death to obtain prey.
Spider eggs and cocoons
In the photo - the opened egg cocoon of the orb-weaving spider Argiope bruennichi
). On the outside, the eggs are protected by two dense shells with a thick, loose layer between them. In the photo, the outer shell of the cocoon has been removed, and the loose layer is clearly visible. These layers consist of special types of webs and protect the masonry from mechanical and temperature influences, as well as from drying out. Argiope Brünnich itself is also sunny yellow; for its bright warning color it is often called the wasp spider.
Argiope Brunnich with a cocoon. Photo © Michael Hohner from mhohner.de
The eggs of all spiders are relatively large, rich in yolk, covered with a vitelline membrane and chorion. The female usually lays a clutch several days or weeks after mating, with the number of eggs laid varying greatly depending on the spider species. Thus, in the tiny cocoon of the Pyrenean spider Telema tenella
Only one egg is hidden, but usually the clutch of spiders is richer and contains 30–50 eggs. And some species have hundreds of eggs in their clutches (for example, the same Argiope Brünnich).
Since spider eggs are in a cocoon, they are rarely seen. And there is something to see: you can collect a collection of eggs of all the colors of the rainbow! This was done in the laboratory of Glenn King at the Pain Research Center at the University of Queensland (Australia). Scientists are studying a variety of poisons in the hope of using them to treat nervous system disorders. It turned out that spider eggs can be toxic and deadly to mammals, and the level of toxicity does not correlate with the poisonousness of the spider itself. Less is known about the color of eggs: it is still unclear what the mechanism of its formation and biological meaning are.
Spider eggs from the collection of the Pain Research Center. Left
— eggs of a spider of the genus
Holconia
(family Sparassidae),
on the right —
eggs of a spider
Cyrtophora
(family of orb-weaving spiders). Photo from Glenn King's Twitter
The variety of egg cocoons is great and depends on the spider’s lifestyle. Female spiders that live in burrows lay their eggs there. The female first makes a special dense plate from the web, on which she places all the eggs, and then covers another, carefully and firmly fastening all parts of the cocoon along the edge. In representatives of some families, such flattened cocoons are securely attached to the soil or to the wall of the nest (for example, in spiders of the families funnel-web spiders, tube spiders, gnaphosids, sac moths, side walkers). Wolf spiders tear off the finished cocoon, consisting of two plates, from the substrate and make an additional layer of web on top, as a result they get a cocoon in the shape of a ball, which the female carries with her, attaching the web to the end of the abdomen.
The huntsman spider from the family Sparassidae carries a flat cocoon in its chelicerae. Photo © Melvyn Yeo from deviantart.com
Female spiders of the genus Pisaura
(family Pisauridae) make the entire spherical cocoon from the main plate, leaving a small hole at the top for laying eggs, which is subsequently covered with a tiny covering plate.
Web spiders weave a cocoon while on the web. In many species of tentacles, the cocoon is spherical, with indistinguishable seams between the main and covering plates and consists of a loose, cotton-like web. On top of such a loose shell, the female spider can make a second protective layer of denser web. Cocoons can also have a more complex structure. For example, in Agroeca brunnea
(family Liocranidae), a goblet-shaped cocoon, attached by a stalk to the stem or branch of the plant, is divided by a transverse septum into egg and brood chambers. The female places eggs in the first, and the spiderlings move into the second, where they remain for another 2–3 weeks after hatching and molt.
Cocoon of Agroeca brunnea
outside and a diagram of the section, where you can see the chamber with eggs, the septum and the brood chamber. Photo from en.wikipedia.org, drawing from entomologa.ru
The following pattern can be traced in the structure of the cocoon: its walls are thin and fragile if the clutch is inside a reliable and durable nest or the female carries it with her. In other cases, the eggs need additional protection in the form of a dense thick shell - like the argiope, which places the cocoon openly on its web. However, such a powerful cocoon wall can serve as a serious obstacle for hatched spiderlings. But Argiope spiders can dissolve the internal fibers of the cocoon with the help of enzymes. And female tarantulas themselves open the cocoon with the help of chelicerae, thereby helping the spiderlings get out. Let us remember that wolf spiders, which include tarantulas, carry a cocoon with them and actively protect it.
If spider eggs can be painted in bright colors, then cocoons are most often white (the web is white), although they can have different shades. In Argiope Brünnich, the cocoons have dark green stripes; in spiders of the genus Zelotes
(family Gnaphosidae) have pinkish cocoons, orb-weaving spiders
Cyrtarachne
and some species of the genus
Araneus
, as well as nephilous orb-weaving spiders have golden cocoons,
Cyrtophora
have greenish cocoons, and wolf spiders of the genus
Pardosa
have greenish-blue cocoons with a white seam in the middle. Scientists do not yet know how such coloring is achieved; it is only known that the web of trapping nets may contain pigments that give it color (but it is usually unpigmented).
To camouflage the cocoon, some spiders can encrust it with particles of soil and plants, making it almost invisible against the background of the substrate (for example, Agroeca brunnea
).
The spectral properties of the arachnoid membrane can also make cocoons invisible. For example, in many species of spiders (for example, Peucetia viridans
from the lynx spider family), the reflectance spectrum of the cocoon web is highly red-shifted, giving the cocoons a brownish appearance.
This allows them to blend in with the fallen leaves among which the spiders hide them. In spiders that live in good lighting conditions (for example, Zosis geniculata
from the uloboridae family), the web practically does not reflect ultraviolet radiation, which makes it possible to camouflage the cocoon against the background of the substrate. All these “tricks” probably additionally help spiders hide their cocoons from potential predators (for example, ants) and parasitoids—riders that lay their eggs in the cocoon.
A variety of shapes and colors of spider cocoons in Costa Rica. Image from G. Barrantes et al., 2013. Variation and possible function of egg sac coloration in spiders
There is an opinion that spider cocoons were originally formed to hold the clutches on the substrate, and their protective role is secondary. But, one way or another, over time, the masking and protective role came to the fore. A dense layer of web protects the masonry not only from mechanical, temperature influences and drying, but also from bacteria and fungi - the web has bactericidal and fungicidal properties.
Photo from the site nashzeleniymir.ru.
Ira Demina
Spiders are always around
Many people say that spiders are always waiting at a distance of a meter or two from you. However, this depends on your location. If you're in a park, most likely there are these eight-legged guys around; if you're on a plane, the nearest spider could be tens of kilometers away. Golf courses and other similar areas are often free of spiders because they are constantly being re-roofed. Many spiders prefer to stay in their burrows, especially in winter.
The article was prepared based on materials from animals.howstuffworks.com.
Spiders are aggressive
People tend to blame spiders for the bites that appear on their body, believing that they crawl out at night to feast on your blood. However, firstly, spiders are not aggressive, and secondly, most of them hunt during the day.
Spider bites are much less common than many people think. Like most creatures, when a threat appears, the spider tries to hide. These poor guys have poor eyesight, so their movements can be misinterpreted. Even spiders that are dangerous to humans will not attack first.
