The wife contended they d been bitten by some kind of weird flea. They re also true bugs with a beak made for sucking juices. We re just lucky they don t feed on blood or transmit any disease. Their bite has an impact that s far out of proportion with their size, Brooks said. But humans longer-term reactions vary.
Some people have no lasting effects.
Some develop reddened skin at the bite site. Others get swelling that looks much like a mosquito bite. You may look less attractive to them, though, if you wear dark clothes on the warm days when minute pirate bugs are abundant. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan.