Do termites bite?

Can termites spread disease?

Yes, termites do bite people but only if you get them angry. Most termites have to be biting on thin skin (like between your fingers or similar) before you’ll even be able to notice their grim determination. They don’t set out to bite people, but they will bite in defense and they do tend to hang on. The bites of bigger species like Mastotermes, Macrotermes and some dampwood termites are quite easily noticed. I’ve seen small blood marks from a Mastotermes bite near a technician’s navel. Strangely, it is much more often the meek-looking workers that bite (me) than the big-jawed, heavy-set, scary-looking soldier termites. Alates (swarmers) may have bitten me. I’ve never noticed.

As for disease, there’s no available evidence to suggest that termite bites have ever transferred anything to humans. They don’t remain sensitive and never seem to swell.

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