Icky Boo

We've never been terribly skittish around spiders or snakes, but if you put a mite, tick or any other insect that could be referred to as a "pest" near us we'll probably go apeshit. The movies and books about "Microscopic Monsters" gave us the night terrors, which basically meant we couldn't go outside because of the chance of catching Lyme Disease and going nuts like that one girl on the Real World who got slapped, and we couldn't stay inside because they were chillin' in the carpet fibers chowin' down on dead skin. That's why we're exceptionally grossed out by the fact that "dozens" have gone to the hospital in Chicago with itchy bites.

The bites have been blamed on mites due to their aptly-named "mite-like symptoms." The plethora of mites that most often nibble on people is cringe-worthy, especially considering many of the bites can become infected if you itch them.

If you ask us, a mite bite is worse than the clap. Like lice in grade school, most insect bites and infestations hold with them a stigma which can drive you to obsessive-compulsive personal hygiene habits and irrational entomophobia. In fact, we're already starting to get itchy.

Image via Camden.rutgers.edu.