0 Richardson, M. 2004 Nursing times 100 22 63-5, 67 Jun 1-7 44714 Animals Anti-Infective Agents/therapeutic use bedbugs Culicidae Diptera Fleas Great Britain histamine Humans Insect Bites, stings Insect repellents Insect vectors Pediculus Scabies Skin Care/methods/standards Ticks Insects play an important role in maintaining the world's ecosystem (Zhu and Stiller, 2002) but many of them feed on other animals. Humans are relatively hairless and provide an easy target, especially when partly clothed (Cohn, 2003). Biting insects common to the UK include midges, gnats, mosquitoes, flies, fleas, lice, mites, ticks, and bedbugs (Fig 1). LR: 20041117; JID: 0423236; 0 (Anti-Infective Agents); 0 (Histamine H1 Antagonists); 0 (Insect Repellents); RF: 15; ppublish0954-7762 Journal