Some of this is geographical! We used to live in Indiana (I grew up in Colorado) and I had a quick and thorough education in noxious parasitic insects and toxic plants! (Poison ivy, oak, ) not to mention chiggers... OMG, I never knew such evil things existed until I left Colorado. We don't have fleas here in Colorado (for the most part) - THAT was an eye-opener! In Indiana, I had to treat my chickens for red mites very frequently - no problems with that here at all. On the other hand, we have bubonic plague in the prairie dog population, and it is considered endemic in rodents here. BUBONIC PLAGUE! Didn't have that in Indiana.