09x14 - Eaten Alive

[bunniefuu]

[ insects buzzing ]

I've never had something so
small mess with my head so much.

And it never stops.

They are the biggest,
gnarliest bugs here.

[bleep] damn it.

I can't -- I can't keep this up.

[ insects buzzing ]

[ gulps ] damn.

Man: These flies
are unstoppable.

[bleep] they're bloodsuckers.

Agh!

Bugs are just all over
me, going crazy right now.

-Ew!
-[ retches ]

-oh, my god.
-I hate it.

Narrator: "naked and afraid"
pits man against nature...

[ tarzan call ]

...In the most inhospitable
places on the planet.

Stop raining!

Unbearable heat,
freezing cold...

...Starvation,
brutal predators...

-Brian!
-Aah!

...Test the best to
their breaking point.

[ snake hisses ]

hurts.

But it's the smallest creatures
that bring the most pain...

We're getting eaten alive.

Narrator: ...Often tipping
the survivalists over the edge.

Flying, crawling, stinging,
bloodsucking insects

bring sickness and
life-threatening diseases.

[ groans ]

with 200 million insects for
every human on the planet,

there is no escape from
the vicious, tiny creatures...

I have a breaking
point. [ sniffles ]

narrator: ...Pushing their human
prey to the brink of madness.

[ slowly ] they drive me crazy.

Narrator: The survivalists
enter the unique, terrifying world

of tiny monsters...

-[ screams ]
-oh, my god.

...That plague them
every minute of every day.

[ shouts indistinctly
] aah! [bleep]

narrator: We'll see how these
relentless attackers prey on their victims

and discover how they use

their horrific claws,
stingers, and venom

to inflict pain and
suffering beyond measure...

...On "naked and
afraid: Eaten alive."

captions paid for by
discovery communications

tim: Stepping in this
foliage is like rolling the dice.

Oh, my god. Ant colony.

It's huge, the
biggest one I've seen.

Narrator: Deep in
the jungles of trinidad,

tim and shannon
quickly discovered

that their fiercest
enemies were everywhere.

Colonies of biting,
stinging army ants

can number up to
15 million strong.

They're all the way
[bleep] up there.

[bleep] there it is.

They attack their victims
as one ruthless force.

We're gonna get destroyed.

They bite using razor-sharp,
claw-like mandibles,

and they're able to strip a
fallen animal to its bones.

Aah!

They inflict agonizing bites

that leave behind formic acid,

which cause itching and swelling

all over shannon
and tim's bodies.

Whoa! [bleep] aah! [bleep]

the misery during
the day escalated

as more nocturnal
creatures went on the attack.

Tim: [bleep] bugs suck,

and I seem to be
getting bit a lot worse

than my partner is.

Ow [bleep]

got these [bleep] welts
all over our bodies.

Feels like it's chiggers or...

Mites.

Mites, something like that.

Narrator: Mites are
miniscule arachnids.

At only 0.3 millimeters,

they're almost invisible
to the naked eye.

Sharp claws tear
holes in the skin,

and their fierce bite
injects digestive enzymes

that liquify the cells,
which they consume.

They are literally
eating their hosts.

There's, like, [bleep]
crawling up me like crazy.

Tim: Bugs started
attacking shannon.

I'm just really hoping
the sun's coming up soon

because this is
[bleep] miserable.

♪♪

[bleep] whatever.

♪♪

[ insects buzzing ]

get out of here.

Okay, you got me.

You got me!

Narrator: In the
broiling heat of brazil,

gary and karra were attacked
by bloodsucking horseflies.

[ flies buzzing ]

karra: Ah!

Ow! What are those
horseflies after -- my life?!

Narrator: The horsefly is the
fastest insect on the planet.

It can reach up to
90 miles per hour,

making it difficult to
escape a painful bite

that slices into flesh

with a mouth part comprised
of two razor-sharp blades.

The mouth also has a sponge-like
feature that laps up the blood.

Gary: When you're out there,

there is no escaping
them, because you're naked.

I'm covered in flies
eating my sores.

They're bloodsuckers.

See my leg leaking blood?

The other flies, they
feed on the blood.

Imagine every single
part of your body

being bitten and sucked on.

And they would literally blur
my vision and wear me down.

[ groans ]

narrator: Day after day,

the pain never stopped.

Karra: It was like
I was spinning.

I felt like I was having like
a panic attack or something.

I felt completely
helpless and weak.

[ sighs ]

gary: Mind-set is everything,

and what karra did wrong
was she didn't embrace them.

[ moans ]

gary: The audible
sound of a constant buzz

and watching them suck
your blood, it was rough.

If you choose to hate the flies,

then they're going
to destroy you.

Aah! Is that on my scab?

Are they in my [bleep] scab?

Gary: She just kept staring at
the flies sucking on her knee,

and it just -- it was just
mentally destroying her.

[ sobs ]

narrator: By day three, the
relentless biting horseflies

pushed karra to
the breaking point.

[ crying ] I want to go home.

I'm done. I can't do this.

I'm done. I want to go home.

[ sobs ]

♪♪

narrator: These brutal, insect-infested
environments are a challenge,

even for those with clothes on.

One of the worst
"naked and afraid" attacks

was unleashed on the crew while
scouting an episode in panama.

[ insects buzzing ]

man: Oh, my god.

-Quick!
-Watch out!

Mathilde: We were
suddenly attacked

by a very, very vicious swarm
of hundreds of k*ller bees.

[ retches ]

narrator: The
terrifying incident

brought home just how dangerous
these tiny monsters can be.

So, david, like me,
has a lot of hair.

We're trying to get some
of those blasted stingers out.

Narrator: Africanized bees form
an alarm zone around the hive,

and once triggered, they strike.

They can pursue their
target for a quarter of a mile,

and because they
attack in great numbers,

they are more dangerous
than other bees.

It's getting hard
to talk right now.

Is my speech getting slurred?

Narrator: The bees' venom

can cause nausea,
difficulty breathing,

and swelling of the
throat and tongue.

The sheer volume of stings

can cause some victims to
go into anaphylactic shock,

which can be fatal.

Close to a thousand people
have died from k*ller-bee attacks.

The k*ller bee has
a barbed stinger.

The stinger has a
venom sac attached to it.

When it attacks its victim,

the bee leaves behind its
stinger and part of its abdomen,

so it dies after it stings.

But the bee's venom can
continue to poison its victim

for hours after
the painful sting.

[ breathes heavily ]

mathilde: The aftermath
was like a w*r zone.

There were so many
stings, and it hurt so bad

that I was afraid I
might die out there.

Man: [ slurring ]
I'm feeling so bad.

♪♪

[ bees buzzing ]

♪♪

leah: Those little
bugs, they get to you.

When they bite, it hurts,
like, really, really bad.

Narrator: In the
jungles of mexico,

caesar and leah were
plagued by tiny, biting flies

from the very first
night in their shelter.

[ flies buzzing ]

swarms of chaquistes
were on the attack.

Ugh, the bugs are terrible.

Even a bug net
was no protection.

How are you doing?

Sleeping isn't gonna happen.

[ groans ]

[bleep] things are k*lling us.

[ sobs ]

[bleep] damn it!

My skin is on fire!
[bleep] it burns!

Narrator: Chaquistes
are biting midges

that are attracted
to human sweat.

Using their serrated
mouth parts,

they tear into the skin,

forming blood droplets
that attract more chaquistes,

creating a feeding frenzy.

Leah: It's awful.

Narrator: Chaquistes
leave behind nasty bites

that itch intensely.

Caesar: Poor leah.
She was in extreme pain.

I was getting bit, too.

I was hurting and
suffering and in pain,

but to watch her, it was hard.

Now I have a headache.

I feel dizzy.

Narrator: Two days and nights

of constant insect attack,
no sleep, and no food

made leah weak and nauseous.

[ retches ]

days later, caesar faced
the ongoing t*rture alone.

[ insects buzzing ]

caesar: The bugs
are eating me alive.

The chaquistes at
night were miserable.

We're talking extreme pain.

You would feel every bite.

[ groans ]

really just pure t*rture.

Ow!

Ow!

♪♪

narrator: Thousands of
bites inflamed caesar's body,

severely weakening his
immune system's ability

to fight off infection
and disease.

I'm going crazy.

I just couldn't
take the bug bites

after the ninth day.

I woke up in the
morning and I said,

"you know what? I
can't take this no more."

it just totally demoralizes you,

and your spirit
just gets broken.

Narrator: Hypotension is
unusually low blood pressure.

It can lead to
dizziness and fainting.

In extreme cases, it can
cause damage to the heart.

Caesar: I can't
do it one more day.

I want to tap out.

Okay.

♪♪

-ohh!
-Ow.

David: Oh, my god.

Oh! Ow!

I just got stung on my w*nk*r.

Manu: My body had started
becoming paralyzed from the virus.

♪♪

[ insects buzzing ]

man: I just don't
want to suffer like this.

Man #2: Aah!

Narrator: On the "naked
and afraid" challenge,

predatory pests cause
real psychological trauma.

Ugh!

[ sobs ]

narrator: While
some survivalists

are merely irritated by
these biting insects...

There's too many
[bleep] mosquitos.

Man #3: They're eating us alive.

Narrator: ...Others have
extremely severe reactions.

These flies are unstoppable.

♪♪

[ cries ]

♪♪

tara: These little bugs that
are crawling on my skin,

look at them.

When I touch them, they stop,

and they burrow into my skin.

Chiggers.

Little, like, tingly spiders
underneath my skin.

♪♪

narrator: Tara and dustin
share their panama location

with multiple pests --

c*ck,
mosquitos, and ticks.

But the worst attacks they
suffered came from chitras,

pin-sized sandflies
that persistently bite

and can transmit
painful parasitic diseases

like the chandipura virus,
which is similar to rabies.

♪♪

the agony went
on night after night

as the chitra
invasion continued.

Dustin: The chitras are
out in full force again.

They've really
come out swinging.

My partner is over here,

having a terrible reaction
to these little biting [bleep]

she's having an
absolutely miserable time.

♪♪

narrator: Chitras are one
third the size of a mosquito.

They zero in on
the carbon dioxide

that humans exhale.

When chitras bite, they
inject saliva into the wound.

Enzymes in saliva
prevent clotting

as they feed on the blood.

Dustin: You are
covered in bug bites.

Tara: They're turning pus-y now.

Narrator: Although
dustin was bitten, too,

some people are more
sensitive to insect bites.

Tara's reaction was extreme.

Her many bites became infected.

As each day passed,
tara's pain only increased.

[ sobs ]

it hurts so bad.

I literally just want
to rip off my skin.

I just want to take it all off.

Narrator: Tara's
t*rture lasted for weeks,

but in spite of
all her suffering,

she did make it to day 21.

-The boat!
-Over here! Whoo!

Tara: Surviving
all the bug bites,

it gives me a
different perspective

on how strong I can be.

I'm feeling empowered.

♪♪

I'm gonna check
this trap right here.

Not super-high hopes.

Narrator: In florida,

duke had to deal with
a very sudden pain

in a very awkward spot.

Oh! Ow!

Ow! Oh, god!

I just got stung on my w*nk*r.

Narrator: Male genitalia contains
thousands of nerve endings,

making a sting there
all the more excruciating.

Duke: [bleep]
yellowjackets, man.

Narrator: Yellowjackets can
sting their victims multiple times,

injecting a venom that
causes a sharp pain,

and inflammation
around the sting

can last for hours.

Duke: I am soaking
my junk in the crick here

to help combat the
swelling that's happening.

[ groans ] the one time
you want shrinkage.

My male chassis gear is
just swollen beyond anything

that should ever look healthy.

All right, it's awkward,
but let me see.

Holy! That can't be good.

Oh, my god.

♪♪

kaila: I hate spiders.

I almost stepped on it.

David: Oh, there it is.

It is a banana spider.

Narrator: David and kaila had
to contend with a deadly threat

right under their feet.

He is pissed.

Kaila: Yeah, I feel
like he's really fast.

[ grunts ] not that fast.

Oh, maybe.

Colombia is crawling with the
world's most venomous spider,

the banana, or
wandering, spider.

They're part of the
genus phoneutria,

which in greek
translates to "murderess."

they have a six-inch leg span.

If threatened, they will
raise their front legs.

It's a precursor to an attack.

Their fangs inject
a lethal neurotoxin

causing paralysis,
asphyxiation, and death.

Oh [bleep]

every time I feel something
crawl on me now, I'm like --

-banana spiders?
-Yeah.

David: Yes, ma'am.

♪♪

luckily, kaila and david

were never attacked
by the deadly spider,

but another pest managed to
make its way under david's skin...

The ticks, they're
out of control.

Narrator: ...Causing
excruciating pain.

Ticks are tiny arachnids

that feed on both
animal and human blood.

A tick uses its chelicerae,

which are long rods
with hooked teeth,

to attach itself to a host.

It also secretes cementum,

a protein that helps
it stick to its victim.

It becomes engorged
with blood as it feeds,

and within three days,

it will usually
fall off the host.

♪♪

david's tick bite
became badly infected.

A tick can cause
infection in its host

within 4 to 10 hours.

Unfortunately for david,

the parasite was
feeding on him for days.

David: Way deep.

Without the
medic's intervention,

david could have
developed sepsis,

a life-threatening condition

where bacteria
poisons the blood.

David: Ohh!

Narrator: If left untreated,
septic shock can occur,

where the spreading infection
damages internal organs.

David: Oh, my god.

Ow.

♪♪

oh!

Stranded at sea.

Narrator: When they
arrived at the exumas cays,

ben and sarah's first challenge
was to avoid getting attacked

by the many sharks
that prowl the ocean.

♪♪

sarah: Any one of these
creatures can k*ll you.

♪♪

how's it going? I'm ben.

Well, hello. Sarah.

Narrator: They escaped
the large predators,

but couldn't get away
from the savage sandflies

that attacked them
from all directions.

[ flies buzzing ]

even huddled
under their life raft,

they couldn't escape
the fierce infestation.

Ben: Do you see
them? The mosquito?

-No, worse.
-What?

Sarah: Sandflies.
I'm getting bit all over.

[ moans ] just die.

Die horribly, all of you.

I can hear them.
They're in here.

Narrator: The constant
as*ault from the sandflies

drove sarah to the edge.

Oh, my god.

[ slowly ] they drive me crazy.

They drive me [bleep] insane.

I swear to god.

[ flies buzzing ]

tyler: I got termites if you want
to come rub these on your body.

Narrator: The
survivalists fight back.

Whoa!

[ whispering ] I
have pee on my face.

[ tyler groans ]

[ insects buzzing ]

narrator: The mental and
physical t*rture of stinging insects...

-I've been so bitten.
-Literally being eaten alive.

...Takes its toll on even
the strongest survivalists.

[ sobs ]

narrator: When they take
on the smallest invaders,

the invaders often win.

I'm at my threshold.
Like, I'm just at my limit.

Narrator: But sometimes

the survivalists find
ways to fight back.

[ groans ]

♪♪

narrator: In the
swamps of florida...

...Night after night,

amber suffered terribly as
mosquitoes went on the attack.

Amber: Oh, my god.
These [bleep] mosquitoes.

We're being attacked
by mosquitoes right now,

like, severely bad.

Narrator: Mosquitoes are
the world's deadliest insects.

They spread many diseases,

such as dengue
fever, zika, west nile,

and malaria, which kills
400,000 people a year.

A mosquito's weapon
is its proboscis,

an elongated,
tubular mouth part.

It pierces the skin
and sucks blood.

Mosquitos are able to ingest

twice their body
weight in blood,

and they often need
to expel this waste

so they're able to fly
off to their next victim.

We're just hoping these
b*stards will go away.

Narrator: Mosquitoes
seek out areas on humans

that radiate the most body heat.

Amber: Oh, my god!

♪♪

last night was pretty traumatic.

I got, like, huge
welts on my body.

So, I created my own grass skirt

so that I could cover my vag*na

so that the mosquitoes
don't eat me alive,

but no matter what I do,

they just don't want
to leave me alone.

Narrator: Amber's skirt
provided minimal coverage,

and in the end failed to
keep the relentless bugs away.

♪♪

tyler: I had just broken
this termite nest open.

Basically, this right here
is a natural insect spray.

Narrator: Tyler thought that
he could fight fire with fire,

using one pest to repel another.

So, you just grind them
up, rub them all over you.

I got termites if you want to
come rub these on your body.

It seems like it
works a little bit.

Narrator: Rubbing
termites on their bodies

didn't keep the mosquitoes
from attacking a.K. And tyler.

A survivalist metabolism can
make a repellent ineffective,

and mosquitoes are resilient.

They can adapt to
efforts to stop them.

[ tyler groans ]

the unending attacks

from the fierce
blood-sucking creatures

eventually pushed
a.K. And tyler to tap out.

[ groans ]

♪♪

other survivalists deployed

a tried-and-true system
of insect repellent.

Woman: Mud keeps
bugs off of you.

You mix it with a
fern, crush it up,

throw it on your skin.

Oh, god.

I feel like a kid
playing around.

Woman #2: I know.
Play in the mud.

Mud adds a barrier of protection
between insect and survivalist,

and it hides the odor of sweat

that attracts the
hostile creatures.

Sprinkle this
[bleep] in my hair.

I don't even care.

Stacey: I have paid so
much money to do this.

It's the best vacation
I've ever had.

♪♪

there's something
underneath my bedding,

and I can hear him
scraping along the leaves,

but we can't seem to find him.

Narrator: After two
days and nights,

sharing their shelter with an
assortment of assaulting pests,

sarah and duck decided to
use ash to keep them away.

Sarah: We're hoping that the ash
laid down underneath our bedding

will deter future roommates.

Narrator: The absorbancy
of the wood ash

draws out the shielding mucus
coating the bodies of insects,

k*lling them.

Duck: I know what I'm gonna do.

Bugs don't want
to come through it.

I'm fixing to cover
up in it myself.

All right.

I don't feel them so far,

or maybe they just can't see me

because I'm disguised as smoke.

♪♪

I had an awesome idea to
stop mosquitoes on the face.

Narrator: In croatia... Whoa!

...Lee thought he had a
unique way to protect himself

and his partner,
stacey, from insects.

Lee: I'm buried in the sand,

and I've got this little
teepee above my face

so that I'm protected.

♪♪

they quickly learn

that not all bug-repellent
methods are successful.

Lee: Oh, my god. The mosquitos
are [bleep] heinous, man.

[ stacey coughs ]

that is horrible.

I'm done, I'm done, I'm done.

[ insects buzzing ]

♪♪

kim: It's gonna get
dark, and I'll be alone.

[ sniffles ]

narrator: Left to
fend for herself,

kim was under constant
attack by vicious chitras.

It's hit me really [bleep] hard,

and you guys are gonna
think I'm a big fat cry-baby,

and that's okay,
but I'm gonna do it.

Oh, my god.

Mosquitoes aren't [bleep]
compared to these guys.

I would say one of my biggest
challenges being out there

were the chitras.

They are very painful,
they're relentless.

Feels like fiberglass
being rubbed into your skin,

and it just constantly stings.

Oh, man. Nature is a b*tch.

Narrator: She came
up with an unusual way

to try and fend off
the awful creatures.

Kim: I'm standing there,
and I'm catching my pee,

and I'm putting it on
me, and then I grab ash,

and I use ash to
keep it on my body.

The pee kind of helped.

I mean, it was
better than nothing.

Narrator: It's thought
that the uric acid in urine

can defend against insects,

but since over 90% of
human urine is simply water,

its effectiveness as
an insect repellent...

[ whispering ] I
have pee on my face.

Narrator: ...Is questionable.

That's okay, 'cause I'm
out in the [bleep] wild.

I can do whatever I want.

Oh! Ow! [bleep]

ky: There are
leeches everywhere.

Billy: It's like a freakin' eel.

Trent: I'm gonna eat this.

♪♪

[bleep] it's [bleep]
with these bugs.

Narrator: The "naked
and afraid" survivalists

are forced to co-exist with an
assortment of merciless pests.

We're being eaten alive by
bugs and very [bleep] cranky.

Narrator: They're
always on the attack.

-This is k*lling us here.
-It's a living hell.

But the survivalists
do try to fight back,

and sometimes they
find ingenious ways

to use these critters
to their advantage.

Billy: Look at that nasty
b*stard. It's like a freakin' eel.

Everything wants to suck
your blood and k*ll you.

Narrator: Leeches are
segmented, predatory parasites.

They attach themselves to hosts

using one of two
skin-piercing suckers

on either end of
their worm-like body.

They feed off the
nutrients in blood.

Leeches can consume
five times their body weight.

Like ticks, they fall
off by themselves

once they're full of blood.

♪♪

in the leech-riddled
swamps of louisiana,

ky and billy were
eager for food.

Ky: Now we have
this awesome trap,

but nothing to
bait the crawfish.

Billy: How about leeches?

Ugh.

They let the creatures
feed on their feet,

thinking that the
blood-filled parasites

would attract the crawfish.

Come on. Get off.

I think that we've
got a good bait

for that crawfish trap.

Good job, team.

♪♪

gonna check the trap, billy.

Anything?

One, but it fell
out and got away.

Damn it!

Billy: I'm running
on empty right now.

Son of a b*tch.

♪♪

narrator: When they
weren't using them as bait,

survivalists often used the
bugs they found as a food source.

Trent: There's
baby termites here.

Annie: I know. There's,
like, a whole nest under there.

Narrator: In belize,

trent and annie,
desperate for food,

decided to tap into a termite
colony to curb their hunger,

but eating the live insects
wasn't as easy as they expected.

On three.

One, two... Three.

Wait, wait, wait. [ laughs ]

whatever. This is your idea.

Okay, here we go. Don't
chicken out this time.

I want yours. Yours looks cuter.

You ready? Don't
you dare back out.

Termites provide much-needed
fatty and amino acids,

and they consist of
nearly 40% protein.

Totally taste like mint.

Mine didn't.

[ spits ] seriously?

Sorry, but it did
not taste like mint.

You just spit on my toe.

♪♪

[ snake hisses ]

ugh! This jungle is [bleep] up.

Narrator: After struggling
to find anything to eat,

kyle and riley discovered

a nutritious but very
unappetizing treat...

Riley. Found a big, white worm.

...The larvae of a rhino beetle.

I feel like I should name him.

How about peanut
butter? [ chuckles ]

riley: A little burrito.

Growing up to six
inches in length,

the rhino beetle is one of the
biggest beetles on the planet.

Its larvae develop
in rotting logs.

One rhino-beetle larva
contains 16 grams of protein.

That's equivalent to
three hard-boiled eggs.

I'm starving.

That doesn't look good.

Ugh.

Oh, my gosh.

But it takes a strong stomach
just to get them down the hatch.

Kyle: Swallow, don't chew.

-It's all right.
-Tastes like wood.

Doesn't taste like much.

Mnh-mnh. And we
are beggars for sure.

Yeah.

♪♪

suzanne's partner
tapped out on day four,

so she had no one
to help her find food.

She scoured the harsh
brazilian landscape,

anxious for nourishment,

and found another
type of larvae,

one much harder to
obtain than a rhino beetle,

but also full of
vital nutrition.

I see protein.

When I came across the wasp nest

and I realized there
were larvae on the nest,

I knew that was an
excellent source of protein,

and my body needed that protein.

Narrator: Suzanne had to
factor in risk versus award

with the wasps.

They will attack if they feel
their nest is being threatened.

Some victims who are
allergic to the venom

can go into anaphylactic shock.

Suzanne: Well, I just had
to, like, suck it up and go for it.

Gotta get the larvae.

I absolutely need this protein.

♪♪

oh! Ow, ow, ow, ow!

[bleep] [bleep]

♪♪

and the nest is down.

There's one right there.

Dare I reach in?

Ohh.

[ vocalizes ]

narrator: A handful
of wasp larvae

can provide suzanne 200
calories of sorely needed protein.

I ate them raw, and
they taste really good.

It's like a soft vanilla

with like a hint of some
kind of little spice at the end.

Mmm.

♪♪

trent: I'm really
light-headed all of a sudden.

I know it's lack of food.

Every day, it's going
to get worse and worse.

Narrator: In belize, trent
not only dined on termites,

but became hungry enough to take
on a much more dangerous meal.

Big, massive, black tarantula
just come crawling up.

Oh!

Oh.

Ohh. I'm gonna eat this.

Narrator: A tarantula
has eight legs,

and at the end of each
leg are retractable claws.

It preys on others using
its fangs to pierce its victim,

injecting it with
digestive enzymes,

liquefying it from the inside.

Tarantulas are
unable to digest solids.

Trent: The meat
looks like lobster meat.

Narrator: Big
spiders like tarantulas

can provide up to 63 grams
of much-needed protein.

That's really good.

Narrator: And their fangs can
be used as a handy toothpick.

Trent: I'm eating the meat
off the back of the tarantula.

I kind of turn it, and
I can see its face,

and there's these two big
fangs coming right out of it.

I saw this on tv once. I
always wanted to try it.

They had massive tarantulas,

and they would take the fangs

and clean their teeth
when they're done.

Works good.

I've always wanted to do that.

♪♪

manu: I couldn't walk.

My body had started
becoming paralyzed.

There is no cure.
There is no antidote.

It is a fight for your life.

Man: [ groans ]

[ laughs ] oh, my god.

[ tyler groans ]

woman: Millions of
mosquitoes eating me alive.

It's insane.

Ow, ow.

Gah, these mosquitoes
are so terrible.

♪♪

aah!

The only place they haven't
bit me yet is my johnson.

Oh [bleep] [bleep]

son of a [bleep]
right on my nuts.

Phew, that burns.

Hold on. Keep it off my junk.

[ laughs ]

[bleep] [bleep]

you b*stard.

I feel violated.

[ laughs ]

a fly literally
went in my [bleep]

ohh.

Ow.

-Ow!
-What?

Something bit my boob.

I really don't like mosquitoes.

Right now, they're
eating my vajayjay a lot.

Man #2: Welcome to the jungle.

♪♪

man: All the bugs are
just all over me, biting me.

It's all day.

It drives me crazy. I'm
going crazy right now.

Narrator: Mosquitoes,
sandflies, bees, horseflies.

Oh, oh, oh. There's
something eating me.

As aggravating and as
painful as insects can be...

[bleep] damn
these [bleep] things.

Narrator: ...In the
brutal locations...

Whoo!

...Eventually the
survivalists do get to leave.

-Whoo!
-Whoo!

But even after their
challenge is over,

the damage from the attacking
parasites can follow them home.

[ thunder crashes ]

bo and debbie were
under constant attack

in south america...

...Which is how bo contracted

the flesh-eating
disease leishmaniasis.

Three months since I came
out of the guyana jungle,

and I brought some stuff
back with me, unfortunately.

I have a case of
cutaneous leishmaniasis.

If you look closely at my ears,

one is much larger
than the other.

It's been oozing
and crusting over

for quite some time.

It's pretty painful.

Narrator: Leishmaniasis
can be spread by sandflies,

and they can infect their
victim with just one bite.

It causes dangerous
and painful skin ulcers

which resemble leprosy.

The healing process
can take several months.

I've been on four courses
of I.V. And antibiotics,

so, well, on the pain scale,

it's about a 6 out
of 10 right now.

Yeah, guyana bites back.

♪♪

narrator: The chaquistes

made life miserable
for leah in chiapas.

And she was happy
to leave them behind.

I went to mexico. Are
you glad I'm home?

But she discovered

that she brought back
home another pest inside her.

Hey, guys. I have this
little spot on my arm.

It's been draining and
gross, and today I took a bath,

and I noticed what looked
like a little worm poking out,

and I just start pulling
on it, because why not?

And this is what
came out of my arm.

That looks like a botfly.

Narrator: Botfly eggs
hatch on the skin's surface,

and the maggots burrow
down into their hosts,

devouring human flesh and blood.

The larvae use sharp spines

to anchor themselves
beneath the skin,

feeding and growing before
they reemerge to breed.

So, I am at the doctor.

They are testing
me for parasites,

and they drew blood.

I'm just waiting on my
results. How fun is that?

Narrator: Leah's
tests came back clear,

and she was able to return
home with a clean bill of health.

Leah's botfly
experience was bad,

but crew member
brent's experience

was much, much worse.

Hey.

Narrator: His botfly
larva was in deep.

The attempt to remove
the intruder was very painful.

[ brent screams ]

-it hurts, sir?
-Yeah.

Man: Hurts like what?

Rate the pain. 1 to 10?

-A 10.
-A 10? Damn.

That must hurt.

Botflies can feed and
grow under the skin

for up to four months
before exiting on their own.

Brent: Can you give
me another break?

Aw, man. [bleep] it hurts.

Narrator: The doctor was
unable to remove the parasite.

However, three months later,

brent got it out,
and it was still alive.

Brent made a full,
healthy recovery.

♪♪

manu was thrilled

that she was able to finish
the brutal 21 days in panama,

but she was completely unaware
of the challenge awaiting her.

[ cheering ]

one simple insect bite brought
manu to the brink of death.

[ coughing ]

reflecting back, I
remember that moment

because I was at the shelter.

I saw the mosquito,
and I k*lled it.

Damn. Biting me everywhere.

And I know to this day
it was that mosquito

that I contracted the
dengue fever-virus from.

Narrator: Dengue
is caused by a virus

that the mosquito
transmits to its victim.

Two days after she got back,

she realized something
was very wrong.

I collapsed at the markets.

I couldn't walk. It
was just so painful.

Narrator: It's called
"bone-break fever"

because of agonizing limb pain

that feels like bones
are being crushed.

It felt like I had a steamroller
just rolling over the top of me.

Even the slightest
touch, everything.

My arm joints. [ groans ]

it's quite
extraordinary, actually,

that the body
can react like that

to something that
caused it -- this tiny.

Narrator: There are four
types of dengue fever,

and manu contracted
the deadliest strain --

hemorrhagic dengue fever.

With the virus,
there is no cure,

there is no antidote.

It is a fight for your life.

You are either going to make
it through or you're going to die.

Narrator: As many as 25,000
people a year die from dengue fever,

showing just how dangerous
the tiniest of creatures can be.

Manu: When I was in the e.R.,

I really thought
that I was gonna go,

so all I could do was
just scream in my head,

saying, like, "don't you die.

Don't you die.
It's not time now.

You are strong. You are
gonna get through this.

You are gonna
fight for your life."

it took about a
year to fully recover.

Today, I feel amazing.

I'm strong again.

I'm out there in the
wilderness again,

and I have no regrets.

♪♪

[ screams ]

narrator: Insects can
have a huge impact

on the survivalists....

I've never had something
so small mess with my head

so [bleep] much. [ gags ]

narrator: ...Pushing
them to the edge of sanity

and to the
limits of life itself.

But the strongest persevere...

Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!

Narrator: ...Pushing on to
complete the 21-day challenge...

We did it.

Narrator: ...Proving
that sometimes

when survivalists go up
against unrelenting nature...

Riley: Ugh.

...The survivalists can win.

Stacey: It's the best
vacation I've ever had.

[ insects buzzing ]

[ smack ] [bleep]