Mud

Growing up my mom always used mud when we got stung and it was amazing--pain would leave in seconds! Now 60 years later I still use this remedy with my family and now that my kids are teens they use this on their own. My son works at a camp at a lake and is always getting stung. He said it's the best remedy and the great thing is it's natural, of the earth and always quickly available! :-)
Mud

I want to thank you all for this website. I use it for every ailment any of my family might suffer from. It is always the first place I look. I have tried turmeric for boils, garlic for colds and many others and thank god they all worked, so thanks again. I am also allergic to bee stings and swell up straight away. Since I was a child when ever my brothers and sisters got stung which was often as we were always in the garden my father always made a mud pack and placed it on the bite. Just plain soil and water. Leave it on till it dries and then brush off. I have always used it on my kids and friends and it works every time. As the mud dries it draw out the poison and the swelling. Hope you find this useful.
Mud

Mud has cured my family's external bee stings for over 35 years. Wherever you are, there is mud, all you need is a little water. Just make a paste and slap it on. I've used it for a one year old baby whose piercing screams stopped within seconds, for a panic d customer in a store to our dog's paw just yesterday. The mud does it all, draws out the stinger and the poison - fast. Leave on from 2-20 min. Rinse off, then wash with soap and water. Relax and have a glass of water.
Mud

rub wet mud on the bee sting. also frsh garlic clove cut in half, also we've used charcoal internally and rubbed on the bite, these have always worked.
Multiple Remedies

Ambushed by yellow jackets! Can't see them all but think I have six stings, behind my knees and on my calves. Both legs. Since last night, I have tried Tecnu gel, lavender essential oil, internal and external ACV, crushed garlic, even took CBD oil. My muscles are really tight, hurts to walk. Ideas? Thanks!
(Somewhere, Europe)
07/23/2018
Suzanne, try a paste made of baking soda and water, or wet clay or wet activated charcoal (very messy).
(Usa)
07/23/2018
Ideas:
Magnesium, maybe soak in the tub with epsom salts
Rub isopropyl alcohol on the stings
Activated charcoal poultice
Rub castor oil over the stings
Rub cayenne on them, mix with castor oil?
Peppermint oil
Take antihistamine
Take vitamin c, e
Tea tree oil
Oregano oil
For mosquito bite rubbing salt grains into the bite makes it stop itching and go away
Maybe hold ice cube against bite.
(Frostburg, Md)
07/24/2018
I also heartily recommend MMSG's advice. A paste made with just water and baking soda has never failed me. Keep the paste wet for a half-hour and within a few minutes, it will greatly (greatly) reduce the pain and resultant swelling.
(Frostburg, Md)
07/25/2018
This remedy I gave is for use immediately after being stung or bitten. In the original poster's case, however, the effects are already manifest- and so this baking soda paste far too late to combat the venom. Perhaps a long soak in the tub with Epsom Salts?
Onion

Onion does work very well for bee or wasp stings- simply cut in half, score the onion surface until juicy, and apply directly to skin/sting site.
It does not "draw out" the toxin, rather the onion juice/ phenolic compounds actually break down the proteins of the bee/wasp venom.
My 4 year old had a wasp sting on his back at one point- I held the onion to the site for 10 minutes, and swelling and pain were nearly gone... when I removed the onion, the redness and swelling visibly began to reappear (venom proteins were still present causing the reaction). I re-applied the onion again for 30-45 minutes, and pain and swelling reduced immediately, and permanently after that period of time. It's a great natural remedy... keep some on hand! :)
Onion
Peppermint Oil

We have a terrible wasp and yellow jacket problem. We usually use lavender essential oil for mild stings and charcoal poultices for more serious ones. But my children get tired of poultices and find them inconvenient, so they take off the poultices and they end up swelling up. I have found peppermint essential oil, undiluted, takes out the heat and swelling very well, even on bites that are a couple of days old and still bothering them.
Plantain

The leaf of the common lawn broad-leafed plant known as plaintain will stop the pain from a sting in seconds. Just grab a leaf, or several if they are small or dehydrated, tear into small pieces, rub several stacked torn edges into the welt (first make sure the stinger is not in the welt; if it is, use something to gently scrape it out; do not use fingernails to pull on it because that will squeeze more venom into the welt). Plaintain also works for the itch of mosquito bites. In desperation I put 24 mid-sized leaves and 1/2 cup of water in small food processor and processed until it didn't have to be strained. Messy but effective. Less messy if you add 1/4 cup hand cream and shake it into the mixture (I used one with vit E, A and C). I kept the concoction in a jar in the refrigerator for over a year before it deteriorated, i.e., got watery and smelly; I used it many times
Rust

In my mum's days they used to have most of the things made of iron so they used iron rust. Mostly people have honey in their homes. She used to say if a bee stings you in the garden or park you don't have anything there with you than the best alternative is the soil mixed with water but the black soil/ mud better results and this is used as a poultice which dries in few minutes so you don't need any bandages or tapes.
Sugar

I read it in a book then tried it myself the next time I got stung. Because I swell up so large around my stings and they last at least up to a week before my body rids the swelling. Now as soon as I can after I'm stung, I make a thick sugar water paste. I get a spoon and scoop out some sugar, then I add a tiny bit of water enough to make a paste that is not too juicy (not leaky) and not too dry to be crumbly. I apply it generously on top of the sting. Within 1 minute you will not feel the sting and there will be no stinging. I leave it on for about 20 minutes. That's it. It works beautifully!
Tea Bag

I, too, can vouch for the wonders of Benadryl, for dogs, people, and horses alike. I'd like to add that, having been stung on multiple occasions by wasps, I've found that a warm, wet teabag applied to the area of the sting will usually keep the pain at bay (I think it's the tannins in the tea). I don't know if it has the same effect on bee stings, but I've used it (in combo w/ Benadryl) on my dogs when they've been stung, and it really seemed to help. Thanks for your site!
Tobacco

My Tractor Driver now thinks I's a bright guy. With spring in the air we are leaving the doors open to soak in the fresh air. With that comes wasps. She just got stung on the finger and I told her that I had a 20 year old pack of cigs in the drawer just for this. She soaked one and made a pack with a paper towel. I wrapped this on the sting with Scotch tape and within minutes, she exclaimed, " Wow, this works".
The problem with tobacco is that it got polluted with Arsenic to kill the boll worms and the processors sprayed it with insecticides, fungicides, and pesticides. Is it any wonder this great herb now causes you grief? The American Indians used it in moderation for thousands of years. Us educated folks turned it into a death wish.
ATS====ORH======
(Tn)
04/03/2017
Robert Henry,
Moist tobacco was what my granddaddy used on bee stings many years ago!
~Mama to Many~
Tobacco

This works great! My son got stung repeatedly in the yard one day. I put tobacco on all of them except one I didn't see. Only the one without it swelled. The others were completely without swelling.
(Tuscumbia, Alabama)
05/22/2009
(Cairns, Far North Queensland Australia)
10/19/2010

I have recommended tobacco for years on bee stings. Just moisten & place on sting, & any pain & swelling will go within minutes. It works for bee stings - one anecdote was when my young nephew was stung on the foot. I immediately applied tobacco moistened with a bit of spit (I had no access to water at the time! ). Five minutes later I asked him how it was feeling & he had actually forgotten he'd been stung! Another anecdote - this time I was stung by a paper wasp (common in my area) whose sting packs a bit of a wallop. I immediately applied moist tobacco, & was grateful when 10 or so minutes later, there was no swelling & no pain. The only indication I had been stung was a small red dot where the wasp had penetrated the skin with its stinger. I highly recommend this remedy.
Tobacco

Tobacco is the best thing for insect stings. I always try to keep a pack of cigarettes and I don't smoke. But if you tear up one and dampen the tobacco and put it on the sting area it sucks the poison out and it quits hurting. It doesn't swell or itch either. If someone is chewing tobacco that is best (uck!). My Grandadday used it on me one day and it worked great.