Insect Bite Remedies

Just heard on public radio of using rag weed on mosquito bites ---reportedly causes welts to disappear.

Lavender essential oil works great to relieve the itchiness of mosquito bites. Dab a drop directly on the area and a few minutes later the itchiness is gone. It gets rid of the swelling also.

My husband and I use coconut oil as a rub for aches and pains. Hubby had his right shoulder replaced 10 years ago and coconut oil keeps him pain free. I need back surgery but am too old so I use coconut oil to relieve pain. We also use it to rub arthritic knees, hips, elbows and hands. We were in Majuro for 18 months five years ago and were introduced to coconut oil by the natives when I stepped onto a red ant pile and was severely bitten all over my legs. Instant relief from coconut oil. We don't measure, we just scoop out a little and rub it on. It has to be 100% pure coconut oil to work.

Even better for mosquito bites is vitamin B1. Insects hate the smell it makes your skin have. although it is not noticeable to humans.

Do you apply it or ingest it?

I tried B1 for insect bites but it did not agree with me. The most incredible treatment for them that I've EVER used is fresh lemon juice it immediately removes the pain and itching. If the bite is big you may have to reapply but it works amazingly on other spots and cuts etc.as well. i found that oil pulling with olive oil seems to stop one being bitten.

What is clear tape? Is that like Sellotape or Scotch tape, I don't know what you call it in the States? The clear sticky strips for sticking things to the wall for example?

CUECUMER FOR INSECT BITES! My 10 year lod woke up to find 2 gnat/mozzie bites on her ankle this morning. She put Ttiger Balm on it and it worked well, but hours later while we were out they started to really itech and irritate. Needless to say I didn't have anything on me. BUT we did have the remains of our picnic salad. In desperation I told her to rub it with a piece of Cuecumber, to keep her occupied more than anything. Well it worked a treat, and now several hours later it stil doesn't itch and the swelling has gone down!

I got bitten by something all over my arms. Sprayed Benadryl, did not control the itching and swelling. Looked up this post and dabbed all the bites with a cucumber slice, immediate relief. Thanks.

Cucumber worked for me last week, but this time is isn't helping at all. From one (chigger?) bite on my ankle, most of my foot is swollen and red, with a kind of thick part around the bite. Skin is also kind of bumpy, almost a rash. Maddening. Have tried hot water just now. Tried ice earlier. Also echinacea. Also aspirin. Now to read through the rest of the pages!!

Try rubbing salt into a mosquito bite, just ordinary table salt. I tried it on a new itchy bite I thought was from a mosquito; the bite was gone the next day. Mosquito bites usually last days on me.

I recently had a bite on my neck that started itching so bad I could hardly stand it. I thought it was a spider bite but was not sure. I went online and read about spider bites and it said to use Baking Soda, made into a paste. I tried it and it helped so much. The next day it had started trying to dry up. I still do not know what bite I had, but whatever it was the BS seemed to work.

I had maybe 6-8 mosquito bites on my feet and ankles it was so itchy it was becoming unbareable so I got normal cooking salt rubbed it in for about 1 mins on my slightly wet feet in the tub and immediately started feeling relief... Also as a side benefit it made my feet smooth not that I cared but something I noticed main thing was my itchyness was GONE!

When I get bites, they swell and itch horribly. After trying lots of tricks over my lifetime, I just discovered that iodine works great. I have the kind w/o additives, but storebought would be OK for this purpose. Recently tried this on bites I'd scratched open, and it took the itch away quickly. Didn't scar as bad as usual, also.

I get beaten by mosquito quite often even with insect repellent. I have bad reaction to mosquito bites, the area will swell up and get very itchy, it will take weeks to calm down and leave a mark on my skin. My doctor prescribed me with cortisone and it speed up the healing process. In an outdoor BBQ last week, I got 2 bites and as usual had bad reactions. I applied the prescribed cortisone, it gave me some relief on the itch for a short while and it did not calm down the swelling. I remembered reading about the aspirin remedy last week and decided to try it. It worked right away when I rubbed it onto the swelling spots, it calmed the itchiness and I can see the inflammation starting to heal, I left it on overnight and they were much better the next morning. I told my doctor about it, she said you need to be sure that you are not allergic to aspirin and be carefully if you have anemia. Thank you for sharing the remedy, I now have a speedy way to clam the bites!

Hi Tracy,

I have a couple of suggestions for your mosquito problems. I have read (but haven't checked out) that using a shallow white dish, fill it with water, add a few drops of Joy liquid dishwashing detergent. The one giving that hint said it kills the mosquitos, usually within 10 - 12 feet of getting a drink from it. Makes you wonder how safe it is to eat from dishes washed in it, doesn't it?

Another great bug repellant that doesn't kill them, cook with lots of garlic, it makes you less tasty to mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers.This does work- I went from averaging 15 to 25 tick bites per day to none at all last year. I have started filling empty gel caps with garlic powder and taking 2 or 3 of them each day, however your kids probably won't like them that way but probably won't object to garlic cooked in the food.

Another one that works for my family - Put about 1-2 cups ACV to the kids bathwater each day, or even rub them down with straight ACV (careful around the eyes as even the fumes can make them burn) and let them dry off before dressing and going outside. This even works against those dratted brown flies in Florida (August) that look like our black house flies but are brown and love to bite you. This only works as long as the vinegar is on - if they play in water, or otherwise wash the vinegar off, you'll have to reapply the vinegar.

Mud has always worked for ant, bee, etc. bites. We have lots of pesky insects where I live and applying a bit of mud on the bite takes the poison out and helps the sting to go away and helps the bite to heal faster. also cut garlic clove in half and applying it directly to the bite helps as good as mud. also we use charcoal. take some internally and rub it on the bite.

Ya we've had a lot of experience

Recently had this bug bite on the top of my foot ankle. Not sure what kind of bug, but it itched for 4 to 5 days. My mistake was to scratch it which made it worse and turned it into a bright red dime size mark.

After reading some remarks on this site I did the following. Washed the area with warm soap and water, applied apple cider vinegar with paper towel let dry for 30 min. more ACV then applied Tea Tree Oil with Qtip and sprinkled some foot powder on top of the TT Oil. I started this 1 hour before bedtime. In the morning the itch was gone and the red mark turned dark reddish brown. I think this helped the healing process.

Apple cider vinegar is the BEST mosquito bite cure there is. Take a cotton ball or a piece of a paper towel and tear off a small bit, soak it in apple cider vinegar and place it on the bite for maybe 5 minutes. No more mosquito bite!

Try using aspirin dissolved in apple cider vinegar for insect bites. I have bad reactions to bug bites and it works for me.

Dip a piece of white bread without the crust in a saucer with milk in it. Place it on the area that a bug stung you. Leave it on for till the bread becomes soggy replace it with another piece of bread. Keep on doing this for 5 to 10 min.

An Indian woman did this to me when I was bit by a big black bug on my lip while fishing in the woods.

Let me tell you, it works.

I haven't created my own post in years and I cannot access my password. But, I just want to see this remedy posted and it needn't be posted by myself. I found it on another website: (additional people posting on the site said it worked).

Sand Flea's (recurring/not going away)

Remedy: Sealed bandage with vaseline/lanolin or other thick ointment.

JM Reply:
June 4th, 2011 at 7:05 pm

First post:

Spent one month of intense treatment of sand fleas including excision of several very deep areas by a surgeon. FINALLY!!!!!!!!! Talked with an Infectious Disease Doctor on the phone. Treatment and bites healing after three days. Apply a heavy coat of vaseline (or lanolin) over each open area. Cover the area completely with a band aid. The larvae comes out because they cannot get oxygen. They looked like tiny shrimp. APPLY vaseline/lanolin and a bandaid large enough to seal around the bite.

Second post:

The sand fleas are little larvae inside of the bite. You can see them on the bandaid when you take it off. They bites continue to fester and itch until the kill the larvae. A DOCTOR of Infectious Diseases told me to use VASELINE and an occlusive bandaid to kill them from lack of oxygen. THey will crawl out onto the dressing and die. You can SEE them the next day. Take a shower and reapply the Vaseline and dressing until the areas stop itching and festering. I am a NURSE! It works!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Source: http://www.mybugbites.com/my-foot-and-sand-flea-bites/

I'm all about the most holistic approach, But when I got chigger bites while doing yard work I wanted a fast fix. My friend's mother told me to take a warm bath with bleach & before I could even adjust to the temperature of the bath they were gone. I soaked for about 5 minutes & problem solved.

My son has been bitten today on his arm, so I just put aloe vera on his arm, and after less than 5 minutes, he stopped scratching himself.

I also recommend that: http://www.listonic.com/protips/get/blpouzzurd . Worked so well when my daughter was bitten.

HI U TX, , , , , , , , , , ,

Hard to believe that a Texan does not know how to handle a red bug. Go to your Farm co-op, buy 10% Permitrin, paint your problem.

==OLE ROBERT HENRY==

Hello Lokismum from England: About that bite on foot; from your description sounds like a spider. I'm big on Colloidal Silver (CS) and if a spider was the culprit it might have had numerous pathogens with the poison. A great salve that I learned about for "bites" is the herb Echinacea in liquid form. Dab it on the bite site and let dry, reapply and again reapply. Put five drops in glass of water and drink. Repeat every other hour.

You have to get the poisons out of you so the CS is a good idea but also you can use "clay" bought at most health food stores; a tablespoon in glass of water would help absorb poisons. Do that over five days once daily.

If that's not available, I've recently been reminded of the use of charcoal which is a great cleanser.

You can use all three; Echinacea, bentonite clay and charcoal, any of them, as a poultice on the bite spot itself. Apply and after drying wash off, then reapply and again let dry.