10 Natural Remedies for Spider Bites

I had a brown recluse spider bite last year, called the closest dermatologist office who never returned my calls, so, so I did some research and ended up making a paste of activated charcoal, applied it to the wound (after popping and draining the blister and removing the loose skin) for about 3 hours to neutralize the toxin; I also swallowed some of the activated charcoal (use capsules) to neutralize the toxins internally. Afterward, I used bentonite clay powder to make a paste and applied it to the wound to draw out the toxins, etc., changing it out 3-4 times daily until healed, which it did in about a week with only a light brown scar about the size of a nickel. I'm glad the dermatologist office didn't return my call and I'm glad I researched natural remedies.

Thank You, I say hooray for baking soda!!!

I'm not sure about the kind of spider, I think I was bit in my storage unit moving things around. It first looked like a pimple and was very tender. I used "Prid" drawing ointment, but it got larger and so sore it woke me up . Then I used a green clay and Yerba Mansa poultice, it got bigger and still sore ... but began to swell into a boil. I took Ibuprofen and used some Benadryl gel on it ... no change. The center opened, but no distinct drainage noted and was the size of a quarter, so sore! And I had a low grade fever.

That's when I looked online, it had been 4 days of no improvement with my tried and true remedies for such things AND I had to go to work today (3 massage therapy clients) and had to get this under control ... too much to do, this is my right arm we're talking about .... eeeeeks!!!! ).

So I used the baking soda and oh how gorgeously effective it was. After three poultice applications and a good sleep, I awoke and have found the quarter sized boil to be painless, the redness smaller and no swelling. The inflammation is gathered centrally and the hole closed instead of open like an ulcer. When I had the 2nd poultice on it, it began to itch like crazy. I knew that was a good thing ... neuro-vascular activity no doubt!

I love you all! Thanks again, Earth Clinic is bookmarked in capital letters!

Wanita

Two weeks ago I got bit on my upper back 3-4 times at my daughter's house in Texas by what we now know was a Wolf Spider. I had killed one earlier that morning in my daughter's kitchen as my daughter has a 3 month old baby and she was afraid the spider would get on the baby. That night I went to bed and woke up with a tingling, burning pain on my back which later started itching also. Then hard, swollen welts developed which quickly formed pimple like heads. I had a total of 4 of these all confined to a small area of my back. I put some neosporin and benadryl spray on them but that didn't seem to do much more than ease the itching for a short time. So I started researching what could have bitten me and came to the conclusion that it had to be the Wolf spider as my daughter and her husband just moved into their new home in Texas a few months ago and their home was built on a half acre lot that was a field and they have been having problems with spiders ever since they moved in.

Anyway, I was already on antibiotics for a tooth infection and the one I was on was one they give for spider bites (clindamyacin). I wasn't really getting any relief or healing from any of the things I tried so I did more research and found this site. I read about the baking soda poultice and remembered that my mom used to make a poultice from tobacco and baking soda when we were young and would get stung by wasps and bees and I know that worked. So for the past few days I have been making a baking soda poultice and having my husband apply it to the bites which I then leave on for at least an hour to an hour and a half. I could feel the very first poultice drawing pain out and that night I slept with no pain and no itching and in the morning the swelling, etc had gone down a great deal. And this morning after applying a poultice again yesterday, there is no swelling and the bites are healing.

I wish I could put the before and after pictures I had my husband take. There is tremendous difference using the baking soda poultice. I am making me a first aide kit with cigarette tobacco, baking soda, and benadryl tablets along with the gauze pads and tape I used to hold the poultice in place. If I get bit again I will use this from the start along with ice packs off and on. To think I might not have had to struggle with the pain and itching for two weeks if I would have tried this from the beginning, I would definitely recommend this to everyone.

Just used topical iodine (in my case, nascient iodine but have used regular drug store topical iodine as well) on a VERY painful, tiny, swelling spider bite on my toe. Could hardly walk. In about fifteen minutes it was 90% better. One hour later and I actually can't feel it anymore. I think the secret is to use it AS SOON as you get bit if possible.

Aloha everyone,

I recently was bitten was a Black Widow spider and was lucky enough to find this site. What a mess they make.

I had cellulitus and the poison was spreading up my foot, heading toward my ankle. It was skin splitting sore and swollen. Also very itchy. I decided to try the baking soda and charcoal. Wow.

I was bitten on Saturday night. By Sunday night, I was a bit worried, watching the toxin spreading. I drew on my foot with a marker pen, so I could chart it's progress - just in case.

On Monday, it wasn't settling down. I found this site and made up a batch of baking soda and water. Just mixing it in with a little water to make a toothpaste like consistency. I smoothed it all over my foot and left it on there until it had dried up and was caking off. That took a lot of the itch out straight away.

When it would play up again, I'd then put some anti-histamine cream on and an ice pack. About every two hours on the Monday, I did the baking soda routine again. Each time it took out a bit more itch, a bit more pain.

I also tried one batch with some charcoal mixed in but this was stingy and I my foot stung afterwards. I had to wash it, so I just kept to the baking soda. And took the activated Charcoal (2 capsules) a couple of times a day, around food.

When I woke up on Tues, my foot had improved by about 30 to 40%. The toxin had also stopped spreading.

On Tues I did the same routine but wasn't having to do it as often. I was going about 3 to 4 hours between baking soda poultices. My friend rushed around here on Tues night, prepared to bodily take me to hospital if necessary. (She's an allopathic trauma nurse) And was floored when she saw how much it had gone down. She'd seen it on the Sunday night. (Now a keen Earthclinic phone. I put it on her phone for her. :-) ) Although, I did take some Bactrim antibiotics she had (Sulfurmeth) as well.

When I woke up Wed, my foot was probably about 100% improved. I had lost all the itchiness and most of the soreness. Slightly tight and tender to the touch, but nothing like it was. I thought my skin was going to pop. The toxin line was receding too. I only did 3 baking soda poultices.

Today is Thur and I've only done one baking soda poultice today, no ice or anti-histamine cream. I woke up and you can see the original toxin line but otherwise, barely any discoloration in the foot. I will continue to poultice it, internal charcoal and the antibiotics, which are probably only kicking in tonight anyway. :-)

In short - wow. I'm sold. Thank you all so much.

This sounds like a recluse bite. I lost 65% of my thumb... Go to the DR!!

Baking soda healed my spider bites beautifully and quickly!

I always read the remedies on this site but never took a moment to post my success. I've had such amazing results this past week with baking soda for my spider bites I wanted to share.

We must have spiders in the apartment- they might be hiding in the exposed brick. It's an older building in Boston.

I had tried "popping" spider bites a few times, not knowing what they were. (The tellltale red, raised bump with the white pinhead can resemble a pimple. ) I tried popping one on my leg above the knee and it swelled up to about 10x the size and looked more like a giant welt. This bite is still healing, from about 3 weeks ago.

Once I came on this website and saw the recommendation for baking soda, I resisted the urge to pop the unsightly pinhead, and applied a baking soda paste (baking soda mixed with water with the consistency of a toothpaste). I did this on a bite I got on my upper arm about a week ago. I applied the paste and covered the area with a bandaid (under my clothing for work). When I got home from work on Day 1, the bite swelling and redness had reduced significantly -and the white pinhead (that looks like puss) had raised on the surface of the skin and enlarged. I had an event that night and was discouraged because I wanted to wear a dress which would expose that area of the arm, and it looked like I had a giant zit on my arm.

I once again resisted the urge to pop (reminded by the slow healing of the bite on my leg) and instead applied more paste and covered with a bandaid. In the next few hours I lifted the bandaid and saw that the white stuff had popped on its own and begun to ooze out a bit, but had been absorbed by the dry paste. All on Day 1 of applying!

Over the next 2-3 days I continued to apply the baking soda paste and each day the appearance improved dramatically. I believe right now I am on Day 4 and the bite is non-existant in appearance and completely healed!! Amazing!

Meanwhile, the bite on my knee from 3 weeks ago is scabbed and healing slowly. Thanks so much earth clinic! I will use baking soda from now on!

What was the over the counter medicine used other than hydrocortizone? The antihistamin pill, icing, paste from baking soda or aspirin helps ease pain, itch, swelling, & redness. I have used it in 48 hrs so far, little pink is left, n still using daily cause still itchy.

Two days with what I think is a spider bite. I had a dark crater the size of a penny and the swelling the size of a half dollar. Made a thick paste and had it cover the crater and red area. I then used a big adhesive band aid to cover it. After four hours, I looked at it and the selling went down to a quarter. But the crater is no longer a dark color, it's white. Also, it is no longer a crater. Meaning, it filled up no longer be crater. Reapplied baking soda. Waiting to see results later.

Thank you for the advice about the activated charcoal! I got bit by a brown recluse and started using it at about 30 hrs in. My bite was starting to turn black and was almost the size of a baseball. After just one patch, it was smaller and turning pink again. A couple days of that and it is almost flesh tone with no wound! It was the only thing that seemed to work and I think it saved me from what would have been a horrible situation!

Once again EC saved the day. Thursday night my son called and he had been bitten by a spider on his earlobe. I told him to come on over. I quickly looked on EC for rememdies. When he walked in the door my first reaction was head to the ER. His ear, the lobe and his neck behind his ear were bright bright red, with the earlobe quadrupled in size. I calmed down, made a paste of baking soda and activated charcoal. Put on his ear and let sit for 10 minutes. (this whole time my husband is calling me the voodoo queen and asking me if I am chanting while doing the "home" cures. ) Well, I had my son go wash off the mixture and sterilized a needle to put a small puncture where I could see the bite. He came back into the kitchen, and with a paper towel ready I took his earlobe gently into my and hand and OH MY GOODNESS, the green and yellow pus came pouring out of his earlobe. And I mean it was running down his beard, all over my hands and all over his shirt. The relief he felt was instant. Once this stopped, I placed the mixture on his ear again. But no more pus would come out. However, the top of his ear to the swollen lobe and the back of his neck lost all the redness. But, the earlobe was still HUGE. We decided to stop trying to get anymore gunk out and I gave him the bs and charcoal mixture to take home. But just for kicks I placed honey on the front of the lobe and sent him on his way. (Husband is laughing really hard at the honey remedy. ) Next morning, son called. Sometime in the middle of the night he thought the honey had gotten gooey and was running down his neck. Went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. The backside of the earlobe was draining profusely. Still had big ear, but the relief was great!!! Went and visited him last evening. Put more baking soda and charcoal on ear. Nothing more would come out. He just called me this morning, again in the middle of the night, ear opened up, spewed all the gunk and now his earlobe is normal size with very little redness. THANK YOU ALL WHO HELPED US WITH YOUR POSTS!!!! Probably saved hundreds of dollars in ER bills and medicines that would take days to work!!!

I found this website and remedy treatments after I was bit on my thigh by a hobo last month. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the people who posted! We made a paste from activated charcoal, echinacea drops and plantain. I applied that every 4 hours for the first two days and then twice a day for a couple of weeks after. I had 3 boils from the bite and only one popped (naturally) which has left a small hole. Otherwise the other 2 boils healed naturally. I used ice packs (not heat, as advised), kept my leg elevated and avoided strenuous activity for the first week. I feel fortunate because I noticed the bite within a few hours after it happened so caught it early. We have since, caught multiple hobos in our yard using glue traps. Thanks again, everyone, for sharing!

I have used the absolute best remedy for spider bites that I have seen in 62 years. My granddaughter was bitten on the back of her thigh and was scratching yet didn't know what it was. The bite was swollen and had a red infection about 3 in. Around the bite. I put oil of oregano around it and put a large bandaid on it. The next morning I checked it and all of the infection was gone with just the small red bite mark left. She showered and we put another large bandaid with oil of oregano on the pad on. The next day it only had a small darkened area aroung the bite. This bite cleared up without any scar at all.

I was able to use oil of oregano again when I was bitten. My husband said the bite was infected with red area around the bite about 4 in. wide. Again we used the oil of oregano and a large bandaid. It took 4 days to clear but I had no itching, infection, or scaring to deal with.

I was recently bitten on the thigh by what I presume to have been a spider (sudden burning ouch - not a boil), and when it started to rapidly gain size and swell on day 3, I checked your site for ideas. I live in Australia, so not a Brown Recluse, but we do have something called a White Tail Spider which I think is somewhat similar. Ironically I live in the bush, but was bitten in a cake shop in town.

I tried the following, in order:-

Potato slices. Felt great, very soothing, but no lasting effect. If I had a child with a non-poisonous wasp sting or ant bite or something similar I think this would cheer them up heaps.

Baking Soda moistened with Cider Vinegar as a poultice. I did this twice and it definitely took the redness out somewhat, but only for a limited time. The area of the swelling was now the size of a bread and butter plate and red with a white outer edge. The centre was the size of a bantam egg, raised again and very red. The two fang holes started to get a squarish, shiny, slightly bruise like sunken area immediately around them and then I started to worry. I planned a trip to the doctor if it were not looking better at the end of day 4.

The electric stimulation thing sounded good, but I wasn't sure how I would go about it. I read Serena's comments (see this page) about the Plantain (Plantago major, also known here as Ribwort), and as I had once cured a horse of Greasy Heel with it decades ago I thought it might be worth a try. On day 4 I happened to be weeding in a paddock with the Plantain growing, so every hour or so I picked a leaf, mashed it up in my fingers and smeared the moist mush across the bite area. At the end I squeezed the last few drops onto the central very red area for good measure. I suppose I had in mind to do the whole thing with the poultice when I came in that evening; I think I was a bit "over" having a spider bite by then and just wanted to get a days work in.

By lunch time it was looking significantly better, much less angry and less painful. Maybe the Plantain, maybe I was just getting over it anyway, I thought. So I stopped putting the Plantain juice on, and to my surprise the bite quite quickly started inflaming again. This effect was dramatic, not just something I maybe felt; my husband could see it too. So I kept on with the Plantain juice.

By day 5 it looked significantly better, but it became obvious that each time I stopped the Plantain treatment the central very red area "leaked" more poison out which then inflamed the larger area again. (You could see it "running" to the inside of my thigh). So I concentrated my juice application on that central area around the bite, and that did the trick. The very centre, which had looked ready to ulcerate, never did, just forming a few tiny scabs. It is now 2 weeks later and I still have a bruise-like mark where the egg sized central area was, but the problem is over. I only had to do the Plantain juice for 3 days, doing it fewer times per day as things improved.

If it had even begun to ulcerate I would have used Hydrogen Peroxide, and probably gone to the doctor too.

I know my plants, so I knew what Plantago major was. (It is a common weed fairly world-wide, although maybe not in the tropics). Make sure you get the right thing; ask someone knowledgeable if you are not sure. It has parallel veining in the leaves - that is, all the veins start together at the base (stem end) of each leaf blade, they all continue parallel along the leaf, (hence "ribwort"), then they all squeeze together again to form the tip of the leaf. The leaves grow in a "bunch" or rosette from a single base, and the "flowers" are fawny brown speckled cream long ovals, one on the top of each thin stem. Do not confuse this with the Banana family Plantain. Again, please ask if you are in any way not sure; you could be putting the juice of something onto yourself that could be FAR worse than the spider bite.

I was willing to experiment with my bite because I was pretty well certain that it was not a poisonous kill-em-stone dead type spider. My husband and I between us have been bitten by Red Backs, Wolf Spiders and Huntsmen, and this was substantially different. Anything as big as a Funnel Web I would have found squashed in my jeans, so that sort of eliminated the two "rush to hospital" jobs. (Obviously also I was still alive at the end of day 1). Use commonsense folks!

By the way: for the horse with the Greasy Heel I used poultices of the mushed up leaf bandaged onto his pasterns. Two days did the trick. Plantain seems like a great herb to me, but I have never read anything much about it. Anyone know any more?

I love this website been checking it out for quite awhile I decided I needed to post. I was bitten by a spider called the Brown Recluse several times my arm swelled up like a balloon. I checked the Canadian sites, I was surprised they are listed in southern part of Ontario. I was quite sick, fever we called ambulance they transported me to the ER I was given antibiotics I should went right away I lingered for 2 days it is now oozing out of the fang holes what I did is apply tree oil to keep it clean then I mixed baking soda sea salt and a strong white vinegar I doused my arm with that mixture every couple of hours. It does take the itch away, it is still so painful. On top I had that terrible flu that is going around. The doctor told me that what I was already doing saved me from blood poisoning. We figured he got in from the garage through the back door or from the bananas we bought frm the supermarket. We sprayed the garage and the back entrances , all vents etc it's rare that we have any spiders in the house now on we will keep the back sprayed plus check the grocery bags etc. Thank you for listening Jackie Mac

I used the baking soda paste method on my spider bite and it helped to ease the swelling and it helped cool it down a little. I also iced it in between using the baking soda, which eased the discomfort. An over the counter pain killer also helped ease the pain.

I tried this for my daughter who was bitten and I found out about it a day later when the site was swollen, huge and warm to the touch. I applied the bread, wrapped to her in an ace bandage and this morning when I removed the bandage/bread all had come to the head and drained out. She said it no longer hurt or irratated her.

Charcoal is good to draw out poison but try Echinacea.

I found a book written by an MD published around 1920 on an Herbal web site: Case studies on snake bites, spiker and other insect bites. Echinacea was the cure. I've experiemented on useage and have found it to be the best thing I have ever come across for almost instant relief and CURE for insect bites. On a mosquito bite, for instance, apply topically with five drops. Apply again in five to ten minutes. Itch and irritation gone.

Another anacdotal: My wife and I had friends over to our house for supper and they brought their 12 year old son. He had a large red bite on his neck... Much larger than a mosquito bite. He kept scratching and rubbing it. His mother said she had thought it was just an insect bite but now was believing a spider was most probable.

I asked permission to use echinacea to treat the wound. I held a poultice of twenty drops on the bite for five minutes and then the boy held it for another ten minutes. I gave him a fresh poultice with another twenty drops when they left and watched him with poultice on his neck as they drove away. That was on a Thursday night as I recall. Sunday at Church, I saw him and the bite redness was gone. You could barely tell anything had been wrong with his neck.'

For snake bites the book I mentioned above discussed the method that the author asserts is good for even the most dangerous North American snakes. He kept repeating that he could only comment on the case studies out of North America because that was the only case studies he had access to. He did not know if echinacea would work on bites of snakes outside America. He had a lot of examples from Texas because that is where he practiced. (The writer was an MD.)

For snake bites, apply an echinacea poultice of forty drops directly to bite, replacing every hour. Also once an hour put five drops of echinacea in water and have victim drink. Have victim drink five drops evey hour for ten hours. Apparently too much echinacea over time consumed internally might create problems and that MD was aware of that but in none of his examples did any side effect come about from the echinacea taken in those quanties for a ten hour period. (He is giving case studies of poisionous snakes and poisionous spiders.)

Now obviously I am not recommending treatment of a snake bite in lieu of seeking immediate medical treatment at an emergency room. But I'd sure take echinacea with me on a wilderness trip. Or I'd use it on my way to an emergency room.

I got some bites on my hands and feet from walking and sitting in dead grass at night and I live in Texas. From the internet descriptions, I think my bites are also from wolf spiders. Awesome little creatures, but they cannot tell us from the bugs they are hunting. The mother spiders carry their babies on their backs for awhile, like opossums and scorpions do, and also, they hunt nocturnally. Anyway, they are worse than mosquito bites, because half of the top of my foot was swollen and itching so bad I could hardly study. So I put a green tea bag (only kind I have right now) in boiling water for a minute, then put it, still hot, on my foot. It felt SO good! And the itching stopped right away. Tea leaves are pretty amazing.

I was bitten on the foot by a black widow spider and read where clinics use sulfur based anti-biotics for bites. I had no insurance, so I tried triple anti-biotic cream, hydrocortizone, and sublimed sulfur in equal parts aplied 4 times a day. In 2 weeks the hole where you could see the bones, was nothing more than a rough red spot.

I agree Alfred, applying direct pressure to the injured area immediately after injuring oneself, is very effective for lessening the pain.

The very best remedy for quickly healing bruises is Arnica salve. If you don't have any, make a salve with 1 part cayenne pepper and 5 parts melted Vaseline, mix and cool, apply once a day.

A homemade ice pack can be made by mixing 2 parts water and 1 part alcohol in a nylon bag and freezing it, the bag will be flexible and can be molded to the body. It will not sweat.

Thank for the info about bee.. spider bites.. Chewing Tobacco will pull poison.. But Not Pain..

The way to get rid of the Pain .. Is to press hard in that bite location.. Untill pain stops.. It will stop in a few minutes.. Reason its hurting.. Your Blood proteins are trapped.. By the pressure it releases the blood proteins..

Like when your hitting a nail with a hammer. But you hit your finger.. Just apply pressure on you finger.. Pain will leave soon after. Next day no sign of damage.

Alfred

This works! I stepped on a bee when I was young. My grandma, who chewed tobacco, scooped a little out of her mouth and spread it on the sting. It draws out the poison as it dries. A thin layer of mud will also work to draw out poison but does not work as quickly to stop pain.

You have no healing remedies for spider bites. I was recently bitten by a brown recluse spider and made a tabacco poltis using 2 cigarettes and enought water to moisten. Heated it in the mircowave, covered the bite with it then put plastic over it and went to bed. The next day a huge blister had formed. I then punctured it and removed alot of fluid which had some of the venom in it and repeated the next night. Really lessoned the effect of the bite, which can be life threatening. Also works for bee stings.

Robert from Blairsville, you are talking about Mr. Kisselburg, lives over in Culberson, NC.

He also healed my son of 2 Brown Recluse spider bites, when all "professional help" had failed. My son was on 2 of the highest dose, most expensive antibiotics and was begging me to make them cut his leg off.

Mr. Kisselberg's mother was given this "cure" by a Cherokee Indian and they refer to it as 7 Bark. Mr. Kisselberg himself was healed with it, when as a young boy he chopped wood too close to his leg and chopped through his knee. Being poor, they couldn't afford a doctor. His knee was gangrenous and they moved his bed to the front porch outside. A Cherokee Indian came by, communicated with his mother asking what was wrong. She explained and showed him the wound. He came back an hour or so later and gave her the cure to use.

I am a Pagan and a healer and have learned vauable information from Mr. Kisselburg, a truly great man.