10 Natural Remedies for Spider Bites

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.

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.

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.

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.

I was bitten by a "wolf" spider. My hand was was swollen twice it's normal size. A friend suggested a wet tea bag. The tea bag, when place over the bite, pulled the poison out of my hand within a couple of hours. No bad effects from the bite.

It seems regular tea bags will pull the poison out of spider bites, an abscessed tooth or any place where poison is causing swelling.

I got bit three nights ago on the inside of my elbow by what appeared to be a spider. At first I thought it was a mosquito bite but it was uglier with a white spot on top. I squeezed it and tried hydrogen peroxide and witch hazel but they did nothing. Then I put anti-bacterial ointment on it but by the evening of the first day my arm ached and the welt had turned into a blister. The next day the blister was the size of a jelly bean and the redness and soreness was the size of two half-dollars. My understanding is that spider bites contain a virus. I called Urgent Care and they said to see a doctor the next day and put hot compresses on it until then. I asked if it was okay to put baking soda on it to draw out any toxins. She said Yes but only for 20 minutes. Instead, I made up a paste of plain baking soda and water to the consistency of toothpaste and put it on the bite until it dried. Then I brushed it off. I did this every two hours until I went to sleep: a total of four times. The next morning I woke up and the blister was half the size and the redness was almost gone. It's still a little sore but I will continue for another day. I expect it will be gone tomorrow.

I don't remember exactly under which ailment I first found it, but the spoon heated with hot water to stop itching for several hours is great. I needed it for multiple (maybe hobo) spider bites that were driving me crazy. As I recall there was something about the heat driving histamines away.

Therefore it also works for poison ivy, oak and sumac. There was a very helpful comment about the urushiol being the active agent and once that is washed off (of everything!) the clear fluid from the blisters is not an irritant. Thankfully I just got a very mild case (through a hole in a jersey glove I think) between my middle and ring fingers on one hand. I just ran a trickle of hot tap water over it as long as I could stand it a few times (maybe I only needed to do it once ;-) and that was way hot enough to assuage the itch, again for several hours.

Getting a child to bear the heat for even a short duration is another topic!

Thank you, Earth Clinic!!

Vitamin C is truly a medicine to take everywhere you go. I've used it for a spider bite I got while canoeing down a creek. My arm swelled and hurt and I didn't realize why at first. It finally dawned on me that I had brushed a limb at the start of the trip and spiders galore fell in the boat with me. Evidently one bit me!

I took 3-4G every 1.5 hours or so after getting home and continued the next day. Never got any signs of overdosing ie gas or diarrhea. I estimate I took 40G over 24 hours! It killed most of the swelling by nightfall the day of the trip!

Also had an employee get stung by a wasp. He told me the last time he got bit he had to go to the hospital. I gave him 5G and sent let him leave. He told me in an hour or so the pain and swelling had diminished greatly. He didn't have anymore vitamin C but he didn't need to visit the hospital!

The studies which suggest that the treatment of snake bite with pulsed high voltage low current DC shock as being dangerous or ineffective, simply put are just bad science.

Yes you can cause a burn if you use a stun gun with too much power or leave it in contact with the wound for too long. Using a cheaper lower voltage stun gun / cattle prod / or weed eater spark lead, is perfectly safe when administered in single zap doses. If the current is too high it will cause burns, but low current is supposed to be used and works very well.

An Italian research team was able to show both in vitro and in vivo that the use of low current DC treatment will deactivate the proteins in the snake venom making it permanently inactive.

Do a google scholar search for "Inactivation of Crotalus atrox Venom Hemorrhagic Activity by Direct Current Exposure using Hens' Egg Assay" They did a whole batch of papers on the subject and this is the only really good research out there. It does work and it is safe, just don't be stupid and use too much power for too long or you will get a burn.... in addition to the deactivation of the venom.

Bread cured my daughters spider bite. Went to doctor who put her on anti-biotics. It did nothing for her. My wifes grandma told her to put a piece of bread on it. She did and it drew all of the puss out and cured it in one night.

Got 4 brown recluse spider bites on my arm while cleaning our shed. After 3 days went to Dr. and was given antibiotics to combat any other infection that might happen (I'm diabetic)...but Dr. said nothing can be done about the venom. 2 wounds were size of 1/2 dollar, 2 size of dime. Blistering and oozing and scabs (2 were black)occured and new blisters formed (no infection just clear fluid oozing) Did have 3 new sites of blister form possibly from the oozed fluid spreading the toxin. These new sites are not bites. Am now covering wounds with large bandaids.By day 5 tried topical creams, baking soda paste (not at the same time). While they kept the wounds from getting bigger they did not make it smaller or look any different. Found your website and am now doing potato poltice. Did break blisters and got as much scab off as possible before putting potato slices on. It is working, hooray!! And in only a few hours. Been a week looking for something that works. Right now the wounds have lost the redness, puffiness and don't feel warmer than the rest of me. Will let you know how I am in a few days. Was really worried as these bites were not healing and slowly getting worse. Will try salt tomorrow (maybe salt the potato slices, eh!).

I got a spider bite on the back of my arm and in just a few days my arm was swelled and I had a big knot with a big white, yellow, greenish, center. I got on the earth clinic site and seen to scrap the top cut a potato and put on it. I did and was amazed at how fast it pulled all of the junk out of my arm. The potato is the only way to go in my opinion. Thanks yall are a life saver.

EC: Glad to hear the remedy worked.  However, we still have to warn folks to be careful that a spider bite isn't, in fact, Staph or MRSA.  We know two people here in Atlanta in the past month who misdiagnosed staph infections for spider bites!!

Use Baking Soda/butter as a Poultice/remedy for Brown Spider Bite. I was a teenager riding my horse and a spider got in my long hair, when i went to take a shower, I was bit by a brown recluse spider. For two weeks my father put this poultice (size of a large patch) on me and it was the only relief I had. Who knows what would have happened without the baking soda. I hope this saves someone else's life. God Bless

EC: We emailed Wooly for more details

I believe my dad used half baking soda and half butter 50/50. So it was a thin layer is what I remember and yes it was mixed to cover the entire area of the bite about 3 inches by 3 inches, depends on persons size of wound and how it affects there body. The mixture was the size of a patch that they use for back pain for example. Hope this helps. Wooly

My son and I have been bit by a recluse spider. He suffered much but got well. I'm in progress! Thank you for this site! I have been using oils and herbs, Epsom salt. Soda, vinegar, antibiotic salve, honey, everything older folks tell me( vinegar and soda)

If a spider bite itches, take a pinch, or more of Basil (McCormick, crushed basil) rub it on the bite until the basil is fine as sand, or until the itch is gone. Repeat if necessary. This will also keep the bitten area from swelling. This does work. I have used basil on bitten areas; and I have also used on my mother's arm. thank you.

My husband and I went camping this weekend, and I ended up with multiple spider bites. I tried everything and nothing helped. I wanted to scratch the skin off my legs. I went on the computer to see about any natural remedies and found this website. I washed my legs with hot water, and then put salt on all the bites. I let the slat on for 10 minutes and the itchy feeling went away. I will continue this until they are all gone. Thank you!

I just read the post from Mary, about getting spider bites while camping. A few years ago my son's family went camping and he ended up with a lot of bites that looked like spider bites. The doctors treated it as such, but they did not heal. My daughter-in-law went to the next doctor visit and insisted on them doing a culture of the sores. It came back that he had contacted staph infection at the river or the campsite. They had waited so long to find it that it had gotten into the bone on one toe. He had to have two things applied that would pump some sort of medicine into the veins everyday for a length of time, I don't remember how long. A nurse had to come to their house to set them up. He did get okay, but I wanted to tell you this so that you know, if those places do not heal, you should insist on them doing a culture. Nobody should have to go through that. But hopefully yours are just spider bites. Good luck and I hope the bites have cleared up.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I'm in the middle of it right now, I've been applying the salt over the past few days and I'm already noticing a difference. The center part is opening up and I'm starting to see the outer layer of skin open up to reveal the black spot. I see that you applied for us garlic. So I just cut a piece of garlic and taped it to the bite. It is extremely burning! I am able and willing to tolerate it. Out of curiosity though… How long did you leave the garlic on the bite? And also how long did you leave the banana peel? Thank you so much.

Just yesterday for the 4th of July we were at a family gathering. My niece had noticed a red bump develop 3 days prior on her wrist. By yesterday it had gotten bigger, a little over 1/4 inch. You could see 2 fang marks, half of the scab was crusty black and red streaks were developing. It was slightly painful, not unbearable. I check this website our regularly, so it was natural for me to look up a cure for spider bites. Of course we don't know what kind of spider bit her. The salt cure seemed to be the fastest acting and it wasn't too far out from the time of the bite. We wet it and poured salt on it and placed a bandaide over it. She ended up leaving it on for about an hour. Took of the bandaide and ran water over it. About 2 hours later you could tell that the size had decreased and the black scab was gone. We did the treatment one more time before she went to bed. It stung pretty good and she left the bandage on for 10 minutes. We left and called her today and the site is all but dried up. No more pain or itching. For good measure she is going to continue to put the salt on for another night or 2. Amazing!! is all I can say.

i was in Lufkin Tx emergency room a couple of weeks back and I talked to a man who had been bitten by a spider. The doctor that treated him said that he knew people that had been bit by spiders that went to the ocean on Friday and came back on Monday and the bite was was gone away. The salt water heals the bite