Home Remedies for Insect Bites and Stings

After posting the information on Insect bites and Stings, Willow basically fell into a fire ant mound at daycare. Her teacher felt terrible and supposedly the insect people had just been there.

I should probably have mentioned a "home remedy" for fire ant bites. Since they are rampant here in Texas, it's a good thing to know and something so very simple. What magic ointment takes away the itching and burning? Believe it or not...


Toothpaste!!

I don't remember how I found it out but I know it works but it does. My husband had quite a few bites last year after stumbling on a mound in the yard and after about 10 minutes with the toothpaste on there the burning and itching was gone!!

Amazingly Willow seemed unphased from the bites. She didn't cry when she got them and she hasn't cried yet because they are hurting her in any way. She hasn't even picked at them at all, which I find extremely amazing. i was hoping to get her 18 month photos done this coming weekend. I'll have to keep an eye on the bites to see how they are doing and make a decision later in the week.

I thought one good bit of information to have regarding bites and stings are which are venomous and which are not. So, here is a list!!

Venomous

• Wasps


• Hornets


• Bees


• Ants

Non-Venomous

• Mosquitoes


• Sand Flies


• Fleas


• Chiggers


• Lice


• Ticks

So, since I didn't mention any before, here are some home remedies for insect bites and stings:

For Itching

• Baking Soda and Water. Combine the two into a paste and apply to the affected area.


• Mud. Pack mud onto the bite. People don't know why it works, but it does!


• Toothpaste. Apply to the bite and there should be some relief within minutes.


• Saltwater. Mix salt and water and dab on the bite.


• Aspirin paste. Using the back of a spoon, crush 1-2 aspirin and add water to make a paste. Dab it on the bite. (Also good for a sting)


• Underarm deodorant. Rub on bite.


• Peppermint oil. (Probably why toothpaste works?)

For a Bee Sting

• Remove the stinger. It will usually be black and can be removed by scraping the skin.


• Mix 1 part meat tenderizer (Adolph's or McCormick) to 4 parts water and apply for no longer than 30 minutes. Baking Soda and Water paste work for this too if you don't have the tenderizer.


• Apple cider and vinegar. Mix together 1:1 and soak a cotton ball. Tape the cotton ball to the sting area.


• Cut an onion and rub it on the sting site. Some people swear by garlic as well.

I hope these help!