Home Remedies That Work

  Bug repellant

A friend swears by Vanilla Extract.

My wife uses Avon's Skin-So-Soft.

Bee sting

If you look at the ingredients on a bee sting kit, you'll see that ammonia is the main ingredient. Use ammonia.

If a stinger is still in the skin, it must be removed carefully - or you can break off the top and leave the dangerous end in. Trying to pull the stinger out will also pump more poison in. The best removal is to flick the stinger off.

Next, wash the area with soap and water, or with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol to get rid of the germs. Hydrogen peroxide does not sting at all but cleans just as well if not better.

Ice can be applied if it is available.

Immediate relief for a bug or mosquito bite, bee sting or wasp sting can be attained from applying a paste made of meat tenderizer and a little water. Leaving this on for at least a half hour will take away the pain and itch. I have read that doing this too often can cause some nerve damage.

For a bee sting, immediately put on a compress of very hot water (don't scald the person). Then mix a paste of baking soda and hot water, reheat the compress, apply the paste, and hold it on the bite for as long as possible. This really works.

For a wasp sting, repeat above, except make the paste with apple cider vinegar (something to do with acid or alkaline). We've done this for our granddaughter and a friend who were bitten, and after 10 to 15 minutes the pain was gone for good.

When part of a stinger remains in the skin, you can apply a poultice to safely draw the stinger out. A good poultice is stale bread wetted with milk, and it may be necessary to repeat this, adding a new one after the last one dries.

Daily supplements of Vitamin B1 or brewer's yeast, zinc, or garlic (you can get odorless garlic) keep insects away. Perfumes, hair spray, and bright colors attract insects.

Wasp venom is on the alkaline side. To counteract the venom rub some onion juice or Natural Apple Cider Vinegar on the bite. Split the leaf of a leek and apply the inside surface to your skin.

Ant bites and bee stings are more acidic in nature. For these you want to neutralize the effect of the venom with a paste of baking soda and very cold water.

Apply straight lemon juice.

A clay or mud paste can also be used to draw out the venom and is usually on hand!

Use a wet tea bag as a poultice: the tannic acid in tea helps with swelling. Black tea is the most effective.

Meat tenderizers contain enzymes that when applied as a paste also draw out the venom and swelling.