Mosquito Bite Remedies

Hi Trista, that's wonderful that cucumber worked on your daughter's mosquito bites. I keep a small spray bottle of white vinegar in my purse to use on mosquito bites. Very effective also.

My daughter recently got feasted on overnight by a mosquito in her room.

She had started eagerly scratching at one of her bites so I came to this site and decided to try Cucumber.

It worked immediately... no more scratching and applied it to all 9 bites and she didn't scratch at the others at all. I applied it the day of and yesterday and haven't applied it today seeing if the itch has been kept at bay.

Cucumber... thumbs up!!

Mosquito Bite Prevention Treatment:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure... I had dreadful reactions for 20+ yrs. Swelling and incomprehensible itching. The kind that can drive you half mad and make you want to claw a hole in your body. And I thought I'd tried everything over the decades; every potion, lotion, even hot spoons. Nothing worked. If there was one of these devil tormentors within a 10 mile radius it seemed to find me. I finally found relief in Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) in 400-500mg taken daily, no less. The remedy came from a pharmacy in Thailand. Allegedly mozzys don't like the smell, though we can't smell it. It shocked me it worked so well. I got the odd bite but it didn't swell, remained tiny, and barely an itch. Before I'd have 12+ welts with tormenting itching. Now I only get 1or 2, no welts, and no bother.

Friends who travel in hot mozzy infested areas were impressed too. They'd start taking it a week before their trip. But taking the right dose seems vital. If the dosage was skimped (300mg or less) it didn't work. Some take it in divided doses am/pm but I just took it all at once, so can't comment if that's more effective. I've also read Vitamin B1 is not a systemic mosquito repellent, but I am can attest it works great for me. Cheers.

When using essential oils and diffusers - PLZ Watch out for pets.

Some oils are quite toxic to cats (more so) and dogs too, apparently. New warnings being issued by vets, not to be ignored.

I'd personally love to try the lavender mixed in with coconut oil but my pets LOVE love coconut oil (they try to 'clean' my legs and arms) but the lavender is a big toxin to them. So, I hardly every diffuse anymore but if I do, it's from a different room, blowing a small fan on the mist, and only for an hour.

Household ammonia is a popular and effective anti-itch remedy. It is the active ingredient in many over-the-counter mosquito bite remedies. The ammonia changes the skin's acidity (pH), countering some of the chemical reactions that make you itch.

What To Do

Dampen a cotton ball with ammonia and wet the area affected by the bite.

This treatment works best on fresh bites. Only use household ammonia, which is diluted, not ammonia from a science lab, which is too concentrated. If you have sensitive skin, you'll probably want to skip this treatment and opt for one that is gentle for your skin.

Also, Meat tenderizer contains enzymes, such as papain, that tenderize meat by breaking the chemical bonds that hold the muscle fibers together. Meat tenderizer is effective against insect stings and other types of venom because it breaks the proteins that cause a reaction. Although it's unlikely meat tenderizer can do much good once a bite has had a chance to swell up, if you apply it immediately after you are bitten or shortly afterward, it may deactivate the chemicals in the mosquito saliva that will make you itchy and red.

What To Do

Either apply meat tenderizing powder directly to the bite area or mix it with a small amount of water. Leave it on for a couple of minutes, but not too long or you're likely to tenderize yourself! This is a safe remedy, but since many products contain herbs and spices, it might cause itchiness of its own if you have sensitive skin.

We've found that a mix of 1/2 ACV (5%) & 1/2 water, sprayed on our dogs coats, kept fleas from bothering them for about 12 hours at a time.

I have always been a mosquito magnet, and get horrible allergic reactions to the bites. Skin so soft is hard to get hold of here, so I'm saving the dregs for special occasions. This past week, I twice found a mosquito in my apartment, swiftly despatched each time. But when I looked for the inevitable bites, I couldn't fine any. This seemed impossibly lucky but now I know the reason - I recently started taking a Vitamin B complex tablet once a day. To say I'm overjoyed is an understatement!

Yes, I read about that from someone who likes sitting on the veranda with her friends. She would fill a plastic basin with water and put a few drops of dish-washing liquid in it and the leave the basin on the deck. She said that she would see mossies dive into the basin and die.

If you have pots and pans or small ponds of rainwater in your yard squirt a very small amount of any hand dishwashing liquid on them. This breaks the surface's attention of the water and mosquitos cannot land on the water to lay eggs. This trick really works and reduces mosquitos if you collect rainwater or have small ponds of water in your yard.

I agree. And Brewer's Yeast is high in B vitamins. I used to put it in the dog's food and it repelled mosquitoes from her.

Hi Michael from NZ,

What's the brand name of this NZ oil? Thanks.

Hi there Phil,

My short dissertation on Mosquitoes follows:

- Ocean cruising sailors departing New Zealand were often encouraged to take a B vitamin supplement every day to ward off mosquito bites that could cause Malaria or Dengue Fever up, in and around the South Pacific Islands. Also, to use something on the skin, of course (some of the old lotions/creams had nasty stuff in them though! ). If the night-time mozzies didn't give you Malaria, then the day-time team would give you the Dengue Fever or maybe you could cop a double whammy!!?? Along with the pesky droning, the annoying biting and itching afterwards, it tended to take the shine off that Dream, South Pacific holiday!

From recall, it could have been the B6 OR the B12 that was touted BUT with the B vitamins, I was given to understand that the combination B's worked better in synergy rather than separately. It seemed to work for some people. Old folklore also suggested that the reason that the EARLY Amazon River natives never got bitten, was because they never ate SUGAR and the mozzies were smart enough to be able to tell and were not attracted?! Strange, I thought a lot of sugar was grown in Brazil! Yes, banana plants (not trees please) and mosquitoes seem to go hand in hand.

But if your neighbour likes to have lots of empty flower pots or dishes lying around in their garden, these will collect moisture and be a great breeding ground for them. Especially old tyres. Oh, do I have a thing with old tyres and mozzies!! If my ankles are exposed, boy do they LOVE me! Yet they get greatly confused by my hairy arms and legs - just saying! So, I have a New Zealand made, external use only, product that has Sweet Almond Oil, Essential Oils of Eucalyptus, Lavender, Pine, Manuka, (I have posted about this one before and not just for the Honey Bees), Tea Tree (ditto)+ Lemongrass. I am unaware of the proportions (if I knew them I would bottle the stuff) but it is good for Sandflies, Mosquitoes, Midges and Black Flies a/c the label. Safe to use on chn apparently (nobody die), 100% natural -- use sparingly and often. Soothes as well as repels - what's not to like? Oh, and did I mention it smells O.K. too! The Good Oil comes at the end (at last! ). Phew!

Cheers from Down Under

VITAMIN B FOR MOSQUITOES

I used to attract Mosquitoes. I had Banana Trees in Kona with big leaves that held rainwater at the leaf stem. When I went near the trees in the rainy season, they would swarm all around me. I used skin so soft to repel them. That works if you put it on your skin every day. I was told about vitamin B and started taking a full complex of vitamin B, two tablets every day. That stopped the Mosquito bites. Some would swarm near, and occasionally one would land. But no bites. After a while, I reduced to one tablet every day. I went about ten years without one bite taking complete vitamin B every day. The only exception was when I was moving recently, I received a mosquito bite before I moved, and after I moved, I received a second bite. Vitamin B is a stress vitamin, and the move was more stressful for me.

Our granddaughter came to Hawaii once a year during the summer, and immediately she was attacked around the Banana plants. We gave her two vitamin B a day for three days. After that, we reduced it to one pill per day. She wasn't bothered again until she went home to Tennessee. After a few bites at home, she started taking vitamin B, successfully deterring Mosquitos.

I know a few tests that have been made discounting the effect. It has worked for me. Good luck.

Peppermint oil applied directly on mosquito bites always works for me. It relieves the itch instantly and shrinks the mark in a day or two. Smells good too.

High temperature (about 50C) with an Antipruritic Device for a minute. They really decreasing swelling and itching if applied soon enough. I am very sensitive to mosquito's bite and swell a lot. With this devise I saw a huge difference. Search amazon and ebay for cheap devices.

Nigella Sativa (Black Cumin) has analgesic and anti inflammatory effects. N. Sativa is also known to be antibacterial.

Lightly massage 1 drop of N. Sativa oil to the mosquito bite - re-apply the oil throughout the day. After the oil application try to keep the bite clean, this means no scratching. The following day my bites are reduced in size and do not itch.

I was going to put a post to treat mosquito bites with the back of a hot spoon, but noticed it was already posted so I'll just give it a yah! Totally reduces the itch and the swelling. Ice doesn't work nearly as well or effectively.

My friend, who's 5 year old was getting eaten alive at his soccer games, just told me a remedy she heard about from another soccer mom. You tie a dryer sheet (she used bounty but any brand will probably work) on one of the belt loops like flag football. The mosquitoes don't like the smell of the dryer sheets. She said it's amazing how well it works. Thought I'd pass it on...

Last year I visited our property in Northern California for 2 weeks. Despite using natural bug sprays, I left with 150 mosquito bites. I went back 2 weeks later to live there 6 months. I was only bit twice from yellow jackets, tho they took a chunk. Was thankful to run into a neighbor who gave me an old farmers trick. Eat 1 dill pickle/day.

Difficult to find without yellow #5 and other harmful ingredients. Unless you wanna buy a gallon of Vlassic for $3.99. I opted for Trader Joe's pure ingredients and small jar, smaller pickles for the same price. They were a godsend!

Tip for relieving is applying a warm-hot spoon against bites. It puts the fire out.

I'm tempted to try for fleas. In visiting a friend, her neighbors dog's fleas are attacking only me.

Being a vegetarian 40+ years has its rewards, bites/stings aren't one of them.

Hi, A nurse told us about this remedy for mosquito bites and my family tried it and SURE ENOUGH, IT WORKED. Take a spoon from your kitchen and run hot water over it to make it hot, then apply it on the bite until it is no longer hot. We applied it twice to the bite. The itch went away and so did the bite. I had the bite at night and the next morning when I woke up, I noticed that I could not even see where the bite had been. Next time I get a mosquito bite, I am going to apply the hot spoon to the bite just once to see if it still works with one application. I love earth clinic, thank you all for sharing natural ways to help others.

So Rabbit tobacco is suppose to have health benefits, along with being a natural bug repellent. Interesting stuff. You can pick the Rabbit Tobacco right off the side of the road. Pictures of the plants and recipes. http://rabbittobacco.com

Which scent (kind) of the dry sheet?

Applying ACV and rubbbing in Epsom Salts intermittently has been super helpful in the healing process for my mosquito bites. I tend to have an allergic reaction and mosquitos will often bite me, but no one else, when I am outside somewhere in the summer.

I will soak the ACV in a cotton ball or on a cotton circle pad and hold on my bites for a few minutes. After, I rub in a small portion of Epsom salts (about a dime size) and let them dissolve in the skin, in and around the bites. I do this a few times across the day. I've found this to both speed the healing as well as reduce the redness and itch.

The only thing that works for me to repel mosquitoes is staphysagria (larkspur). I take 2 homeopathic pellets (30C strength) 3 times a day. It creates an odor that the mosquitoes do not like. The only drawback is it can create digestion problems. But it's worth it to keep the mosquitoes at bay.