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This was one short lived blog here are wordpress.  I have moved to my own domain so come follow me over there.  The new address is anniesplacetolearn.com.

Bug Bites and Stings: Remedies

Even after all those prevention measures we all end up getting bit or stung.  Today I will share with you ways to ease and heal the discomfort accompanied with bug bites and stings.

My favorite and most effective remedy is Redmond Clay gel (butterflyexpress.net is where I get mine).  Just mix the dry clay with water until the mixture is like ketchup. I always have a jar of this in my first aid kit, bathroom closet and emergency car kit.  Place a thick chunk of gel right on the bite, the clay will draw the venom right out of the bite and the itching immediately ceases.  Leave on until it starts to harden then wash off with warm water and apply either  healing salve (recipe to come in a future post),  lavender essential oil, MelaPlus blend essential oil, raw honey or BHM Plus Salve  from Butterfly Express (this is a drawing salve that continues to pull out toxins but without the mess of the clay). You can use this procedure for any skin eruption like a rash, acne, boils, etc.

Other remedies:

• Apple cider vinegar, applied directly to area.
• Fresh plantain, lemon balm, or peppermint leaves chewed up and applied to affected area.
• Apply an ice pack or cold cloth (anything hot or warm will only aggravate the condition).
• One day I had nothing but peppermint lip balm in my bag when a child was complaining of a mosquito bite, I pulled that out and it worked so well we use it all the time now.

Do you have any natural remedies for soothing bug bites and stings?

*A word about Redmond Clay.  Always mix and store the gel in a glass container and do not use metal utensils for mixing.

Bug Bites and Stings: Prevention

It’s that time of year when the bugs are out doing their business, some of it good, some of it bad and either way we need to be prepared for getting bit, stung, and harassed.  The next couple of posts we will be focusing on prevention, protection, and the inevitable attack, both on us and our yard and garden.

Today we are going to talk about prevention.  The first line of action is to wear protective clothing.  When working in the garden wear gloves and long sleeves (if you can handle them), I have a light weight, light colored cardigan I wear, along with yoga pants tucked into my awesome purple garden boots.  Not only does this protect me from bug bites and stings, it also protects me from getting sunburned.  You can also tuck your pants into your socks so those suckers don’t try going up your legs.  Now this is great and dandy for gardening and camping but what about just playing outside, especially in the evening.

The next line of defense is using a bug repellent.  Our skin is the biggest organ of our body and anything we put onto it is absorbed into it.  Keep this in mind when applying anything to your family’s skin.  I personally do not put anything on my family’s body that I wouldn’t feel comfortable having them ingest.  I have used multiple natural bug repellents through the years but my favorite and the only one I use anymore comes from frugallysustainable.com .

Natural Bug Repellant Spray

1 oz. witch hazel

1 oz. grape seed oil (or any carrier oil)

35 drops citronella essential oil

20 drops eucalyptus essential oil

15 drops lemon essential oil

15 drops lemongrass essential oil

15 drops cedarwood essential oil

Combine all ingredients in a liquid measuring cup, mix well and pour into a spray bottle.

If there is room at the top of the bottle I top it off with water.  Shake well before each use to mix the oil back in.  The carrier oil helps hold the essential oils on the skin, if you use only water and essential oils they evaporate much quicker.  Re-apply every 1-2 hours.

I brought this to our family fourth of July party last year and everyone was using my spray instead of their “toxic” repellents because it smelled much better and it worked much better.

*I get all of my essential oils from butterflyexpress.net.  They have the highest quality essential oils available and I have used them for years with excellent results.   They do carry two bug repellent blends called Away and Purify, you can substitute these for the 5 oils above.