Everything You Need to Know About Bug Bite Treatment

As summer approaches, we are all looking forward to the warm weather, sunshine, and outdoor adventuring! What no one is looking forward to are bug bites. But you don’t have to simply live with the itchy, annoying red bumps anymore -- you can take charge, try to prevent them, and treat bug bites naturally!

Prevention

Preventing bug bites is easier said than done. There are so many products on the market promising to prevent bug bites, but the problem with these is that they either don’t really work or they contain lots of harmful chemicals. The natural ones take a lot more frequent, thorough application, but are better for your health than those that are chemical-laden. Essential oils like eucalyptus are another option, because many bugs don’t like the smell, but be careful to dilute properly when using essential oils, and do careful research before using them on young, sensitive skin.

Treatment

While prevention is an important step to lessening bug bite frequency, it has so far been nearly impossible to eliminate this impending frustration of warmer weather! Thus, good treatments are key. There are all kinds of products out there you can buy and try, but here are some at-home, natural bug bite treatments you can do on your own:

Plantain

Not the kind of plantain that looks like a big green banana, but the kind of plantain that you can find easily growing in your back yard. Does the below plant look familiar? [put stock photo of plantain plant below this paragraph, then delete this sentence] To treat an immediate bite, the leaves of this plant can be chewed (to get the healing juices out) and then held over the affected area. It may sound gross, but it’s been touted to work! When it comes to immediate bug bite relief it may be worth a shot.

Onion or garlic

While it may not smell the best, the juice from a raw onion can help reduce the pain and swelling caused by insect bites or stings! Just slice a little fresh onion and hold it over the bite/sting. If it’s really painful, grab a band-aid and tape a small, juicy piece of onion to the pained area for a couple hours. If you don’t have an onion, you can use a raw clove of garlic in the same manner. Slice a piece of the clove off so the juicy side is exposed, then rub the affected area with the clove. Garlic can sting, so this may not be best to use on children. The downsides to these methods: the smell! In addition to a treatment, they may be able to be used as a preventative, although it is not recommended since it wouldn’t just be bugs that would be repelled by the smell.

Balm

The easiest, and much less stinky, option is to get a good bug bite balm for treatment! The best kind of balm is something like our EmBeba All Over Balm, which is formulated specifically to help fight itchiness and redness on the skin, and contains only ingredients that you’d find in your garden like calendula, arnica, beeswax, peppermint, rosemary, and more -- all put together to help with calming down red, itchy skin! (Bonus: it smells good, and there’s no chewing involved!)

What kinds of at-home, natural bug bite remedies or treatments have you tried before? What has worked and what hasn’t?