During the summertime, there are a lot of insects that bite and sting.
Soothe, heal, and prevent insect bites with plantain:
- Get rid of the pain, heat, and swelling by chewing a leaf and putting it on the bite. The allergic reactions should disappear too.
- You could dry plantain leaves and put them in your first aid kit.
- Make a fresh leaf poultice.
Poultices are useful to reduce swelling and help heal.
They are a mixture of herbs, clays, activated charcoal, salts, etc. that you can wrap in a piece of cloth and place on the skin.
Mud is the oldest and simplest poultice. You should mix powdered white clay with herb tea or a little water and apply it to the sting.
Other soothing poultices to ease itching and pain from insect bites are:
- Finely ground grain such as rice or oatmeal,
- Bland starchy substances like mallow root,
- Grated potato,
- Arrowroot powder.
Some fresh-herb poultices are:
- Plantain,
- Comfrey,
- Yellow dock,
- Wild geranium,
- Wild mallow,
- Chickweed,
- Yarrow.
After chewing a healing leaf, apply it directly to the sting or bite.
Use a large adhesive bandage or a big leaf to hold the poultice in place.
If you are in the wilderness, you can take a leaf from a tree, chew it and apply that to the bite.
The best leaves are those from:
- Witch hazel,
- Willow,
- Oak,
- Maple.
Learn to recognize the healing hazel and willow leaves before you chew on them.
Maple or oak leaves are easier to identify and safe to chew unless you are in a place where grows poison oak.
If you don’t know the surroundings, avoid all slick or shiny leaves. Take a small piece of leaf and taste it. If it has a bitter taste or burns your mouth, spit it quickly.
Repel Ticks, Mosquitoes, And Black Flies
Apply a diluted tincture of yarrow flowers directly on all exposed skin.
According to a recent US Army study, yarrow tincture is more effective than DEET as an insect repellent.
If you suspect a tick has bitten you, take a cotton wool andput alcohol on it. Keep the wool pressed over the tick until it suffocates and dies.
To help your immune system, take a daily dose of 2 to 6 drops of Echinacea tincture.
If you have similar symptoms, and you want to ensure the Lyme’s organism is inactive, you can use a dropper full of St. Joan’s wort tincture three times a day.
What other remedies did you use when an insect has bitten you? What kind of bug bit you?