We always have bad mosquitoes in Houston; even in the winter. I've tried literally every recipe on this site, with no luck. They bite me even when I'm wearing Off (without Deet). My husband told me a way to make the bites easier to bear - I didn't believe him at first! He said to put white vinegar on the bites. I didn't have white, so I used apple cider vinegar.
I was almost out, so all I had was the "mother" of this vinegar. That's the cloudy mass at the bottom of the bottle of apple cider vinegar. I got this bottle at Whole Foods Market, a very pricey health food store. I noticed that the one I buy at my grocery store has no "mother". I used the mother and applied it with a q-tip and, sure enough, the welts started to go away and so did the itching. The next day all I had was three small marks where the welts were. They also stopped itching completely.
I have used it on my 2 year old Grand-baby who is a redhead and very fair and it worked on her too. Maybe this will help someone out there too - I hope so!
By metroplex from Houston, TX
This page contains the following solutions.
We always put vinegar on itchy bug bites. Apply a little vinegar to a cotton ball and dab on the bites. Works like a charm almost every time, taking the itch away within a view minutes.
In case of an insect sting, apply ice for one half hour and then try one of these remedies for one half hour. Caution, apply "around" the stung area. Do not put directly on broken skin.
Put non-sudsy ammonia on a cotton ball and apply it to mosquito bites and bee stings. The ammonia somehow neutralizes the venom and poof! No more itchy bites.
I read on earthclinic.com about rubbing a slice of cucumber on any insect bites. I love cucumbers! I also looked in the ThriftyFun database and there are a few uses of them to get wasps away from picnics.
June, July and August are warm days of summer for people and a smorgasbord of human legs and arms and bodies for bugs.
Take a small bottle or lip balm tube, stuff it with cotton and saturate it with vinegar. It applies easily to insect stings and bites, can be used on scrapes, scratches and sunburns as well. Keep several in car, tackle box, backpack and don't forget the garden or back yard. By Dr. Jose
Put liquid antacid products on insect bites to relieve the sting and discomfort.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Can you have an allergic reaction to a ladybug bite?
Janice from Stafford, VA
Most definitely you can! I'm extremely allergic to the bites of any pest. It is most likely a potato bug that bit you [they look almost identical to ladybugs, just a bit more orange in color].
Well, you can have an allergic reaction to most anything. because people are different etc. but ladybugs themselves don't bite. either. There is another type of bug in your surroundings or it is the potato bug as joandogs said.
Asian Lady bugs certainly do bite.
Sheryl is right - Asian ladybugs DO bite! They aren't the red ladybugs that are more common in NA, but instead are orange-yellow. Unfortunately they were brought to my area in order to get rid of aphids (a stupid idea - anyone who's taking a biology/environmental issues class can tell you that) and now we're stuck with them. The bites hurt, but if you have other reactions later like swelling etc. then check with your doctor.
I have had lady bug bites just a night ago and i feel awful! I have little bumps that look like bites every 6 inches or so, and i am itchy on my SCALP too!
They do bite. I got bit 3 times this summer at an outdoor camp where I worked at.
And they itch too..although that depends on the person. For me, the spot where i got bit itches.
I agree with Trix.
im so itchy from the ladybug bites
I know for sure that lady bugs do bite. My house is full of them. I ended up with one in my night shirt, I then layed on it. I got bit and I pulled it out of my night shirt. There was that classic lady bug smell( when they get disturbed). I looked at what I pulled out and it was definitley a lady bug.
I was bit in my nose by a ladybug.
I am 57yrs old and was first bitten by a ladybug 35 years ago.Hurt like a wasp and thought it was my imagination. Over the last several yrs been bite 5 or 6 more times. All my friends think I am crazy but after the third bite I decided I must look and taste like a giant aphid. The bites always left a large red bump that looked like a volcano. Itched for days.
I was bitten and became extremely ill. I felt nauseous and dizzy. the acutal site never became itchy or raised but i read on other sites that these asian lady bugs secrete a liquid of defense and some folks become ill after being bitten for about two days. So for those who don't think they bite, trust me, they do, and it's very painful.
I was bit by a green ladybug it is red and itchy like a giant mosquito bite
I just googled potato bug, and that def does not look like a ladybug. And, I was just bit by a lady bug today and it hurt. It also itched for like 10 minutes, but then stopped.
I was bit on my arm and I've had it for like 5 days and it iches and hurts and there is like 5 big bumps on my arm just from that one bite! I have to get rid of them soon!
I have this humongous rash on my leg and it's swollen and bumpy. I noticed ladybugs in my room the day it happened. I'm not sure if this is what it's from. I'm really scared it looks TERRIBLE I'm hoping it will go away because I'm scared to tell my mom because she doesn't know I shave. It could be from something else. I don't know. I need help, I'm so terrified. I hope it goes away.
Editor's Note: Please tell your mom.
to Sierra: Your mom will be more upset if you let something like this go than she will be to find out you shave. She expects that to happen someday and you need to get this tended to. Lots of things bite besides ladybugs.
I just got bit by a ladybug. I'm sure it is one because its red not orange but the bite only pinched for a second and afterward there was no affect (itchy, redness, bumps, irritation, etc.) but I do agree with Sandy63 that everyone's different so reactions will vary. roxchrisrox(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
I thought I had poison ivy. I remember now that I did get bitten by some lady bugs the day they were going totally crazy. Perhaps this is not poison ivy, it does not seem to get out of my system very fast. Used all sorts of methods for poison ivy. Still have some little bumps with fluid. Some other little bumps are popping up on my torso. Hope to get rid of this pesky mess soon.
I was just got bit bye a lady bug and it hurts so bad and swelled up. It didn't have black dots like a ladybugs do though it was just orange. I didn't believe ladybugs bit until now. It felt just like a wasp. How do I know if i am allergic?
I just got bit by a lady bug on the lip, it hurts. :(
I was bitten by an Asian ladybug 3 years ago, it stung and I watched as a marble sized lump came up on my wrist. It finally stopped hurting but the lump is still there.
Have had swarms of Asian ladybugs. One got into a glass I was drinking from yesterday, and bit the end of my tongue. Immediate pain, redness and swelling. Luckily a couple of Benadryl and ice helped. Still have a burning sensation today.
iI have a 4 year old son who has developed a skin condition or irritation. He is covered in bug bites it started on the tops of his feet and has spread all over his body. It's been going on almost four months. After numerous doctors appointments, emergency room visits, I finally get him in to see a pediatrician. He tells us my son has scabies, yet his father, myself and, grandparents have no bites or rashes. I was told scabies are highly contagious and if one hous hold member has them everyone will get them.
We have done treatments on everyone and also treated the houses (which is one huge and frustrating process) and yet he is still suffering from fresh bites, but his conditions is not near as bad as it was, but yet no one else is being bitten. So this is where I am questioning if these Asian ladybugs could possibly cause this severe damage to him because the little suckers are everywhere and in all of our family's houses.
At this point I am desperate for answers and am tired of slathering numerous types of cream all over my son. This not clearing up but just slightly improving, he is literally scratching until he is bleeding. Any feed back or opinions would be greatly appreciated at this point.
Sincerely, an exhausted mother who just wants some answers!
How do you cure the bite? In the areas the ladybugs have bitten me, I have swelling around the area and have been there for over 3 weeks. I went to the doctor and they gave me an antibiotic which I've taken for two days now and is not showing any improvement. I tried a home remedy using apple cider vinegar and it has helped the redness go down for some of the bites but not all.
I got bit by some little red ants about two weeks ago, they are now infected and look horrible. What can I put on them to heal?
By jessica from Lubbock, TX
I am being bitten by what I think may be fleas. They are painful bites causing swelling and itchy at the site. What can I use or do to protect me that is non-invasive, as well what to I put on them now that I have been bitten. The bite and itch last a long time.
Charlene
Please don't try and doctor them yourself. You shouldn't have waited two weeks. Go to the nearest hospital emergency ward to get treatment ASAP. Ask the hospital for a referral with either a dermatologist or allergist.
Run, don't walk, to your nearest emergency room now and especially since they are infected! This is nothing to play around with! Among other things, you can get Cellulitis, which is a staph infection, that spreads inside your body and can cause damage to internal organs and possible death! Never, ever wait to get medical attention when there's any infection!
I would go to the doctor with these, but if they are not as bad as they sound, perhaps an antibiotic salve from the drug store would aid the healing. Ask the pharmacist for a recommendation.
I'd try aloe vera. Go to a health food store and inquire. By the way, I'm your neighbor it seems. Live in Lubbock also.
Make some poultice of Epsom salts. This helps draw out the poisons and heal. Just spent a month with hives that looked like chicken pox. Found the ES was the best pain reliever, itch reliever, detoxed the poisons from the system. The doctors added steroids, etc but they did not do what the ES did. I got antibiotics too. Make sure you check with the doctor on the full body infection that can come. 4 year old had severe bug bites the that swelled the size of soft balls. Started ES and went to the doctor who said to stay with the soakings and if not better, call back for med instructions. He thought the ES would work fine. And it did.
Please check your bed on the edge of the mattress I thought that 5 years ago and when I thought about it I checked my mattress on the edges it just might be bedbugs very itchy and sometimes it bites but you cant see anything where you just got bit you will see black little stains that the infestation of them very different ways that the bites look like......
I have flea bites that itch like crazy what do I do?
I am trying to find out what kind of bites I'm getting the same time of the year. This is the 2nd year now. They bite when I'm sleeping, they sometimes appear later at work or when coming out of the shower. They are itchy and are driving me nuts. They swell like a bite, get a clear fluid in the top and will go away. I am even having bites turn up where I am wearing clothes. Any suggestions?
By pna from Findlay, OH
If the bugs are biting while sleeping it is a good sign of bed bugs. It would not be tics as they hold on for a long time and you would be ble to see them. When tics bite you will get a red bulls eye at the site where they had bitten.
If it is bed bugs look in the sems of the mattress and the joints of the bed. Difficult to get rid of. You may need an exterminator to come in for a look and treatment.
Sounds like spider bites to me, especially if they're happening at night while sleeping.
Go to www.mayoclinic.com or www.webmd.com. One of them has pictures of the bites different bugs make. You may have to do some digging, but I know it is there somewhere.
Can you use apple cider vinegar with coconut oil or does it have to be white vinegar?
All vinegars and coconut oil are natural antiseptics. So, it really does not matter.
Yellow jacket stings can be itchy and painful. This is a page about relieving itching from yellow jacket stings.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I have flea bites on my ankles. I need something good for the itching. I have tried anti itch medicine and I take Benadryl, but it makes me go to sleep. Any other suggestions?
Tips for preventing and treating insect bites. Post your ideas.
I keep a cotton ball in a baby food jar of white vinegar handy for insect bites. It stops the itch instantly.
Recently I noticed that my daughter had what appeared to be insect bites. However, when I looked closely I noticed that they have a black dot in the center and little red bumps all around them.
When you get a mosquito bite or a bee/wasp sting, use household ammonia to get rid of the itch or sting.
