Tips for preventing and treating insect bites. Post your ideas.
You don't say where you got them. If your pet has fleas, a dip is a great idea. Probably needs to be repeated in a week or so. Fumigation of the house at the same time is in order. You can buy cans of bug bomb. Do this twice also. If animals are confined to the yard, there is a spray for the yard.
Meanwhile, take large doses of Vitamin C. Take a pill or two each hour until the itching stops. Then you can cut back a little while they heal. (05/20/2005)
By Barbaral
Aloe vera right from the plant or purchased in a bottle (use plain aloe vera) works good for bites, also take vitamin B-1 daily, it seems to respell biting insects. (05/21/2005)
By Anna
You can set a pan of water (like a round cake pan or pie pan) with dish soap on the floor with a light shinning in it at night, the fleas will go to the light and jump into the pan, they can't get out and drown. (05/21/2005)
By regena
You didn't say where you live, or if you had recently moved, but if you have carpet that's probably the culprit. I ran into this in CA. When an apt I moved into proved to have sand fleas in the carpet. The management had to remove the carpet and fumigate the apt to get rid of them. You also may be having an allergic reaction to the bites.
By ThriftyFun
My husband was a flooring contractor for many years. When he would encounter a flea or roach problem, the best treatment was Diazanon, which thankfully was a treatment given to us by a professional landscaper. It's fairly inexpensive since a small bottle, which can usually be purchased for about $5 at a K-Mart or WalMart, and then dilute it.
As far as the itching, the best remedy in the world for any itching due to bites is just a tiny dab of nail polish remover applied with a Q-tip to the bite(/b). It will sting a little for just a sec but will completely stop the itch IMMEDIATELY. This works great for chicken pox and hives too, without any side effects, because the amount you're using is too small, and is basically acting as an antihistamine. (05/23/2005)
By TIGERGOLD
A teen age friend gave me this tip to stop the itch of an insect bite. Simply rub a small amount of toothpaste (not gel) on the area. So far it has worked every time.
By Aprilmay (07/20/2005)
By ThriftyFun
I agree that Diazonon; is the best! But, here in Canada it has been taken off the market. Thank goodness I was able to purchase a large bag of granules before it was taken off the shelf. It is the only chemical that I have found to effectively kill ants. If you can still purchase it where you live, great! (07/20/2005)
Use a paste of meat tenderizer and water. Put on any insect bite several times until itching stops. This will work very well. The bite will flatten out within minutes and the itching will soon stop. Always keep some handy in your kitchen. Works great! (07/20/2005)
By Dee
As a small child, I found out placing a small amount of my saliva (spit) on my finger and then on the itch from the bite caused it to cease itching. Don't know why this works and it only works if you don't scratch it first. Just intuitive I guess. (07/20/2005)
By Joan
I too had been attacked by sand fleas. I can hardly stand the itch. It kept me up awake at night. I researched all the remedies. I tried Cortisone, Benadryl, nail polish remover, even Purell to stop the itch. Nothing worked. I saw Aprilmay's suggestion of putting toothpaste (not gel) on my itch. Amazingly it worked! Thanks I was able to get some sleep. (08/01/2007)
By sunset
I would just like to say that the scotch tape does not work for me. However, I do have a very bad reaction to insect bites, they get very large red and itchy. Nail polish remover helped a little, and toothpaste helped a little. I am going to also take an antihistamine pill, because I know that will help a little. Hopefully anyone out there like me with bad reactions to bites will find some of this useful. (02/09/2008)
By mandy
I was SO tired of flea bites from my yard years ago and making scabs from the scratching, I decided to wet my bite area and put Salt on and rub to relieve the itch so my skin wouldn't get scabbed. To my amazement, the itch and flea bite went away in 5 minutes (mosquito bites take about 10 min). I have never had another scab from scratching those kind of bites again. In summer it's a good idea to carry salt packets with you when going on an outing. (06/12/2008)
By Elly
I recently played sand volleyball with a friend and have well over 60 bites on my feet, ankles and legs. They itch so bad that even taking two Benadryl, I could not fall asleep. My friends dad is a nurse and said to take Zyrtec (it has a different compound than Benadryl) and to rub cucumber slices on it. I haven't done the cucumber slices yet.
I have done a combo of:
Zyrtec (amazing)
Ibuprofen
Hydricortizone cream
spray on Benadryl
Oatmeal bath
Working together they keep the itch down. Just try not to touch them otherwise it can become more irritated. (09/02/2008)
By Kelly
check out Neem oil or powder all natural stuff Neem/coconut oil:mosquito repellent
By viv
Try applying juice from a small piece of cut onion (applied at least 3 - 4 times day) at least for mosquito bites. It works great! The more often you apply, the sooner the bite disappears (usually in a few days). (06/19/2009)
I've recently found an instant solution to insect bites. My fiance has been overwhelmed with insect bites that develop into severe welts accompanied by itching which is almost unstoppable. I'm a believer in the baking soda, vinegar, Benadryl remedies, but all had virtually no effect. I remembered my [automotive] vacuum pump and within 1 minute, the insect venom was removed. No venom = no welt, no redness = no itching. So now I take it with us in the car and apply immediately when finishing our walk. The insect injects and I remove.
By Cajun
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