If you feel like a mosquito magnet, take heart. There's a quick fix that works nearly as well as many DEET-containing repellents. Mix 2 drops of clove essential oil into 2 teaspoons of your favorite unscented lotion and apply to bite-prone areas like ankles. The warm, sweet scent repels mosquitoes for hours.
Five Natural Remedies for Summer Bug Bites and Rashes
Now that summer is officially here we get to enjoy the hot, sweaty weather and the bug bites and rashes that come with it. But you can beat warm weather health hassles with a few natural, convenient, and inexpensive remedies you likely already have at home.
Deter Mosquitoes With Clove Oil
Or Plant Catnip
Make your yard a mosquito-free zone by planting catnip in your garden. A member of the mint family, catnip contains an oil called nepetalactone that repels 50 percent more mosquitoes than DEET.
Prevent Poison Ivy Rash With Dish Soap
If you accidentally grab a poison ivy shoot while weeding, you don't have to suffer through itching and irritation. Thoroughly washing the exposed skin with Dawn, Joy, or Palmolive dish soap cuts your risk of developing a rash by 60 percent — the degreasing compounds break down the plant's rash-producing oils so they rinse clean.
Or Apply a Vinegar Compress
Pressing an apple cider vinegar-soaked cloth to your skin for 2 minutes also breaks down the itch-inducing oils.
Soothe Itchy Feet With a Black Tea Soak
Soaking your feet in black tea can eliminate itchy athlete's foot in just days — the tea's tannic acid kills infection-causing fungi. Steep six tea bags in a quart of hot water, let cool, pour into a basin, and soak feet for 30 minutes. Treat 6 or 7 days as needed.
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