By Katie, Contributing Writer
Summer days are here at last! School is out and kids are enjoying every last bit of daylight spending as much time outside as possible. Gardens are in and starting to bear fruit. Warm summer nights are spent catching lighting bugs and visiting with friends in the late evening over glasses of iced mint tea.
Sounds perfect, right? Unfortunately, lighting bugs aren’t the only little critters out. Bugs are everywhere you go in these hot summer months. If it’s not mosquitoes then, it’s chiggers; if it’s not chiggers, then it’s….well, you get the picture.
When you are going to be outside then you might want to think about using Nina’s Homemade Insect Repellent. If you forget or, for some reason it doesn’t work, then keeping this bug bite salve on hand is a must. It is a simple blend of herbs, oil and bees wax that heals your bug bites in no time.
**Don’t want to make it? Grab some in our store!**
The Herbs
- Plantain– This plant draws out poisons and soothes the skin.
- Echinacea- This king of herbs relieves itching from bug bite and promotes healing.
- Lavender- This fragrant flower repels insects and reduces swelling.
- Olive Oil– Rich in Vitamin E and has anti-inflammatory properties.
- Coconut oil– Has antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties.
Bug Bite Salve
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Dried Plantain Leaf
1/4 cup Dried Echinacea Purpurea Leaf
1/4 cup Dried Echinacea Purpurea Root
1/4 cup Dried Lavender Flower
2 cups coconut and/or olive oil
8oz (1/2 cup) bee’s wax
Directions:
1. Add all your ingredients to a crock pot and turn it on to the lowest setting. Leave for two to three days. (Note: Because my crock pot tends to get rather hot, I periodically check on it and turn it off at night.)
2. After three days you will have an herb-infused oil. Strain out all the herbs. You can do this by using a stainless steel stainer or a cheese cloth. I use both. The cheese cloth allows you to squeeze out as much of the herb oil as possible.
3. Pour your herb infused oil back into the crock pot and turn it medium heat.
4. Slowly stir in about 4 TBS of beeswax pastilles. Once the beeswax pastilles are completely melted, pour into a container of your choice.
**Don’t want to make it? Grab some in our store!**
Have you ever tried a bug bite salve? Did it help?
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This is going to go on my to-do list! We like using lavender essential oil directly on the bug bite, but this sounds like a great alternative, too. Thanks for sharing!
~ Stephanie
Ok- so I thought I would be making this tonight. Can I use fresh plantain leaves and fresh lavender? I have both growing my garden.
[…] me at Modern Alternative Health to learn […]
[…] I was searching online for the bug spray, I found a recipe for Bug Bite Salve and decided to try making it as well. We haven’t had to use it much on bug bites but this is an […]
I just requested this very salve from the lady a few towns over. I bought it from her last year and have used almost all of it up. I spent all summer hiking and not a single bug problem. My friends were spraying store stuff and coming to me within an hour begging for salve! When I told her what i was looking for she said, “that stuff worked?”. I was shocked because it was the best stuff! She said she would make some and ship it to me, but i might just be making my own – especially since I need to share with my friends 🙂