Look: There are two types of people in this world. The lucky majority that never gets bitten by bugs and insects and the unlucky few that are continuously a target! Moreover, if you are reading this, it means you are the unlucky type that’s always victim to bug bites.
However, you can always count on using essential oils for bug bites to soothe the pain and itchiness! Here’s the secret you might not know… Some people ARE in fact more likely to get bitten than others because of certain chemicals in their body and skin! Just think about it: You are having a wondrous time out with your friends and family, and you keep feeling something biting on you where your skin is exposed.
Our Top Recommendation for Essential Oils For Bug Bites!
- This Basil essential oil is a 100% Pure highly concentrated and should be handled with care.
- Basil Essential oil has a fresh, herbaceous aroma.
- 100% Pure Basil Essential Oil, USDA Certified Organic & Highly Concentrated.
No. You are not crazy! It is the little insects and bugs that are biting. The truth is that unlike your friends, you might be producing more lactic acid or releasing more CO2 than they are! However, there are essential oils for bug bites that can help overcome this problem! Okay, so now let’s get down to business:
10 Best Essential Oils For Bug Bites
1. Basil (Ocimum)
In modern society, everyone knows what basils are. We all know what people use them for, however, most would never guess that there are a lot more significant uses for basils.
What is Basil?
The Ocimum basilicum species of basil is a member of the Lamiaceae family. It is a pleasant smelling shrub which has quite many health benefits.
The plant basil has been a well-known plant used in India for a wide array of things such as disinfecting the air which we address below.
What Are The Health Benefits of Basil Essential Oils?
It is a fantastic mood elevator and has been proven to be an excellent antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral oil. The Basil (Ocimum Basilicum L) is also traditionally used in the treatment of various ails of the body such as intestinal issues and malfunctioning kidneys. Basils are also useful in the treatment of many respiratory diseases. It is also an especially helpful oil for insect bites because of its success in recent studies as an excellent antioxidant and antimicrobial oil. It is useful for soothing irritations and preventing infections. Which in turn suggests that it is an excellent essential oil for bee stings and other bug bites. Not only that, but basil essential oil has also shown useful in the control of bugs and insects and has proven that it is also an excellent repellent.
2. Camphor (Cinnamomum Camphora)
What is Camphor?
Camphor is a tree that is native to Eastern Asia and is used for its oil and timber. It is widely known for its strong smell and is commonly seen in the form of camphor balls.
What Are The Health Benefits of Camphor Essential Oil?
Camphor is a close relative of cinnamon the camphor oil has been in use since ancient times as a natural treatment for many sicknesses. More commonly to treat pain, inflammation, and irritations. As such, the camphor essential oil is an excellent natural remedy for bug and insect bites that cause pain, irritation or inflammation of the skin.
3. Chamomile (Matricaria Recutita, Chamaemelum Nobile)
What is Chamomile?
Chamomile is a known herb that has been used widely for many centuries and is full of incredible healing properties. Chamomile is regularly used as a tea which acts as a relaxing sleep aid. Many also use it traditionally for colds, stomach ails, and fevers. There are Two common types of chamomile used for health purposes: Romain Chamomile also is known as Chamaemelum nobile and the German Chamomile known as Matricaria Recutita.
What Are The Health Benefits of Chamomile Essential Oil?
Chamomile can be added to some skin care items such as lotions, oils, and creams. The soothing effect of the chamomile oil is excellent in helping to reduce itching and irritation from insect and bug bites. Recent studies have also proven that using chamomile can also improve the healing time of lesions. It is also able to reduce pain and inflammation of the skin drastically.
4. Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
What is Lavender?
Lavender is a flowering plant of the Lamiaceae family of plants. It is commonly known as the English lavender but is not native to England instead; it is to the Mediterranean. Lavender is a very fragrant shrub that often can grow up to 2 meters tall. The flowers of the lavender plant are usually pinkish-purple.
What Are The Health Benefit of Lavender Essential Oil?
Lavender essential oil is used commonly in massage therapy and many household products such as lotions, soaps, and bath oils. The Lavender oil is one of the more popular essential oils on the market. Moreover, has incredible benefits for your health. It has become a top choice for the treatment of bug bites. Unlike many other oils of this nature, the lavender essential oil can be applied directly to the area of an insect bite without cause any adverse reactions. Also, because of its health properties, it offers natural soothing relief from nearly any type of bug bites, whether it is from spiders, fire ants, bee stings or mosquito bites.
5. Mint (Mentha spp.)
What is Mint?
Mint is also a part of the Lamiaceae family. There are a wide array of mint species which grow depending on the temperature of the region it is in such as Europe, Asia, and Africa.
What Are The Health Benefits of Mint Essential Oil?
With its diverse species, mint essential oils can vary in uses. The critical effects that mint oils have is its potent antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, antifungal, and analgesic properties. It is also useful in relieving muscle spasms and improving digestion.(7)Because of the many health benefits of mint oils, it offers a great relief of calming and cooling the skin when applied topically it also acts as a natural repellent to keep away prospective insects from biting you.
6. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
What is Rosemary?
Rosemary plant is a woody herb with fragrant evergreen pointy leaves. The rosemary herb is a resilient plant that can often withstand droughts for extended periods. The rosemary plant is native to the Mediterranean. The plant is commonly seen growing with purple or blue flowers.
What Are The Health Benefits of Rosemary Essential Oil?
The rosemary oil is known for its abundant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It is commonly used to help improve memory, as a hair thickener and is also excellent in reducing pain. However, because of how potent the rosemary essential oil is, we recommend diluting the oil first to prevent any adverse side effects from occurring. We recommend rosemary oils in cases where you are in pain from an insect bite as the essential oil helps to lessen pain significantly.
7. Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)
One of the more popular oils on the market is the Tea Tree Oil. Its primary applications have historically capitalized on the antiseptic and anti-inflammatory actions of the oil. Tea Tree Essential Oil is suggested by recent studies to be very useful for reducing pain, swelling and itching. Moreover, its antiseptic properties make it a great in the prevention of bacterial infections that are caused by bug bites. However, be warned that tea tree oil is toxic if used internally and should only ever be applied externally.
8. Thyme
This plant is also a close relative of the mint family that also has its health benefits that are useful in some instances. Thyme is a common spice that can be used in cooking but is also an excellent natural remedy which can be used to correct hormone imbalances and to treat fungal infections. Thyme essential oil can be helpful for the prevention of infections from bug bites, and as a topical treatment to scratch wounds.
9. Neem (Azadirachta indica)
Neem is a tree in the mahogany family which is native to the Indian subcontinent. Neem is a healthy medicinal tree that has many health benefits. Neem products are believed to be antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial. As such they have proven to be very useful in treating conditions of the skin. Traditionally neem leaves were boiled with different herbs and spices. They were used to cleanse the body of many issues such as acne and fungus. The neem essential oil especially is an excellent product that helps with bug bites by reducing inflammation and prevents bacteria from infecting the wound.
10. Clove
What Are Cloves?
Cloves are used in cuisine as a spice in various dishes. It is a part of a tree in the Myrtaceae family of plans called the Syzygium aromaticum. The tree is native to Maluku Islands in Indonesia. However, it has since been introduced to certain tropical countries around the world.
What Are Clove Essential Oils And The Health Benefits?
Traditionally, cloves oil has been in use in Indian Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and also in western herbalism as a painkiller. Cloves have a naturally minty and camphorous smell that can be useful in repelling several species of bugs. Also, because of its anti-inflammatory and analgesic compound eugenol which is shown to reverse inflammation and cellular oxidation. Cloves were shown to be helpful in relieving symptoms of bug bites such as itching, pain, and swelling.
What Are Bug/Insect Bites?
Believe it or not, there are a few million different species of insects and bugs that might bite you at some point in your life. So frankly, everyone will be bitten or stung one way or another. As such, it is imperative to know what bit you and be able to identify what type of bug bite it was. According to the experts, insect bites are small puncture wounds or lacerations made by insects on the body.
Insects may choose to bite or sting you for a few different reasons such as:
- When they are defending themselves.
- When they are agitated.
- When they wish to feed.
What Are The Symptoms And Types of Bug Bites?
It is relatively easy to identify insect or bug bites. Signs or symptoms usually show themselves in the form of:
- Blisters
- Inflammation
- Redness
- Swelling
- Pain
- Itching
- Irritation of the skin
The most common types of bug and insect bites are from: Mosquitos, Flies, Fleas, Chiggers, Spiders, Bed Bugs, and Lice. You may also be stung by a bee, hornet, yellow jacket, wasps or fire ants. Insects such as a bee are less likely to bite you unless it is agitated. There are many other insects and bug which are less likely to attack you if you do not provoke them.
Using Essential Oils For Bug Bites
Essential oils are an exceptional and completely natural remedy for soothing bites and stings from these little critters. Each essential oil has its unique qualities that act as counterirritants and spurs the skin to produce special soothing effects. Now, you are probably wondering…
What Exactly is an Essential Oil?
According to Wikipedia, essential oils are characterized as a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are created by either extracting or distilling specific parts of each plant. This practice has been used for thousands of years and has evolved from the traditional method of soaking the plant’s leaves, flowers, bark or the roots that are required in oils after which the oil is filtered out using linen bags. Essential oils are now becoming a viral trend in modern society as they are a natural health remedy for many ailments. The uses of essential oils range from personal care, aromatherapy, all the way to household and car cleaning products. Also, because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, these essential oils are an excellent solution to fixing most if not all of our insect bite problems. From repellents to skin soothers just a drop of a essential oil can have incredible and immediate benefits to your situation.
What Are The Best Essential Oils For Mosquito Bites?
Mosquitos are one of the most annoying and persistent insects. They will bite nearly everyone at some point. Especially if you have an outdoor outing to attend, you are sure that you will be bitting by these annoying blood-sucking bugs. As such knowing which essential oil for mosquito bites is the best is a great thing. Thankfully there are different oils available specifically for the treatment of mosquito bites. Our top picks for the best essential oil to use for mosquito bites would be Tea Tree Oil. As Tea Tree Oil is an excellent anti-inflammatory product, it is useful in treating the itchiness caused by the fluid that mosquitoes spit on your skin. We also recommend using Mint, Clove or basil essential oil as a repellent to prevent mosquito bites before they bite you.
What Are The Best Essential Oils For Spider Bites?
Spider bites are among the more trickier wounds to deal with as most times a spider that bites you has some form of venom. In many cases, the venom from such a spider can kill you very quickly if you do not seek immediate medical assistance. However, there is still a place to use essential oils for spider bites. From our research, most persons have found that using Lavender oil or Tea Tree oil is more helpful than the others for spider bites. Because of the soothing properties, Lavender will help reduce pain and irritation in the skin from a spider bite. The best part is that Lavender is one of the few essential oils that can be applied directly to the skin without any other oils.
What Are The Best Essential Oils For Fire Ant Bites?
All insects and bugs that bite cause pain. However, we know for a fact that fire ant bites are among the most painful and annoying bug bites to receive. The worst part about bites from fire ants is that they cause severe itching and after a few days will be filled with pus if not treated correctly. Bites from fire ants can, in turn, lead to infections which we are sure you would love to avoid. As such, we recommend using a mint essential oil; peppermint, in particular, is possibly the best oil to use for fire ant bites. Persons have also mentioned that Lavender and Tea Tree Oil is useful in the treatment of fire ant bites.
What Are The Best Essential Oils For Tick Bites?
Have you ever been bitten by ticks? Alternatively, did you think only dogs have this problem? You could not be any more wrong as we are sure you would know if you are reading this. Ticks do not differentiate between Man or animals. They only want blood and will do anything to get it. They bite anywhere, and the worst part is unlike other insects that may bite you and scurry away. Ticks stick to your skin and continuously suck blood from you until they get big enough and fall off. The best Essential oil for tick bites would be Tea Tree Oil. You can also use Lemon Grass or Basil Essential oil as an alternative to treat tick bites. Tea Tree Oil as an essential anti-inflammatory oil can be used to reduce the itchiness and redness that is left by tick bites. Basil oil has strong antimicrobial effects which can be used to cleanse the wound from the tick after removal.
What is The Best Essential Oil For a Bee Sting?
It is very rare for someone to be bitten by a bee. However, we have had it happen before and if you are reading this then maybe you have as well. Bee’s in most cases are busy collecting nectar from the flowers that surround us. They will not go out of their way to sting you unless they are provoked. If you accidentally aggravate a bee and got stung: Here are the essential oils that we know would work best: Basil, Lavender, and Tea Tree. Basil, because of its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties can help reduce pain and bacterial infections that may be caused by a bee sting. Lavender and Tea Tree oil can also be helpful in reducing the pain and itchiness that is produced after you get stung by a bee. OK, We are nearly done, but We know you would be interested in our closing points.
How to Prevent Bug Bites With Essential Oils?
Do not Scratch Bug Bites as the itching will become worse! Use essential oils instead.
Being bitten by bugs is a routine part of life. It is just something that we have to learn to live with as it’s inescapable. However, here’s the thing: Bug Bites need not happen with the use of essential oils We recommend that persons that plan to go outdoors always use essential oils that act as a natural repellent. You can also wear long clothing to cover most of your skin which will help reduce your odds. We also recommend that persons with sensitive skin walk with their favorite essential oil to immediately rub on their skin after they have been bitten. Stay Safe, and use essential oils!