8 Ways to Finally Get Rid of Painful Mosquito Bites

Alcohol (but not the fun kind)

We have good news and bad news. The good news is that alcohol offers a quick and convenient method of making your itching go away. The bad news is that we’re not talking about your favorite seltzer. In this case, you need to grab some pure alcohol from your friendly neighborhood pharmacy.

Once you have the right alcohol, all you have to do is put a small bit of it on some cotton and then dab the cotton on your bites. You’ll probably be surprised at just how quickly the pain goes away!

Tea tree oil

Using tea tree oil to treat your mosquito bites couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do is apply a small bit directly to the infected area and wait for the pain to go away. And as an added bonus, though, tea tree oil has plenty of uses that have nothing to do with mosquitoes.

When you have this oil in your medicine box, you’ll be ready for just about anything. This magical oil is great for treating everything from zits to lice to stinky feet. The only downside is the smell, which you can fix by just adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil to change the scent.

Salt

Okay, we get that using salt for a mosquito bite sounds crazy. After all, you’ve heard all your life about how you shouldn’t rub salt in a wound. However, simply scrubbing your bites with salt can ease your pain, though this process requires a bit of patience.

Why patience? Simply put, after you wet the area and scrub it with salt, you need to leave the salt on your skin for a few minutes before you rinse it off with warm water. During those minutes, your skin may sting, but after you rinse, you should be free of pain altogether. And salt is a natural exfoliant, so your skin should look and feel quite fresh when you’re done!

Banana peel (no, really)

Once you eat a banana, there are only so many things you can do with the peel. Most people simply toss the peel into the garbage, but that should be your last move if you’ve been bitten by a mosquito. That’s because the inside of the peel is a surprising source of relief for inflamed skin.

Seriously: just rub the inside of the peel on your bites and the itchiness will go away. This is because of the sugars inside the peel that help remove the moisture from the bite. Reducing the moisture reduces the pain, making this by far the tastiest method of dealing with unwanted bites.

Aloe vera

We love it when something we already have in the medicine cabinet ends up having other uses. For example, anyone who is worried about painful sunburns likely already has aloe vera in the house. And it turns out that aloe is just as good at tackling your mosquito bites as it is at easing your sunburn pain.

Just apply the aloe vera to the area where you were bitten. It helps to cool your skin off and seriously reduce that itching sensation. Also, be honest: did you already scratch your skin raw trying to find relief? In that case, aloe vera should be your first choice for a solution because it can help your skin heal much quicker than it otherwise would.

Ice cubes

Most of the techniques on this list are designed for people who, like us, don’t know they have been bitten by mosquitoes until the pain kicks in. However, if you notice the exact moment that you are bitten, you may be able to prevent itchy pain with nothing more than some ice cubes.

Take your ice cubes and pop them into a tea towel or your favorite flannel. Hold the cubes to the bite for a minimum of 20 minutes. During this time, the painful swelling will naturally reside. And until it does, the coldness of the cubes will protect you from unwanted pain.

Toothpaste

Look, we’re going to level with you: toothpaste isn’t exactly our first choice when it comes to combating mosquito bites. However, you never know when you’re going to get bit, and it’s good to know you always have a solution on hand that won’t require you to make a trip to the store.

This method works best if your toothpaste has peppermint in it. Simply put a bit of it on the affected area and wait for the paste to dry. By the time it does, your pain should be gone! By the way, you can also use a similar technique for unwanted pimples. Just apply the paste, let it dry, and watch as your skin clears up in no time!

Apple cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is one of the best ways to fight painful mosquito bites, and there are multiple ways you can use it. The first is to simply apply a bit of vinegar directly to the infected areas. If the pain goes away, then you should be good to go.

If the pain persists, though, that doesn’t mean you have to stop using the vinegar. You just need to change your technique: instead of putting it on your bites, put two or three cups of vinegar into your bathwater before you take a soak. This helps rid your entire body of unwanted bites, though you may want to take a shower right after your bath to remove the vinegar smell from your body.