Five Natural Ant Bite Remedies

And the Worst Mother of the Year Award goes to….yours truly.

Because I let this happen to my poor sweet baby…

His hands and legs covered in ant bites. Poor baby!

…while I was bringing in groceries from the car yesterday. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to what he was doing. He likes to grab handfuls of dirt and throw them into the air. Only this time he was grabbing handfuls of angry ants…

He didn’t even cry! Seriously, no tears. The only alarm he gave was one high-pitched yell. I looked over and saw him with a frantic, pained expression on his face, and I ran over to him. His hands, shoes, and part of his legs were covered in little black ants!

Bless his heart, he was still grabbing handfuls of ant pile, not knowing what was causing the pain. I grabbed him and ran to the bathroom.

I got him into the bathtub, stripped his clothes off, and removed all the ants from his body with water from the shower hose. By the time I finished, he was happily splashing water around the tub like nothing had happened.

If that had happened to me, you can bet I’d be crying…

He was in a great mood today in spite of the ant bites.

After washing him off, flushing the ants down the shower drain, and putting his wet clothes and shoes in the washing machine, I did a little research on how to treat ant bites naturally.

Here are five natural ant bite remedies for you to try:

Rinse the affected area with cool water and a gentle soap. You should do this first, immediately after the ant attack.
Gently rub vinegar on the bites. Apple cider vinegar is an especially good option. This helps reduce swelling, itching, and irritation, and helps keep the area clean. This is what I did with Elijah and it was all that he seemed to need. I rubbed ACV into his bites about three times a day, and he never seemed to complain about pain or itching. Either I have one tough little kid, or ACV is miracle juice. (Thanks for this suggestion, Papaw!)
Make a paste using 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/8 water, and 1 tsp sea salt. The paste should have the consistency of toothpaste. Apply to the bites for itch relief.
Plain cooked oatmeal, applied warm or cool, provides relief from swelling and itching.
This may seem crazy, but if you’re a nursing mom, spread breastmilk on the bites. Breastmilk has antibacterial and healing properties and works wonders on all types of infections, cuts, and bites. I tried it and it seemed to soothe him. It certainly won’t hurt!

Many people wonder if they should pop ant bites when they swell and form those tight little pustules. In general, the answer is no. Popping the bite will open the wound up to infection and take longer to heal. If you can stand it, it’s best to just let them be.

However, if you just can’t stand the itchiness and have to pop them, do it gently! Use and sharp needle doused in alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or vinegar. Try not to scratch excessively. You don’t want those bad boys to leave scars.

For more information on how to treat ant bites naturally, check out these links: