The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Ruth (Coral Springs, Florida) on 10/02/2012
★★★★★
Recently I got red ant bites. It was quite uncomfortable and the best relief was the suggsestion I got on your website to soak your feet in apple cider vinegar.
Papaya
Posted by Apollo (West Palm Beach, Florida) on 09/28/2012
★★★★★
Papaya placed on the fire ant bite takes the sting and itching away and if done within minutes of getting bit, the bite will not blister. You can buy a papaya fruit and cut it into cubes and freeze it. This way it is always on hand to put on a bite.
Heat
Posted by Miyo (Hilo, Hawaii) on 09/23/2012
★★★★★
little fire ants are invading the islands. I thank the person who suggested hot water--yes it works immediately and relief lasts 4-5 hours. I also found that your hair dryer does the same thing (tested it several times). At the first bite, grab your dryer right away and the heat seems to disperse the histamine that causes the pain and itch. It has to be hot enough without scalding.
Heat
Posted by Bev (Temecula, Ca) on 08/14/2012
★★★★★
I tried the hot water treatment. Sitting here reading your site because I was too itchy to drive to the store for benedryl, I remembered that using hot water on poison oak worked so I tried it again and .... it WORKED. Thank you for the reminder. The itching and pain are gone, the swelling in my feet and ankles is still there but now I'm going to try the vinegar bath. Thanks again!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Miah (Durham, Nc) on 08/08/2012
★★★★★
It worked awesomely for my fire ant sting! Soaked my foot in apple cider vinegar 2 days post sting. The burning and swelling were intense prior to soaking. Afterwards I could walk without limping! Even went for my usual run! The vinegar drew it all out of my tissues and now I just have a huge blister. Not painful anymore at all. A little itchy but that's it. The blister is too big to pop so it's not red or painful and just clear. I'm leaving it alone...
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Jennifer (Manchester, Tn) on 07/23/2012
★★★★★
I was bitten by fire ants on my feet and ankles and several yellow jacket stings all in one afternoon out on the farm. I treated immediately with cortisone cream and benedryl but relief was temporary at best. Itching and pistules with an area of redness and swelling extending several inches from the bites. Read your response on using cider vinegar. Dabbed that on and got immediate relief. Thank you for your advice.
Fresh Lemon Juice
Posted by Aeiver (New Braunfels, Tx, USA) on 04/08/2012
★★★★★
I learned this remedy from a lady from Panama. She advised me to rub a fresh lemon slice on fire ant bites. For me the relief is instantaneous. Also, a pustule does not form. A co-worker came to work complaining of fire ant bites she had gotten several hours earlier that were still burning. There was no lemon available, so she rubbed her bites with some orange slices. She reported the bites felt better immediately. I am guessing that lime would be equally effective.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Stephanie B. (Fort Worth, Texas) on 02/29/2012
★★★★★
Thank you! 3am and I wake up because of a stupid fire ant bite AGAIN on the second toe on my left foot. I think the ants put a GPS locater on me, always the same spot, but this they were fancy and bit between the toes. Read these posts, ran to the kitchen and all I could find was seasoned spice vinegar. I smell like Asian food but relief was immediate! Thank you!!
Tiger Balm
Posted by Michael (Fort Pierce, Florida, Usa) on 12/09/2011
★★★★☆
I was bitten in eleven places on the top of my foot and ankle. It is now some 10 days to two weeks later and 2 days ago I still had pustules and the itching began to increase. Sites I looked at said they should go away in 72 hours. I had no other allergic reactions. I used a sterilized pin to lance the pustules. I put on antibiotic ointments, sprayed it with Bactine, soaked my feet with bath salts. Nothing worked. I had thought about Tiger Balm, but thought it was somehow counterintuitive, you know, it has menthol & gives off heat. I never gave vinegar of either kind a thought. Today, frustrated with the lack of any healing response, I googled the issue and when I saw the one about Tiger Balm, something clicked. So I put some on. It worked almost immediately to relieve the burning and itching. The swelling has gone down too. The red spots haven't gone away yet, but there's hope. I may use Apple Cider Vinegar tomorrow in conjunction (intermittently) with Tiger Balm. At least it reduced the symptoms.
Campfire Ashes or Strong Soap
Posted by Tina Sumner (Washougal, Wa) on 09/07/2011
★★★★★
that is so tru this works sooo well I did this with my youngest as well it was a miracle worker
Campfire Ashes or Strong Soap
Posted by Hannah (Tyler, Tx) on 01/31/2011
★★★★★
My son (who was not even two at the time) stood in a fire ant pile. I could not even count how many stings he had. I didn't know what to do!! Without thinking I started rubbing campfire ashes all over his legs. He stopped crying and didn't act like they hurt so bad the rest of the trip. sorry for my bad spelling! thank you! No one believed me that it helped him!
hannah
Oil of Oregano
Posted by Greg (Fort Worth, Texas) on 11/15/2010
★★★★★
Oil of Oregano!!! I discovered this amazing essential oil about a year ago and I'm constantly amazed at the ailments it cures! I got about 10 fire ant bites a few years ago and they lingered with white centers for about 2 weeks, then took another month to heal, leaving a small scar. I got 7 bites 3 days ago out on a job. I came home 3 hours later and put oil of oregano on them. The itching disappeared immediately. The bites turned white in the center by the next day, but I kept applying the oil morning and night. By evening of day 3, white centers were gone! I'm anticipating total healing within days, not weeks! Maybe even less or no scar! There's many other uses for this natural antibiotic also!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Laura (Denton, Tx) on 09/18/2009
★★★★★
I'm allergic to fire ant bites, and my foot was swollen and sore for 3 days. I tried everything. I remembered that apple cider vinegar works wonders for a million other things, so I tried it on a lark. Instantly, my foot felt better and the swelling went down within minutes. Apple cider vinegar works is a miracle home remedy for treating fire ant bites!!!
Tiger Balm
Posted by Deirdre (Atlanta, Georgia) on 07/01/2009
★★★★★
On the subject of fire ant bite remedies, a few weeks ago I was in the garden weeding and pulled out an enormous weed and with it, hundreds of fire ants. They bit me all over my hand and wrist in less than an instant. I went in and tried rubbing soap on the bites after reading the few cures we have for fire ant bites on Earth Clinic, but it didn't work. After that I decided to try tiger balm, my favorite remedy for mosquito bite itch. 10 minutes after applying the balm, the bites stopped stinging. I forgot all about them and a few hours later when I checked my hand, there were no signs whatsoever that I had ever been bitten!
White Vinegar
Posted by Aileen (Victoria, Texas) on 08/19/2008
★★★★★
I agree with Ann, white vinegar for ant bites works wonderfully. I am allergic to ant bites too and also mosquito bites and everytime I get bit I apply white vinegar or apple cider vinegar immediately. I can feel the relief right away. I have used shaving cream, calamine lotion and hidrocortisone but the vinegar seems to neutralize the venom right away and the itching and swelling is gone faster.
Benzoyl Peroxide
Posted by Julie (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 07/29/2008
★★★★★
Another thing that can work really fast for ant bites is benzoyl peroxide (Clearasil or similar products). Just dab on, and repeat later-usually works within a day or two; will take the itching away fast. Also works for spider bites, and other types of skin bumps.
White Vinegar
Posted by CORA (CONROE, TX) on 12/12/2007
★★★★★
WHITE VINEGAR FOR ANT BITES. I AM ALLERGIC TO ANT BITES AND SWELL ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. I PUT WHITE VINEGAR ON THEM AND IT TAKES THE SWELLING AND ITCHING RIGHT OUT.
Campfire Ashes or Strong Soap
Posted by Nsmith (Douglasville, Ga) on 05/11/2009
★★★★★
SOAP, ANY BAR OF SOAP, This is a remedy my greatgrand mother used on us for generations. Take a bar of soap barely wet the tip of it. Massage rub it in circles into the insect bites until the soap starts drying up or feels like a sticky film. That part is very important to do, 5 mins instant relief. Very soothing and no itching.
Campfire Ashes or Strong Soap
Posted by Donna (Port Huron, MI) on 12/14/2008
★★★★★
We go backpacking in remote areas where we are far from medical help and must deal with problems immediately. One night I woke up to find half my face red and swollen from red ant bites. Ants inject formic acid which causes the pain in nerve endings. If the formic acid is neutralized immediately, the pain is much less. First I applied a baking soda paste from my first aid kit but without much relief. Then I used ashes from the campfire. The relief was rapid and I didn't feel any more pain. We were in Hawaii in Dec where I was bitten by about 50 fire ants...much more painful than any other insect bite I have ever had. We didn't have any baking soda or ashes and I wanted to treat it immediately. In a hotel room, there are few options, but I found the strongest soap that I could and lathered myself for about 20 minutes in the shower. The soap neutralized the acid and the water from the shower diluted the acid. The pain left almost instantly. I attribute the success of this to being treated in less than 2 minutes. Three places that I missed had swellings about 2 1/2" across. I would not have wanted to have 50 welts like that on my body.
