15 Bee Sting Home Remedies & Tips
29 Comments 
Getting stung by a bee is no fun and the pain can last for a few hours, here are a bunch of home remedies for pain relief as well as some interesting tips and bits of info.
First make sure the stinger is removed (look for a black spot in the bite area), do this immediately as it can reduce the amount of venom released into the body.
At one time it was thought that you had to scrape it out (with something like a blunt knife or plastic edge) but you can effectively use tweezers to pull it out.
Wash the stung area with soap and water then try a remedy or treatment below for pain relief. Technically it’s a sting rather than a “bite”, but I used bite below to describe the injured area.
- Make a paste of meat tenderizer and water or baking soda and water–apply to bite.
- Sprinkle generously with baking soda then drizzle some drops of vinegar over the baking soda to make it fizz. Leave on skin until pain is gone.
- Cover with a dot of mustard.
- Make a thick paste of meat tenderizer and vinegar, apply to area.
- Cover with honey and reapply as needed for pain.
- Dab with a generous amount of toothpaste and leave on the wound.
- Apply ice or an ice pack.
- Soak in Epsom salt and water or make paste and apply.
- Apply Aloe Vera.
- Chew a plantain leaf then apply the macerated leaf onto the bite.
- Crush fresh parsley and apply to wound.
- Crush fresh basil leaves and apply.
- Drizzle apple cider vinegar over the wound.
- Apply a slice of fresh papaya.
- Dab on a bit of deodorant.
Symptoms:
A normal reaction to a bee sting is to experience pain and itchiness, redness and swelling. Pain will last for a few hours then should disappear.
If the following occurs, seek medical advice:
- If it stung inside your nose or mouth (the swelling will affect breathing).
- If you were stung several times by many bees.
- If you have difficulty breathing or your breathing seems to have been affected.
- Your tongue begins to swell.
- You experience dizziness.
- You experience blurry vision.
- You feel nauseous.
- Your speech is slurred or you find it difficult to talk.
- Hives or a rash appears (especially in an area away from the bite).
- The stung area swells alarmingly large.
If the reaction seems severe (especially if breathing is affected), don’t hesitate to call medical emergency services as the victim may be experiencing an allergic reaction that can trigger anaphylactic shock.
Tip Bits
Daisy Flower
Simple logic: To avoid being stung by a bee, avoid attracting them. Bright clothing, fragrances from hair sprays, perfumes and cosmetic products as well as sweet foods like soda pop, fruits and syrups can attract them.
If you don’t appear to be aggressive or startle them–chances are one won’t sting you. If one lands on you or is near you, hold still until it loses interest and flies away. Rapid movement and swatting will signal the bee that you’re ready for a fight so if you’re going to scream with arms flailing–make sure you outrun it 
.
- Tip: If one lands on you, blowing gently on it will help convince it that it’s time to move along.
Did you know: Pickings are slim in the Fall when bees are busy looking for flowers, fruits and plants that haven’t yet died off or harvested for the season. When you’re wearing bright clothing and smelling pretty while much of the vegetation they depend on are gone, it might think he hit the jackpot with the largest, loveliest flower of all (you).
Why Do They Die After Stinging?
When a bee stings, the stinger is torn from its body and left in the victim’s skin (the stinger is the tool that releases the venom). It basically disembowels the poor critter and it cannot survive. Because of this, they will only sting when they feel a threat (to themselves, their hive or to the queen bee).
Even though they can be intimidating, they are very much needed to help our plants and flowers flourish (and to make delicious honey for us to enjoy).
Please Note: None of the information above is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, it’s provided for general knowledge purposes only.
Does the mustard thing also work with mosquito bites…or just bee stings?
I’m not sure Kim :dunno:. The information I had on that just mentioned bees, sorry
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Are you looking for something to help take the itch away for mosquito bites? I’m pretty sure I have some info for that, I’ll try digging it up and posting it this week
. UPDATE: I made a list of mosquito bite itch relief tips here.
I have also heard that if you put a cross on your itching insect bites it will stop itching
(i have tryed this and it has worked for me)
yesterday I bit by 8 bees I try every thing it says in this page non of them worked.
I have really pain because of the itching and burning sensation.
Mud!
It sounds weird, but when I was a kid, I got an unusual amount of bee stings, and my dad used to pack some mud on them. Leave it there for a few minutes, let it dry up and then wash it off.
It’s messy, but kids don’t mind (and I almost always stepped on them, so if the sting is on your foot it’s not so bad).
My grandma used to make a “paste” of meat tenderizer and water and apply to my bee stings when I was a kid. I heard it had something to do with the enzyms in the meat tenderizer would draw out the venom from the sting. I know it did help me feel better.
We have used a penny for bee stings for years…..Just tape them on….sting is gone. WORKS TOO!!!!!
I have also heard tobacco out of cigarettes will take the sting out. It used to work when I was a kid.
when i was in Army Ranger school and Special Forces training we would dab a band aid with mylanta and apply this has many other uses as well
The penny taped on, the mud, and tobacco mixed with your own saliva: these all work.
I can vouch for the mixture of bakind soda and water. When we would step on bees as children at the local pool, my mom would slather on a little bit of the mixture, cover with a bandaid, and lay us down for a nap. When we woke up, the stinger would be stuck to the bandaid and the pain would be gone. Also works with splinters!
Immediately after the sting, flick it with a credit card/debit card, etc. It easily removes the stinger. Then I hold a cut raw onion right on the sting. It’s suppose the draw out the poison. I’m allergic to bee stings and this always reduces the size of the bite if I do it right away. You’ll still have some itching afterwards. You can apply the onion as much as you want throughout the day and it does help a bit.
Thanks for the advice! Just came back from the emergency room after my husband had an allergic reaction to several bee stings. He got hives on his feet after being stung on his arm and ear several times. I was checking this site for home remedies, and went to check on him with baking soda and vinegar on a washcloth and saw hives on his feet and legs. I immediately took him to the ER. While on the way, his throat started to get tight, and by the time we got to the hospital he was having trouble breathing. Four hours later, after steroids and IV antihistamine, he is fine. Thank you!!!! Save my husband’s life.
Wow Susanna, that is so scary! I’m so glad your husband is ok!
Thanks TipNut!
I was told by a bee keeper the best thing for a bee sting is after removing the stinger apply honey. I have tried this and it relieves the pain immediatly.
Actually bees are not attracted to soda pop and will not drink it.
What you are seeing is most likely yellow jackets.
that is very true.
Ok a bee crawled into my shoe like 2 minutes befor I put it on and it stung me . Well im here to day with my toe that is about as big as a bottom of a fat pencil and it is throbing like crazy . #1. DOES IT MATTER WHAT KIND OF TOOTH PASTE YOU USE? #2. MY STEP FATHER SAID THAT TOBACO JUICE WORKS ALSO IS THAT TRUE?
I have stepped on a bee twice in the last wk, one being just about twenty minutes ago, last time it hurt for 3 days…. this time I called my mother in law (she always has cool remedies for everything!) So anyway long story short… she told me to wrap a fatty piece of bacon around the bite for as long as I can stand to have bacon on my foot and Ill tell you what! NO Pain! Still swelling but the pain is gone! It works! Good luck!
Not sure if anyone has tried this but I have done it since I was little. My Mamaw used to cut an onion and put it on any sting. I swear by it and thought I might share. It really works, honest!
I keep the travel tubes of toothpaste handy all summer long! Brand doesn’t matter but it has to be the white paste. It really works!
I got stung yesterday by a bee. It got me on my middle finger. There was no stinger, only a tiny red hole. Hurt like the dickens. My hand is swollen, it itches. What can I do? No other symptoms. Thanks
my home remedy for a bee sting is gasoline-instantly takes the sting out
Ok I stepped on a bee and we put ice on it its under my foot and I can barely walk what do I do?
In the compilctaed world we live in, it’s good to find simple solutions.
Lavender oil works on bee stings -
My son just got stung twice by one bee (on lower left abdomen and back of left hand)and came running into the house howling.
I thought of apple cider vinegar but desperately searched for a home remedy book; a quick look in the index for “bee sting” suggested Lavender to my surprise. This research and scurrying about took about 3-4 minutes. I sent him to lay down while I looked up “bee sting”.
I found some lavender oil in my kitchen cabinet and applied drops straight on the sting sites (neat, without first diluting in a carrier oil). I left to see what else I could do. But in less than 3 minutes, my son was acting as if he sting were nothing, even though he still had a small welt on his abdomen.
I was totally amazed at how quickly it calmed him and the sting down. One note of caution: he rubbed his eyes and got some lavender in his left eye, arghh. Secondary crisis, I smeared some Almond oil with a tissue on his closed eye (eyelid & lashes) in the hopes of diluting the oil. Still stinging, we rushed to the bathroom to flush his eyes with cool water. I cupped my hand and “squashed” water against his eye (closed–who could keep eyes open for that) several times. He was fine.
We’ll see how he fares later in the day. Itching may set in–don’t know yet–but
I’ve got more Lavender and Apple Cider Vinegar on hand.
I got stung by a bee today. I was in the car and it sent a stinging feeling up my spine. (I did not know it was a bee at the time, I have never been stung by a bee before) It scared me so bad. Got home figured out the bee had stung me just to the right of my spine, almost on my spine. Does not hurt to bad. I put the baking soda & water paste under a bandaid and so far there is no pain anymore. (1hour in)
i disturbed a nest clearing a garden and got15 stings vinegar was the best for me.