50+ Wart Home Remedies & Treatments
35 Comments 
Warts are pretty common and aren’t indicative of a serious health problem but they are a nuisance, sometimes painful and can cause embarrassment.
They are most common on hands and feet, but can also appear on eyelids, on the face and elsewhere on the body. They can grow in clusters or singly and have a rough skin surface that looks similar to cauliflower, sometimes a black spot is visible in the middle of it.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is what causes them and yes, that means they’re contagious (it’s a viral infection). You can pick up the virus from someone else or spread it to another part of your body from one you already have.
Their removal is a simple procedure performed by your doctor (either by freezing, burning or laser treatments) but if you prefer treating them yourself or if you’re looking for some home remedy ideas, here is a list of over 50 methods and tips I have collected over time. Most are applied externally (on top of skin) but I’ve included a few immunity system boosters that are recommended you consume (daily if possible) to help your body fight the virus and get rid of them.
When you begin a treatment, be aware that depending on the size and type of wart, it can take weeks to get rid of–sometimes months. The sooner you start (preferably when you first notice one developing), the quicker it is to get rid of. If you experience progress with a particular treatment, keep at it and be patient. Plenty of times it can just disappear on its own (as your body builds up immunity against the virus), but you can try one of the suggestions below if you’d like to speed things up.
Before applying a remedy, wash area clean with soap and water then pat dry with a clean towel. Also wash hands with soap and water before handling remedy and touching the wart. Wash hands again after applying treatment to prevent further infection.
Here’s a list of ideas to start with, the rest are organized in sections below:
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Saturate a cotton ball with apple cider vinegar (ACV) and apply to affected area, secure in place with a bandaid or tape. Do this nightly before bed, remove in the morning. Good for all types, recommended especially for Plantar and flat warts.
- White Household Vinegar & Baking Soda: Sprinkle a heavy coat of baking soda on the area then drizzle vinegar over it. Do this once in the morning and once at night until it is gone.
- Bandaids Or Tape: Known as the duct tape treatment, keep the area wrapped tight in tape (without cutting off circulation) 24/7 until it disappears. Bandaids, duct tape, packing tape and scotch tape will all work with the same results. Change the tape daily.
- Baking Soda: Make a thick paste of baking soda and water, apply to skin and cover with tape or a bandaid.
- Clear Nail Polish: Paint the wart with a coat of clear nail polish, reapply as needed until it is gone.
- Hydrogen Peroxide: Apply each day using a cotton swab.
- Toothpaste: Dab regular toothpaste generously on top then cover with a bandaid. Do this daily until it is gone.
- Aspirin: Rub area with olive oil then place an aspirin tablet on top and secure with a piece of tape or bandaid. Change daily. Or crush an aspirin tablet fine then add a few drops of water to make a paste. Apply and cover with a bandaid. Watch on sensitive skin.
- Vitamin C Tablet: Crush the Vitamin C tablet fine then make a paste with water. Apply and wrap it with tape or a bandaid to secure. Change daily.
Fruit & Vegetables
- Potatoes: Cut a potato in half and rub the potato juice over the area.
- Lemons: Rub a slice of lemon over area for 5 minutes twice a day. You can also dab lemon juice directly on it.
- Limes: Same as lemons.
- Bananas: Cut a piece of banana skin just bigger than the size of the wart. Place the peel white side down on top of it then cover with tape or a bandaid to hold in place. Replace daily until it is gone. You can also rub the it with a fresh slice of banana.
- Eggplant: Cut a thin slice of eggplant just a bit larger than the wart and hold in place with a piece of tape or bandaid. Change daily until it has disappeared. Good remedy for children or those with sensitive skin.
- Onion: Rub a slice of freshly cut onion over it twice a day. Can also sprinkle onion slice with salt first then apply. Another suggested treatment is to drizzle lemon juice over area first then cover with a freshly cut piece of onion (wrap a piece of tape or bandaid around to hold in place).
- Carrots: Grate a fresh carrot then mix with olive oil until you have a thick paste. Apply and cover with a bandaid. Do this twice a day until it disappears.
- Apples: Apply a freshly cut slice of apple and secure in place with tape or a bandaid. Change twice a day until gone.
- Garlic: A few variations of this treatment: Crush garlic then cover area completely with the garlic, wrap tape or a bandaid to secure in place. Do this every night before bed. Apply the juice of garlic twice a day. Each night at bedtime apply a slice of garlic, wrap with a bandage.
- Figs: Mix mashed fig with a bit of olive oil and apply, cover with a bandaid. Do this daily until gone.
- Radishes: Cut a slice of radish just the size of the wart, cover it and secure in place with a bandaid. Change daily.
- Pineapple: Apply a freshly cut piece of pineapple morning, noon and night until it is gone.
Oils & Extracts
- Witch Hazel: Rub Witch Hazel into spot a couple times a day.
- Clove Oil: Mix a few drops of clove oil with olive oil then apply, change daily.
- Vitamin E Oil: Rub into spot then cover with a bandaid, do this three times a day.
- Vitamin A Oil: Rub into spot then cover with a bandaid, do this three times a day.
- Garlic Capsule Oil: Rub into spot then cover with a bandaid, do this once in the morning and cover with a bandaid.
- Castor Oil: Rub into area a couple times each day until wart is gone, cover with a bandaid. You can also mix baking powder or baking soda and castor oil into a paste and apply, cover with a bandage. Change daily.
- Grapefruit Seed Extract: Apply a few drops to the pad of a bandaid then cover, change daily.
- Oil of Oregano: Mix a few drops with olive oil then apply to the pad of a bandaid–cover spot and change daily.
- Lavender Essential Oil: Carefully dab with a drop of Lavender EO, cover with a bandaid. Do this once a day.
- Geranium Essential Oil: Mix a few drops with olive oil then apply to the pad of a bandaid–cover and change daily.
- Lemon Essential Oil: Mix a few drops with olive oil then apply to the pad of a bandaid–cover and change daily.
- Tea Tree Oil: (also known as Melaleuca Oil) Dab two times a day with tea tree oil until wart disappears. Cover with a bandaid during the day, remove bandaid at bedtime.
- Frankincense: Apply a drop then cover with tape or a bandaid. Change bandaid daily. Reapply drop of Frankincense twice a week.
- Vegetable Oil: Smother the wart with a thick coat of vegetable oil then apply tape or a bandage. Do this each night before bed and first thing in the morning.
- Wheat Germ Oil: Dab pure, organic wheat germ oil over area twice a day (once in the morning and once at night).
Herbs & Plants
- Dandelions: Apply dandelion milk from the stem of a dandelion to the area. Cover with tape or a bandaid. Apply two times a day until it is removed.
- Aloe Vera: Apply the gel from an aloe vera plant then top with a cotton ball and bandaid. Change twice a day until gone.
- Basil Leaves: Crush fresh basil leaves and cover the spot, then secure in place with a bandaid.
- Marigolds: Break open marigold leaves and apply the plant juice directly to spot. Do this daily until gone.
- Milkweed: A Native American remedy is to rub the milk from a milkweed plant into the wart several times a day until it has been removed.
Soaks
Soaking daily in treated baths will soften warts which will help them to respond to treatment. Can also help fight the virus and prevent infection. This is worthwhile doing before sloughing the skin with an emery board or pumice stone (notes on that below in the “Tips” area).
- Soak area daily in a warm bath of baking soda and water.
- Soak daily in a hot bath of Epsom salt and water.
- Soak in very hot water until it becomes lukewarm (do this daily, don’t have the water so hot it burns you). Plain hot water is fine but you can also add some vinegar.
Immunity Boosters
Beef up your immunity system so your body can fight the virus internally. Here are a few suggestions:
- Cabbage: Eat a lot of fresh, raw cabbage each day.
- Garlic: Add fresh, chopped garlic to your food whenever possible. You can also take garlic pills or capsules daily.
- Limes: Squeeze fresh lime juice over food or add fresh lime juice to a glass of water and drink this twice a day.
- Broccoli: Eat fresh, raw broccoli daily.
- Oranges: Eat an orange once a day.
- Bananas: Good for potassium, eat one a day to fight the virus.
- Onions: Top everything suitable with chopped fresh onion, preferably raw but cooked is fine too.
- Wheat Germ: Supplement diet with either wheat germ or wheat germ oil to boost your daily Vitamin E intake.
Tips
- Although it’s not recommended to cut or pick at a wart since that can cause bleeding, scarring or an infection, using a fresh emery board to gently scrub it before applying a treatment or right after a soak when the rough skin is softer is usually fine–just don’t overdo it. Throw the emery board out after each scraping and use a fresh one each time.
- Children are more susceptible to them since their immunity systems aren’t as strong as adults, if you’re applying a treatment to a child be aware that their skin is more sensitive than ours. Carefully watch skin reactions so no burns appear (aspirin for example can be harsh on sensitive or young skin).
- Cover any cuts or scrapes on your body with a bandaid while you have a wart–those little openings in the skin are a perfect environment for the virus to settle in and encourage new growth.
- Don’t scratch or pick at it, you’ll spread the virus.
- Plantar Warts: These are usually found on the soles of feet. If you have one, make sure to wear socks at all times or keep it covered with a bandaid. If you walk barefoot around the house, you could infect the rest of the family as well as encourage more growth on your feet. When swimming, make sure to wear pool shoes so you don’t spread the virus to the rest of the public.
- If your chosen treatment is working and the wart is getting smaller but the surrounding skin is getting irritated, try applying some olive oil or vaseline to the healthy skin before applying treatment, this can help protect it from irritation.
This information is simply a collection of home remedies – not professional medical advice. Please seek a doctor’s opinion when unsure or to confirm appropriate treatment.
Have I missed your favorite tried & true? Please share with everyone in the section below (lots of suggestions so far, thank you!).
I had Plantar’s warts on my feet, when I was around 12 yrs and my brother who was younger, also had them. My mother took my brother to the doctor where he had a painful procedure to remove the warts. They grow inward not outward and are black in the center. My dad suggested to take calcium, so I did that, and my warts went away without the doctor. I had one outbreak later in my twenties and again took calcium supplements and it worked again.
I had worts during my childhood and early 20′s. I tried most remedies available from the drug store and doctor, as well as natural remedies, but nothing worked. Someone in my family suggested calcium supplements. The worts literally disappeared within a month or two. Like Annie, I had an outbreak a few years later and took calcium supplements which worked again. You have to allow a couple of months for the calcium to work, but don’t give up. When it works, the worts get smaller each day and eventually disappear.
My daughter had them. Our PCP froze them, and then suggested the duct tape remedy. He said to use it for 30 days, without fail. They went away!
the doctor will only freeze the wart if its on the foot or for children otherwise you haveto pay big bucks for it (in bc anyway) and i’ve tried many times the duct tape and it works for finger, arms etc. but not on the feet because it starts peeling off. My grandma swears by crushed tylenol applied to the wart and bandaged i think she makes a bit of a paste first though
my daughter had warts all over her fingers and hands,the dr. froze them off but they came back. i found a remedy that really,really works!!! once a day rub the warts with a garlic clove followed by a few drops of VITAMIN A MADE FROM FISH OIL, JUST PUNCTURE THE GEL CAPSULE. IT MUST BE FISH OIL OR IT WONT WORK.DO THIS EVERYDAY AND WITHIN A WEEK THE WARTS WILL DISAPPEAR!!
I had a plantar wart on my foot and after having had surgery on both feet to remove a couple before, I wanted to avoid that again. It HURTS! When I was in the shower each day, I would scrub it a bit with a pumice stone or the board for my heels. It took a while, but it worked beautifully.
I had plantar warts on my heal for years. (mosaic, which means LOTS of small ones) I had them frozen, chemically treated and laser treated. They always came back. Then my husband told me an old time remedy. PEE in the shower. I thought he was NUTS. But what the heck, I did it and guess what? IT WORKED!! The acid in your urine kills them. It worked for my son too. NO PAIN, no expense, no time lost from work.
I’ve never heard of this rememdy, but I may get desperate enough to try it. I’ve had a wart on my right thumb for 10 years, actually more than 10 because it was before we had our dd. I’ve heard of peeing on jellyfish stings, so the acid must really be strong. Thanks for sharing this gross remedy. If it works, it works!
i have a wart on my right thumb too, Jena. It is a mosiac type, i grinded up a vitiman c tablet and mixed it with a tiny drop(just enough to get a paste) of olive oil and them put it on a bandaid, on my thumb. it works but it KILLS. epecially if the skin is open, mine is but thats because i tried to dig them out..i just tried peeing on my thumb. nasty but if it heals i will be smiling.
good luck!
I have had a plantar wart on the ball of my foot for about two years. I read that most eventually go away on their own, but I got tired of waiting. I did some research and found out that the way most warts are cured is the use of salicylic acid to soften and break down hard skin layers and exfoliation. Most sites recommended the use of 40% salicylic acid patches or solutions. I didn’t like that idea so I researched the pH of salicylic acid. It is about 2.3, which is about the pH of lemon juice! So I have been pouring lemon juice on a small piece of folded tissue, wringing it out slightly, and putting a bandaid over it. So far it is working well, plus lemon is detoxifying, so more benefits!
About once a year one of my dad’s friends would come over seeking help with a couple of his warts. With 5 siblings, warts were a given at our house anyway. Dad would take a can of freon (any refrigerant used in cars/houses/refrigerators) and invert the can. Inverted the can emits a liquid instead of a gas – and this was collected in a paper cup and applied to the wart with a cotton swap…. everyone’s warts would be gone in a week.
NOTE: freon can be dangerous and even illegal if used incorrectly – use caution.
i have warts on my foot and they hurt when i walk so i put nail polish(clear) on them and then after a couple days or so they went away. but the only thing different i did was i put a band-aid over them to! hope this info helped!
:) 
do you only apply the finger nail polish once. and then keep the banadaid over them the whole time. dnt touch or replace the bandaid.
apple cider vinegar is best to remove wart without getting any pain. take a small cotton ball ,dip it in ACP (apple cider vinegar), put it on your wart, cover it with a tape. in a couple of days it will remove. main point is that you should wash your hand before and after this treatment.
My daughter had a patch of mosaic warts on her knee that was about 2inches in circumference. It had been there for about two years and we had tried numerous over the counter treatments and been to the doctors (who wouldn’t touch it) but nothing ever worked. On the advice of a podiatrist I started dabbing neat Tea Tree oil on it twice a day, nothing fancy just a cotton bud dipped in the oil dabbed all over the area, no plasters or coverings and no painful exfoliation. Within 3 months every wart had gone. This also seems to work on verucaes.
COD FISH OIL!! I had a wart on my fingertip for weeks on end. I picked at it, tried a few OTC options, and finally asked my stepmother (we don’t get along). Thank God I did, I put the oil on and covered it w/ a band-aid and it was gone w/in a few days. FOR REALS.
Hi my name is Jonathan. right now im trying 3 things. and its all because i have more than one wart on hands. Also i have wart on my face….. This actually works take a thumb tap. the small pointy little things. And stab inside of it. a couple times. and just dont touch it after that. and tell ya what! it was big the inside was so big a red. But with this little thumb tab. it drained it. plus its little now. and still shrinking! Now for my warts on my hands. there is a dandelion wart remedy that goes on the lines of this: rip te head of a dandelion. apply the sap that within it to the wart 2-3 times a day. wrap a bandaid or ducktape over it. and within a wk or 2. The wart should be gone. . . . also there is a strange old days remedy, i thought it was crazy but i gave it a shot…. People often say if there is a bone in a feild take it and rub it on the wart. What this should do is. the wart should go on the bone spread to the bone instead of on you. i found a fox skeleton bone laying on the ground picked it up.. or just rubbed it on my large one. and hopefully. since it will be there. imma keep doing it for 2 wks. Im hopeing for sucess.
also, im using a heating pad. since if one part of ur body is hotter than the other. You will get a fever, that will then fight off whatever caused it. So by using the heating pad on warts of my hand or on my hand. It will fight it off. using the heating pad and the dandelion remedy during my sleep. plus for the small planter or small stubborn ones on my left hand. Im now using Hydrogen Peroxide. I might need to start eating whatever vegetables out there help fight it off as well. cause ive heard that sprinkling some lime or lemon juice in h20 and drinking it 2ice a day. will help the cause of this to.
Hope this works for you as well.
My father was a doctor and this is the remedy he gave me for warts on my hands when I was a teenager. It worked perfectly, and is cheap and easy.
Twice a day, rub the wart with chalkboard chalk, coating it completely. This smothers the wart and kills off the top layer (warts need air). Then, once a day, file off that dead top layer with a wooden emery board. Repeat daily until wart is gone.
You will see the wart slowly get smaller and smaller until they just go away completely. It is totally painless. I had a whole bunch of little warts all over my hand (why? I don’t know), and it took care of them all in short order.
I had lots of warts on my foot and I took extra vitamin C (I think about 2000 to 4000 mg per day, whatever works for you) and they disappeared.
How long did this take before they dissapeared?
What do warts smell like when they are dying. cause i dont know what they smell like. Im using the the dandelion method plus the heating pad over the night when i sleep. And i dont know what its supposed to smell like. it smells pretty bad, its like a light brownish color right now some black to. still the same size tho. Can someone please tell what does it smell like for a stubborn wart on my right middle fnger.
and how many days does dandelions need to get rid of warts too. Im wondering this bcuse its been day and a half now. And im going back outside to find some more dandelions for part2 of day 2. and its tearing it away. But little pieces.
that light brownish color was the dead skin i found out. So now i got a it on the skin underneath that dead. Im hopeing it will get rid of it.by the time it hits 2 wks, cause its really getting on my nerves. I dont know why it wants me but i will get rid of it. With every remedie if i have to. and be patient so the time cane do its part.
I have a wart on my right hand by my thumb. I am currently using a ointment called ‘SALACTOL’. My dad said if I were to use it for 2-3 weeks nonstop every night it were to go away. I have used it for a week now and after three days it went brown. The layer that went brown died and has now gone! It has gone brown again is getting a bit smaller everyday! So I would reccomend this to everybody who is having troubles with warts!
Alright i will give that a try. Salactol hmmm. . will look that up.
Hi, I think i have been to this lipnut thing before. But im back again. I still have the heating pad in my room. But just lately my mom got me some dr.scholl stuff. Bu it apparently didnt work on it. theres only 2 applicants left. Now i have heard some good reviews from the old fast liquid stuff. Compound W fast acting liquid. It said to be upto 12 wks of use before it actually will start to go away. But some have worked on ppl smaller ones in just like a wk or so. And i have small one on my left hand. So im assuming it will be the same conclusion. But it only cost like $7 and it seems to be really working fast. You use it at the most 3 x per day. and then let it settle its self into the warts roots. Then once another wk has past go ahead and add another drop on it. ONLY to the wart! I went to make myself a sandwhich and one of the liquid had came off. i notice only in 3 hrs. its already into the warts skin. It will look white at first. then it will die off. Warning! be careful, ive always heard or found out the its exposed to air. So the chemicals and the liquid will soon freeze up inside the bottle. So take notice of this, and use while u still have it.
Now I’m convinced I need to seriously get rid of these warts on my right thumb, hearing about how many some of you have. I’ve been passively waiting for them to go away because it took 10 years for the first one to lead to a second one. Can you believe it? How does a wart live for 10 years?! I did have it freezed in the doctor’s office once, but it shortly came back. Now, I have two stubborn warts. I want an easy remedy because it’s really hard to be consistent, then all the progress is wasted. My immune system cannot kill these warts even though I take vitamin C regularly, supplement with health products, and have a healthy lifestyle. I think all the supplementing helps the wart from multiplying, but the original wart is a SUPERWART. Crazy!
The simplist and most effective way to treat warts (or verrucas) is with pure tea tree oil. Use a cotton bud to dab tree tree oil on the wart at least twice a day and in about three months they will have gone!
My daughter had a mosaic wart that covered her knee and made her terribly self concious. We took her to see a chiropodist about a cluster of verrucas on her foot, he told us to treat the verrucas with tea tree oil and said we should try it on the warts too. Within three months the warts and verrucas had all gone. I have since used the same method successfully on one of my other children after they caught verrucas at the swimming pool.
i have 4 warts! And i don’t know how to get rid of them, they just keep coming back. their all on my hands and being a girl who has boyfriends i usually would hold hands but not lately, and i guess they think i don’t like them because they break up with me. but i need to get rid of these warts, they freak me out and are gross, i’m going to try peroxide or maybe lemon jucie- i just don’t know what to try and what really works.
does peroxide really work, i heard it was sapposed to burn for 60 seconds, but mine didn’t at all!
super potent wart wonder by well-in-hand is a MIRACLE. try those for your hand warts. I had 20 on my left knuckles ranging from huge to small. they destroyed my self esteem… dermatologist helped but 4 still remain after years of treatment. super potent wart wonder is awesome but it takes so patience.
i have wart on my right thumb on the inside knuckle for 4-5 yrs now. at first i not know what it is but it got bigger so i used to try pick at it & it got small again but always grew to same size (about 5mm across) it started cracking & bleeding & getting caught so i went to doctors but they said theu couldnt freeze if its on the fingers!!
so they give me salactol about 6weeks ago & i try use it at least once a day & it is so much smaller now & all the skin dies layer by layer and you can literally just peel the skin off but not i am left with the actual wart (bumpy like cauliflour) it is only 2-3mm across now but its very very painful to put the acid on it now, it stings so much for about 20mins! i am hoping it is killing it off now that it is on the raw wart & not just the skin on top but it hurts like crazy now but i guess nothing that you cant live with and its not for that long.
how did your guys salactol acid? are the gone?
I have had one wart in my life, on my wrist when I was young. My grandmother said to put the milk of milkweed on it. I did that one time and the wart disappeared and I have never had another one.
Just took my husband to the doctor. Reccomended the duct tape for the plantar’s warts and said to change every three days. Worked like a charm.