Natural Ways to Deal with Spiders, Ticks, Fleas, and Chiggers

We all deal with patterns that are predictable such as colds and flu in the winter, allergies in both the spring and fall and chiggers/ticks/skeeters and Brown Recluse bites in the summer. This year things are happening sooner. I’m already seeing spider bites, poison ivy and lots of tick bites.

We are smack dab in the middle of the part of the country where the Brown Recluse prefers to live. They jump, land and inflict a nasty bite. The ground zero of the bite often turns black as the skin dies. A large red circular welt rings the black center. Many times without good first aid the infection from the bite can last for weeks or months.  In diabetics this can be very dangerous because of blood flow problems if bitten on extremity. If attended to right away there usually isn’t much of a problem. I’ve seen people take good care of themselves by putting an herbal plaster of basil, feverfew and witch hazel directly on the bite secured with a bandage, taking enteric coated garlic supplements and of course boosting the immune system with Astragalus or a standardized Echinacea. You might even consider using an old fashioned Black Ointment or grapefruit seed extract ointment right on the wound. For maximum impact high dose monolaurin taken by mouth is the way to go. At a certain point medical care is a necessity.

Stay away from the brown recluse!

Suggestions for poison ivy include the homeopathic Rhus Tox X6 and baking soda as a powder to dry the blisters. A Jewelweed wash found in specially made lye soap is great. Tepid showers (no baths) and application of an anti-itch herbal rounds out the suggestions. If the exposure is severe or in a delicate part of the body, prompt medical care is a very good thing.

I had to call Texas early this year to order Cactus Juice so I can be ready for chigger/tick and skeeter season. I found this product many years ago and it has proven itself as a great product to be used during crawly and flying biter season. This is one of the only natural products that works as good if not better than the big brand names. I can’t tell you legally it effectively repels all of those miserable many leggeds. But it is DEET free, completely safe and I don’t get bitten at all when I use it and neither do other people.

Both monolaurin and our Cactus Juice spray are only available in store, although you may place an order to be shipped to you over the phone. Call us if you’d like to try them out and protect yourself the natural way this spring and summer.

In good health,

Dr. Fain