Homemade Anti-Itch Cream for Bug Bites

Erika Bragdon is a Certified Essential Oil Coach from the Essential Oil Institute.

Itchy bug bites can be irritating, however, a few natural ingredients combined together to make a simple homemade anti-itch cream can bring relief quickly.

With 4 main ingredients, including bentonite clay and essential oils, this DIY anti-itch salve is easy to make and the perfect home remedy for itchy mosquito bites.

Of course, we all want to prevent mosquitoes bites in the first place and I have a number of natural homemade ideas for that. From our essential oil mosquito spray to our insect repellent lotion to our homemade bug repellent lotion bars, there are many natural bug repelling recipe options.

But for those times when your bug repellent has worn off or you forget to apply it, this homemade anti-itch cream is at your service.

Natural Bug Bite Remedy

What you’ll need:

1/3 cup Bentonite Clay
3 Tablespoons of witch hazel (this one is my favorite)
1/2 cup of water
7 drops each of:
- peppermint – Rocky Mountain Oils | Eden’s Garden
- lavender – Rocky Mountain Oils | Eden’s Garden
- tea tree (melaleuca) – Rocky Mountain Oils | Eden’s Garden
small glass or plastic storage container

This recipe will make about 1/2 cup of natural itch relief cream.

What makes this natural itch relief so effective?

If you’ve wondered what to put on itchy bug bites, there are a number of helpful natural ingredients that can bring relief. Essential oils are a great easy way to relieve itchiness and that’s why I’ve included my favorites in this blend.

Each ingredient in this bug bite remedy works to bring relief.

Lavender essential oil: This oil is one of the most versatile essential oils in terms of soothing and calming irritated skin. I have personally found it one of the most helpful for natural itch relief too.

Peppermint essential oil: This oil is very cooling, which may help take away the itch.

Tea tree essential oil: This oil is also helpful for relieving itchiness and has the potential to further reduce irritation from scratching.

Bentonite Clay: This clay can help draw out toxins causing rashes and itchy bug bites – making it a key ingredient for this home remedy for mosquito bites.

Witch hazel: It helps cleanse and is also fantastic at soothing the itch, making it perfect as a home remedy for mosquito bites. Witch hazel also acts as a natural preservative of this salve, extending its shelf life.

How To Make DIY Anti-itch Cream:

1. Add 1/3 cup bentonite clay to a medium bowl.

2. Add 3 tablespoons of witch hazel.

2. Add 7 drops each of lavender, tea tree, and peppermint essential oils.

4. Mix well.

Slowly add water until you make a paste. (you won’t use all of your 1/2 cup water most likely.) Your lotion may be a bit lumpy, so I advise getting your hands dirty and squish it around to help get it smooth. If you want it very smooth, you may want to use a stainless steel mesh strainer and push the lotion through. Personally, I don’t mind so I skip that step.

5. Scoop into a container

Scoop or spoon your anti-itch cream into your desired container.

6. Label your container

Use masking tape and a marker, a label maker, or you can download this pretty purple label seen here…

…for free when you subscribe to my newsletter here:

Now, whenever you notice a bug bite – whether it’s your or your family – you can rub a little of this anti-itch lotion onto the spot and allow it to dry. In our experience, we’ve only needed to use this once for each bug bite however if your child ends up scratching the area again and it becomes inflamed and itchy once more, you can re-apply as needed.

Note: this homemade anti-itch cream does not absorb well onto the skin; it sits on the surface and acts as a paste. It reminds me of calamine lotion in that way. If you don’t want your child to rub this onto clothing or anything else, you may put a dot of this over the bug bite and cover it with a bandage to prevent any smearing. This has worked well for us.

If you enjoyed this homemade anti-itch cream for bug bites post, you may also like our anti-itch stick recipe for bug bite relief or our mosquito bite relief essential oil roller recipe.

Plus, be sure to use this homemade bug repellent lotion or DIY essential oil tick spray and hopefully you won’t need this anti-itch cream!