# What's the best stuff to kill bug bite itchyness? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839 "2009-07-13T06:26:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839/21 "2009-07-13T19:23:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Not for me, but I’m pretty sensitive to most bug bites anyway. I wonder if I’ve built up immunity to iocaine powder and mosquitoes. I remember there continuing to be bumps when I was a child; I’d scratch until they bled usually in the bathtub and they would quit itching. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839/22 "2009-07-13T20:36:44Z")
I read a while back that ammonia (if applied pretty soon after a mosquito bit you) neutralizes the compounds in mosquito saliva that cause the reaction in the 1st place. I thought, “Hogwash,” or something similarly colorful that probably rhymed with “Truck that.” But then I looked at my trusty Itch Erasor stick, or whatever the overpriced thing was called, and damn if the only listed ingredient was ammonia. I’ve found that a little bit of pure cleaning ammonia, applied to a cotton pad and then clamped over the bite, does seem to help. But you gotta get it as soon as it 1st starts itching. This is no doubt where the whole Windex thing in \*My Big Fat Greek Wedding \*got started - the ammonia in Windex “curing” mosquito bites. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839/23 "2009-07-13T20:46:33Z")
My standard advice is Benadryl tablets/capsules and hydrocortisone cream. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839/24 "2009-07-14T03:30:11Z")
I have found the Benadryl cream to be effective. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839/25 "2009-07-14T10:01:04Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I have to ask – why not use a spray or rub on repellent on your exposed skin? Personally, I hate the wipe-on/spray on prevention stuff. Hate the smell and the oily feeling they usually leave. I’m not a big fan of benadryl, leaves me feeling all light headed. I’ll definately try the ammonia trick next time though. ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839/26 "2009-07-14T14:03:35Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I read a while back that ammonia (if applied pretty soon after a mosquito bit you) neutralizes the compounds in mosquito saliva that cause the reaction in the 1st place. > I thought, “Hogwash,” or something similarly colorful that probably rhymed with “Truck that.” But then I looked at my trusty Itch Erasor stick, or whatever the overpriced thing was called, and damn if the only listed ingredient was ammonia. > > I’ve found that a little bit of pure cleaning ammonia, applied to a cotton pad and then clamped over the bite, does seem to help. But you gotta get it as soon as it 1st starts itching. > > This is no doubt where the whole Windex thing in \*My Big Fat Greek Wedding \*got started - the ammonia in Windex “curing” mosquito bites. This. Ammonia is the main ingredient in AfterBite as well, which I often used as a kid. Also a few years ago when I was renting a cottage in Nova Scotia for a week and found myself covered in bites, I used regular household ammonia for the same reason and it worked perfectly ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839/27 "2009-07-14T14:09:41Z")
> [@Mr\_Buttons](#): > > Personally, I hate the wipe-on/spray on prevention stuff. Hate the smell and the oily feeling they usually leave. > > I’m not a big fan of benadryl, leaves me feeling all light headed. I’ll definately try the ammonia trick next time though. If you’re outside a lot (and from the OP, it sounds like you are), [start taking some vitamin B supplements](http://www.drgreene.com/21_36.html): > [@Some guy on the internet who backs up a childhood memory](#): > > Some studies suggest that taking thiamine (vitamin B1) 25mg to 50 mg three times per day is effective in reducing mosquito bites. This safe vitamin apparently produces a skin odor that is not detectable by humans, but is disagreeable to pregnant mosquitoes (Pediatric Clinics of North America, 16:191, 1969). It seems to be especially effective for those people with large allergic reactions. Thiamine takes about 2 weeks before the odor fully saturates the skin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-stuff-to-kill-bug-bite-itchyness/502839.md?page=1)