It’s Summer at the moment, which means that in addition to the beautiful warm weather, inevitably you may get bitten by a mosquito or two.

This is a great home remedy for itchy bug bites. A little dab of this on a fresh or day old bug bite will soothe the itchiness and help with swelling.

(The oil before it’s been strained)

I also use this balm as a muscle rub for soothing sore muscles. It’s super simple to make and is made from only ground cloves (they are not just for pumpkin pie after all!) and olive oil.

Cloves are high in eugenol and also have pain relieving properties. Before you make this though please read the side effects of using cloves topically here. I would also wash your hands after applying this, and avoid touching your eyes with it.

Soothing Balm

(This is just a ratio, you can make as much balm as you need)

Ingredients

1/2  tsp ground cloves

1 tbsp of olive oil

Instructions

1. Stir together the olive oil and ground cloves. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to sit at room temperature for 1-2 days.

After this, you can strain infused oil through a scrap of fabric (or you can leave the ground cloves in there and just use the oil that’s risen above it), cover with plastic wrap and stash in your fridge. The oil will keep for at least a week, and will firm up in cool temperature of the fridge.

I hope that this helps many a bug bite and sore muscle.