This is one of my favorite herbalist quick-tips.  Learn this one plant and you’ll use it all the time.  Well, whenever you’re outside and there are bugs around.

This plant is called Plantain or Ribwort, depending where you live (official name Plantago lanceolata).

It grows EVERYWHERE.  (Really. It’s classified as an invasive weed in North America!)

It’s just a common weed, but it has a secret quality … it’s a skin-soothing superstar.

If we had more time we could make it into a lovely soothing cream.  But today I’m talking about a different, zero-effort use.

Wild Plantain Leaf for Bug Bites

You’re out in the park, or the woods, or your backyard, or at a BBQ and you get a bug bite.  Ouch!  Then… itch.  As soon as you realize you’ve been bitten, look for some plantain.  It looks like this:

Or sometimes like this:

Or you can look at a real official picture here.

How to Use Plantain Leaf for Bug Bites

Take a leaf of the plantain and crush it up.  The best way to do this is by chewing it.  Really.  (Obviously, you should be confident you have the correct plant before putting something in your mouth!)  Then place the crushed/chewed up leaf on your bugbite.   A few minutes later, voila, no inflammation or itching!

This works best if you apply it as soon as possible after a bug bite.  But that shouldn’t be too hard because plantain plants are everywhere bugs are.

Isn’t nature amazing?