Here in Chichibu, living near bamboo forest, we get lots of mosquitos in the Summer. The neighbors put us onto this folk remedy for mosquito bites. Simply put the hebi-ichigo (literally snake-strawberries) in shochu (white liquor) and let it stand for a few weeks, until mosquito season. The hebi-ichigo are out now. They are said to be poisonous, and I noticed yesterday we had lots of monkeys go past but they didn’t eat the hebi-ichigo.
Here is the shochu, today’s hebi-ichigo in shochu, and last year’s jar.
Below is a wild raspberry, which is edible. Don’t confuse the two!
This Japanese home remedy works much better than anything from the pharmacy! Just dip your finger (or a tisssue) in the jar and wipe the shochu liquid on the insect bite, and forget you were bitten….
(Don’t drink the liquid.)