Banana Peel Insect Relief and Shoe Cushion!

A couple of days ago, we took a several mile hike at Red Rock, Nevada where there are rock and dirt trails. Not even 100 yards from the start, a black ant with a huge head and even bigger mandibles suddenly latched on to the top of my ankle, right under my TEVA strap. It had such a good grip that while I was batting wildly at it, the little bugger bit me again and it HURT! I'm no sissy but it really hurt a lot and being right under the ankle strap of my shoe kept me a bit 'irritable'. This was an impromptu hike, suggested by my fiancee so we had no first aid kit ( :::note to self, ALWAYS keep a daypack with all hiking necessities along::: ). We crossed a stream and the cold water felt good. We kept hiking and finally stopped for a rest, then my man whips out a banana for a snack. When done I asked him to give me the peel. For some reason it seemed like rubbing the inside of the peel on my bites might feel good and it did...Really Good! Then I wrapped a section of the peel under my Teva ankle strap. It worked amazingly well as a cushion and I was actually able to ENJOY several more miles of hiking with no pain or irritation!

When we got home I Googled "banana peel insect bite". It amazed me to learn all about it and WHY it worked. Don't ever underestimate the potential for banana peels as spur of the moment, necessity is the Mother of invention, shoe cushions, either!