Bug Bite Thing is Antidote for Mosquitos, and Now Ticks
When Kelley Higney left California for Florida, she was appalled at how nasty some of her neighbors could be. Not her human neighbors, but that rather large insect family established throughout the Sunshine State.
“One thing we were completely unprepared for when we moved to Florida was the mosquitoes,” she said. “My daughter had a terrible reaction to mosquito bites. I was desperate. I tried everything and nothing worked.”
As the old adage notes, necessity is the mother of invention, particularly if, like Higney, you’re a third-generation entrepreneur. Higney began seriously researching how other countries combat insect bites.
“I came upon a little-known tool being sold through industrial first-aid kits in Europe,” she explained.
She ordered it and the day the package arrived, Higney got bitten by a mosquito en route to the mailbox, so she tried it immediately. It worked!
“Within a matter of seconds, all the itching, swelling and pain just disappeared,” she said.
In 2017, Higney secured exclusive distribution rights to the product, branding it Bug Bite Thing. She sold her house to buy the first batch and began selling it at bake sales and farmers markets. By 2019, social media buzz about the product reached a casting producer at “Shark Tank,” and Higney was invited to appear on the show. By the end of the segment, the Sharks were so pumped that Higney had secured funding. Sales skyrocketed with the exposure, as well as from the increase in outdoor pursuits prompted by the pandemic.
With more than 80,000 reviews, Bug Bite Thing currently reigns as Amazon’s No. 1 selling insect bite relief product. It sells at major drugstore chains, as well as big-box retailers and is available in 34 countries.
The product is a suction tool that removes insect bite venom. By removing the irritant, the body stops producing the itching, swelling and pain that is the natural reaction to an insect bite. It works with mosquitoes, bees, wasps and ant bites, and as a bonus, it removes splinters and bee stingers, too.
In 2021, Higney was named Female Small Business Owner of the Year at Florida Tech’s weVENTURE “Women Who Rock” Awards.
“WeVENTURE executive director Kathryn Rudloff and her team do an amazing job providing support and resources for female entrepreneurs in our community,” Higney said.
Bug Bite Thing has become an equity partner investor with weVENTURE.
“We’ve made a monetary contribution to the organization the past few years and I’ve also spoken at several weVENTURE events,” Higney said.
Higney’s war on bugs continues with her latest product, the Bug Bite Thing Tick Remover, which she acquired from TickEase Inc.
“The inventor was impressed by how we’ve educated millions on treating insect bites and wanted to bring the same awareness to tick removal and to teach consumers about the seriousness of tick-born infections,” Higney said.
Ticks, like mosquitoes, are nasty little buggers. They can transmit a host of illnesses, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease, an infection that affects the joints, heart and nervous system and one the CDC says impacts about half a million people each year. 425,000 dogs were also diagnosed with tick-borne illnesses last year.
To be fair, not all ticks are vectors and, according to the Mayo Clinic, a tick needs to have been attached to your skin for at least 36 hours to transmit infection. However, it doesn’t take that long for other infections, so why risk it?
The doubled-sided Bug Bite Thing Tick Remover features fine-tipped tweezers on one end — the CDC choice for removal of smaller ticks — and a slotted scoop for the larger ones. Follow the removal with suction from Bug Bite Thing and you’re good to go.
With both products, Higney offers consumers an effective solution that is kind to the body and nature.
“My goal has always been to educate people that there is a chemical-free solution to the problem,” she said.
“I want to provide everyone access to the same relief that Bug Bite Thing has provided for my family.”
Learn More
Visit bugbitething.com
Videos:
Book to Debut Soon!
Kelley Higney has contributed a chapter to a book coming out Oct. 3: Secrets of Successful Women Inventors: How They Swam with the "Sharks" and Hundreds of Other Ways to Commercialize Your Own Inventions. Click the link for more information and to pre-order a copy.
Map It
