Keep Mosquitos, Ticks, and Bugs Away When Camping and Backpacking: Tips and Tricks to Keep You Sane

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Dealing with bugs when camping and backpacking can be a major pain. It can send even the most hearty hikers running for their tent. So how to you minimize the annoying and sometimes brutal experience? I share my tips for best ways to keep mosquitos, ticks, and other nasty bugs away from you while at camp.

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[bradwjensen]

Okay, let me say something here. When I used to go hiking I used to get destroyed by mosquitoes almost every time there were mosquitoes. My friends who would join me on rare occasions would even say I was like a bug magnet.. THIS YEAR however, I hiked more than I ever have in a year and I only got maybe 2 good bug bites the whole year. I figured out why! I used to wear Old Spice Pure Sport deodorant. This year I've been wearing Old Spice Swagger deodorant. One morning I got bored of the Swagger smell and put on the Pure Sport and went for a hike at my favorite local place, and I was instantly surrounded by bugs that I haven't seen all year... I walked a decent trail and was swarmed the whole time by bugs, so I walked back to the car and used a wet wipe on my pits and put on my Old Spice Swagger deodorant and went back out for a walk. I walked the whole trail and back and not once did I have bugs around me! After getting back to the car I realized the Swagger stick says, "Confidence and CEDARWOOD" on the front of the deodorant. I can tell you that it works for sure, and after about 2+ hours it kinda fades off, but can be reapplied. I'm going to test out next year with no deodorant and just some homemade sprays using cedarwood as the main active ingredient.. I also know for a fact that peppermint works well for many bugs too, like my ex-friend's bed bugs that bit me every night, all over, until the time I started putting peppermint oil around my ankles and wrists, and neck at night. ALSO, I've used all kinds of sprays and can say it really just depends on the day for those.. Sometimes they work great for gnats and not mosquitoes and other days it's the opposite. DEET it the one spray that almost always works for mosquitoes, but there are times that it just doesn't.. Like when it rains.. Citronella does nothing for me with bugs, but the smoke it makes while burning helps. I've also watch videos of a guy testing citronella and deet and those wrist bands in a glass box full of mosquitoes and permethrin and deet were the only real winners. I didn't have success when I used permethrin the first or second time so I either had a bad batch or it just doesn't work well. I almost forgot.. I have a ton of bug sprays but haven't used any of them at all this whole year, even with the amount of hiking I've done - in shorts!

[PhatChin]

I was a detailer at an autobody repair shop for 3 years and I used to apply 34% DEET to hazy/old headlamps to renew them. So yes, I would imagine DEET would destroy your gear because if it can basically remove a layer off of a hard plastic, it will deteriorate soft plastics.

[j]

The ultimate solution (but one that not everyone is willing to do) is to hike only in winter. Not many bugs around when it's snowing.

[richardreed]

Personally, I buy Permethrin in its concentrated form. After I dilute it (6.5 oz per gallon of water), I soak all of my hiking clothes and then let them drip dry.
Clothes treated this way will remain bug free for either 6 months or 6 washes, whichever comes first.

[BeedeeEx]

That duct tape hack is genius!! Thank you for sharing!

[logancooper]

I was not expecting that laundary comment. Amazing.

[rungavagairun]

10:30 Thermacell also makes a product called the Backpacker that uses the same type of chemical pad and heating principle, but the device screws onto your isobutane canister. It's a little smaller and a little lighter weight because it doesn't require a separate butane canister cartridge. You just use the same canister many/most backpackers use for their stove.
I just purchased one. I've used it once so far, just in my backyard. I don't think it would work in very windy conditions, but most of the time, mosquitoes aren't out in windy conditions anyway.
It will only help with bugs when you're at camp or somewhere you're going to be for a few hours, and the pads are not cheap (like $1.50 each), but I have heard you can recharge and reuse the pads using permethrin.

[TheWtfnonamez]

Great stuff mate.
I am now routinely camping in the Scottish Highlands where it is a midge and mosquito holocaust.
Here is what we have found out so far.... and Im talking about camping and hiking in locations where you will get black soot on your arms because there are THAT MANY

You are right about red light
We found this out by accident, but NEVER get into your tent with a white light on. My tent lamp is covered in red tape, and when I get into my tent I turn off all white lamps, turn on my red tent lamp, and get in. Dont know the science but red light does not attract them.



Repellents are nonsense
They DONT "repel" they only stop the insect from biting at that location. So if you are swarmed with bugs, and you put on repellent, they will only keep seeking that one spot you missed and bite you there. Insect repellent is like police cameras. They dont stop crime they just displace it. Trust me .... unless you are going to smother every inch of your body in DEET every four hours, the bugs are just going to bite you at any location that you missed


Barrier methods are win.
Bee keepers wear suits right? Theoretically they are experts at not getting bitten, and they know ALL the tricks with that insect but they wear physical protection.
Physically stop the insects from having easy access to your skin. Bicycle clips or gaiters head nets, hats, long sleaves and gloves. Dont give the bugs skin. Seriously... all the pros who spend time in bug country like Finland or Iceland all end up just using barrier methods.

A cautionary tale....
Many chemical solutions are not only ineffective but certain bug sprays defend against mosquito bites but attract other insects like deer fly. Similarly DEET is utterly toxic to your kidneys. I used one spray on my clothes and that made me phytotoxic and where i sweated into the cloth I got blisters. Chemical solutions are NOT the solution. Be VERY wary about trying to solve this problem with chemical sprays because they are almost exclusively hydrocarbon molecules derived from insecticide, which themselves are a few molecules away from nerve gas.
Do a quick google search on insecticides and nerve gas and see what Im talking about. Permethrin is not "safe" and neither are the other chemical agents. If you are old like me then slathering this crap on your skin is no biggy, but if you are young and hiking you do NOT want to be using this crap regularly because it is toxic AF.

Sorry to say but red light and physical barriers are the only way forward. And dont believe that crap about smoke from the fire... that does not work either.

[WanderingSwitchback]

Love the tape trick! Thanks for that, Eric!
FYI, if you're in bear country, citronella candles need to be put away just like all other smellables. We left a couple of them out one night by accident, and sure enough, a bear ate them.

[donnajess]

That duct tape trick is brilliant! Thanks for the tip, Eric.

[StephiAnderson]

I’m in Florida. Extreme bugs. On the first Eve of every trip I get covered in camp fire smoke. Then apply Deet to the areas that are worst (ankles, neck, etc). From there, I’m pretty good for 2-3 days. I often worry about Deet getting on my clothes and sleeping bag.
That Duck tape trip is amazing. Ty.

[woodchip]

My favorite bug control is rain clothes. I have to say that I hike mostly in cold regions so sweat is not an issue.

[pepejuan]

I’ve lived in the Philippines for a year and half and the bug’s here are on another level, the ants are absolutely everywhere and the mosquitoes are tiny but deliver the same effects, it’s hard to even see them and they are sneaky, I use coconut vinegar on mosquito bites and it works great removing itchy swelling in minutes, I’m sure plane white vinegar will have the same effect 👍😁

[toesockoutdoors]

I always use picaridin and permethrin. That combo keeps ticks and mosquitoes away really well for me(plus Picaridin doesn’t stink like deet).
As far as gnats however, I haven’t found anything that keeps them from dive-bombing my eyes(I even tried swim goggles because I hate wearing a headnet, but the goggles fogged up too much). I’ve tried deet, Picaridin, NoNatz and Natrapel, but the gnats seem attracted to all of them. I’ve resorted to just smashing them against my forehead now

[nicoledriscoll]

In Minnesota the mosquito is the State Bird. Great video 😊

[Oldsparkey]

I use Sawyers Permethrin on all my clothing and camping gera. It will not hurt material like the nylon eating DEET will. Sawyers Picaridin on the skin to complete the double trouble for the bugs. In my 77 years I have found that combination is the best the world has to offer and beats everything else by a mile. Wish it would of been available about 60 years ago.

[Marc]

Bugs as a source of nourishment. That's good to know in a survival situation. No need to search for food when the food searches for you.

[SiaD]

Hands down best bug repellent ever is Avon Skin So Soft - it's the most effective, most long lasting, and no need to smother yourself as a small amount works, plus it smells great. Not originally meant to be a repellent but widely used as one, including by the Royal Marines when in the jungle. Neem is also a great natural alternative to deet - just as effective but doesn't last as long.

[markrico]

I've found that Picaridin is actually more effective than Deet for me, especially in lotion form – bonus is that the lotion doesn't have that slimy feel at all, no smell, and is very durable, usually lasts at least 12 hours.

[barbsandjoeh]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. Newbies at RV full time and the bugs are wild; literally lol