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

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.

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 midges......

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 species....... 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.

I'm not a great hiker, but I am certainly not a rookie. In Canada where I go hiking, is pure badlands, and extremely rugged to put it mildly. Thank you for the great videos Dude! I'm always trying to learn new techniques, and, or just learning the proper way to do things. Thank you again Dude. With love, and respect. Wes Sept

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

Had to pause this video to spray my area with lemon, eucalyptus oil spray. I use the Cutter brand.

I have never considered a head net until a recent trip in Michigan where the gnats were crazy. How do you properly wear a bug head net? Is there anything to it? Sea to Summit has a few different types... which are best?

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.

Picardin lotion around toght spots like the waistband and ankles under socks for chiggers, deet spray everywhere else works best for me, deet helps keep the tocks and mosquitoes away but doesnt seem to phase the chiggers. Troed picardin and they stay away

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.

Will citronella attract black bears and raccoons?

Really good video.

Fascinating info on deet percentage!

I don’t bring many comfort items on a long backpack so I can keep a low weight. But I have figured out what I will bring to have a good experience.

But this, I bring everywhere. Stansport 2 in 1 Lantern Bug Zapper, Green

If the bugs won’t fly to it it’s fun to bring it to them

Burn dried sage around ur campsite.....start in the center and walk in circles outward....works great....U can fire up a stoogie too!

if theres lots of bugs enter your tent by opening the bottom half of the doot and sliding in on oyour stomach, sliding through doesnt let many bugs in.

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

Michigan mosquitos eat citronella for breakfast.

I am a chigger magnet and living in National Forest for 28 years here’s my take on bug protection. Orange can of Off for spraying on body and rubbing in. Green can for clothes now both only fool the bug into thinking your something not to eat I want the bug to die if it gets on me I want it to shrivel up it’s head to fall off and die. Now I take Real Kill, Raid, Ant and roach killer and spray on my boots and pant legs and this has helped the most.

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.

Wait, why would you be swatting the bugs if you're wearing a whole face mask and suit? lol you could just sit there 😂 i know, it was for the shot, but that was funny

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 👍😁

Up in Ontario Canada I use a portable Thermacell MR300, bug spray and a head net if it gets real bad.

You could always use the Dan Becker bug repellent way. Pull out your tiny air pump and blow them away! Jk

I watch these videos while eating lunch or something and find the content pretty humorous most the time. I have come to the conclusion that most people have no common sense or problem solving ability. Don't leave the tent door unzipped?

Irish Springs soap

Definitely not A+ dude and the amount mosquitos piss me off that pisses me off u say thats A+. I am a wild garlic picker and I think the only possible way is to wear a bee keepers suit.

I was not expecting that laundary comment. Amazing.

That was great .

I'm 1 of the lucky 1's. If there is ANYONE else near by, the bugs attack them... So I just need to find another person to be protected... Or DEET if I'm alone!

Do not apply bug spray on your forehead. It will drip into your eyes when you start to sweat. The same thing for sunscreen.

DO NOT use Thermacells! They not only kill the annoying mosquitos and bugs, they also kill all the good insects (that are needed for pollination etc) and are harmful for other animals as well. It's being banned in many countries now. If you want to be environment protective and care for the animals and nature, please don't use Thermacells...

Thermacell is bulky and you need to buy the gas for it, which makes it expensive in use. Definitely a no-go for me.
I am used to use DEET on my bicycle tours. Coming back from Northcape end June 2022, I was eaten up from the mosquitoes despite DEET and wearing a net in the evenings. In Finland, I was recommended a product with 20% icaridin, to which I had to add some pitch oil. That seemed to work very well for the next two weeks, until I was way down in Sweden where there were much less mosquitoes. Lesson learned: for my future bicycle tours I will always carry my icaridine/pitch oil mixture.
Another note: the candles are useless. Maybe they keep the mosquitoes away from you in a closed space, but definitely are of no use when camping outside.

There’s a deet free product called PiActive it’s sold at bass pro in Canada

Nice tips, also fun to watch!

Many good points thanks. I would not recommend an Amazon jungle expedition for you. Like some of the old sayings " embrace the suck " in the jungle "Embrace the bugs"

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.

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

Sawyer Permethrin
spray it on your gaiters pants long sleeved shirts and hat
Picardin on your neck hands and ears
Headnet and thin gloves
And that is that
Good for ticks, midges and mosquitoes

I’m with you re the potential harm of deet. I got some on my g-shock and it ate into the resin of the strap and case. Made me think of what it might be doing to my body, so I’m now looking for alternatives. Thinking that lemon one is my next try. Great vid.

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!

Hey Eric, where’d you get your hat?

excellent info!

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.

Coconut oil repels mosquitos
so does wood ash.
sulfur repels ticks
Diatomaceous earth mixed with salt will repels bugs on ground.

On my most recent camp, I was subjected to a slug attack. Both tent porches had them and several were climbing up the tent inner. There must have been at least 20 of them. I’ve never had anything like that before. Do you have any idea what may have caused this?.

Hey Punk! Not you Eric, you're to young to remember Punk sticks. They still make them. They're like a giant incense stick. I would light a couple and stick them in the ground around where we were fishing. 👍

A smokey camp fire helps.

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.

Very important thing with Permethrin is that's toxic for water life and cats, and it's deadly for insects.

It's not repelent, it is pesticide. Safe for humans and dogs etc. but cats had mutation in metabolic pathway so permethrin is toxic for them, but other Pyrethroids can be safe like Pyrethrum.