Nothing can ruin a great camping trip faster than a swarm of mosquitoes. To better prepare yourself against such a tragedy, you need to start looking for the best mosquito repellent for camping before you hit the road.
There are many ways to deter mosquitoes while you are camping and we will be looking at the best methods and best repellent sprays to keep those disease carrying blood suckers away. Covering natural remedies to the out there crazy ways to get rid of mosquitoes.
But for most campers, finding a spray on or rub on insect repellent is the most important piece of insect protection gear they can own. As we all have most likely encountered the annoying mozzies at home, we know how well these spray repellents work when they are on our skin. However, for the great outdoors, a stronger longer lasting repellent is ideal. Also knowing a few tips about ways to not attract mosquitoes in the first place is a great way to combat these pesky bugs.
Best Wearable Bug & Mosquito Repellent For The Whole Family
Ultrasonic Frequency Bands For Personal Protection
As technology advances, so does the war on mosquitoes. While utilizing ultrasonic soundwaves to deter animals is not new, it is a relatively new concept for personal protection against mosquitoes.
This new concept involves taking the frequencies of the mosquito’s natural enemy: bats, and import these soundwaves into an ultrasonic wrist band. Because bats love to munch on mosquitoes, these pests can detect bats from a mile away.
So by using this No-Go-Zone mosquito bracelet, you are creating a barrier around your body that deters mosquitoes. They will naturally avoid you when you’re wearing this bracelet as a way of escaping the frequencies that resemble the sonar of bats.
It’s A Rechargeable Device
What’s great about the No-Go-Zone band is that unlike your traditional mosquito bracelet, this one is rechargeable. So it can last for a lot longer making it cheaper for you in the long run. To recharge, you simply plug the included USB cable into a USB port and into a hidden slot on the band. The band uses a powerful 90mAh battery which offers it a 130 hours of running time.
More Details
- Fully charges in under an hour
- 3 functioning modes to cater to your environment
- Non-toxic and never requires chemicals or replacement oils and cartridges.
- Safe for anyone to use, including children
- Water-resistant
- Considerably more stylish than most other bands on the market.
- Available in black or white
You may or may not have seen these mosquito repellent bracelets before. Perhaps you have and just didn’t realize that they were bug repellents and thought they were some fashion statement. But let me tell you, these things are brilliant for keeping the mozzies away while camping.
What are they?.
I like this particular style by Division Products. They are stretchable so that kids and adults can use them. Some other brands have a button where it may not fit a large wristed adult or may be too big for the kiddies. So that’s why I like this particular style.
How They Work?
Well, obviously you wear them on your wrist. Each bracelet has 300 hours of protection from mosquitoes and other bugs. With the Division Products you get 10 of these bracelets. So that’s 3000 hours of protection for a very good price. Plus you get 12 anti bug patches to wear on your clothes for even more protection from these critters.
The bracelets are made using natural oils that deter mosquitoes. While Humans love these oils, bugs and insects can’t stand the stuff. The oils infused in the brand include well known mosquito repellents citronella and lemongrass. Which are of course very safe for humans.
They do come in some pretty funky colors, but remember your not going camping to win a fashion contest. The kids will love the colors, but some Dads may not be quite as impressed. But hey, let Dad get bitten by mosquitoes. No just kidding.
The absolute best thing about these bracelets are that they are waterproof. If you haven’t noticed, mosquitoes love the water. Anywhere there is water, you are sure to find these insects. Mosquitoes even lay their larvae in water. So when you going swimming in a river, its great to know these bracelets will deter the mosquitoes while you are relaxing in the cool water. I highly recommend buying one of these bracelet packs for the whole family, along with some of the best mosquito repellent spray for a bite free camping trip.
Best Repellent Spray For Mosquitoes When Camping
Most sprays are not water proof and can wear off a lot quicker when you sweat or swim. This is why I recommended getting a bracelet from above as well. Ultimate swimming protection then. The best brand I found for repelling mosquitoes with spray is the ‘Repel’ brand.
For effectiveness, I haven’t come across a better one. It stops mozzies in their tracks. The key to making Repel work flawlessly is too keep on top of the applications. While they state it can protect for up to 8 hours, I found reapplying every 2-4 hours to work the best. This will differentiate from person to person depending on how much you sweat.
Repel has a 40% DEET concentration. While you may be thinking “wouldn’t 90-100% concentration be better”, the truth is that with the DEET ratings, 30-40% concentration is about maxed out. Any product that claims above this number is likely using marketing techniques on you.
The higher the percentage, generally means the higher the protection time. But not always effectiveness. Which is why I mentioned reapplying every few hours rather than every 8 hours. You can get high DEET % products which aren’t as effective as this Repel brand. We used this spray while in the Australian wetlands and I can safely safe it did its job considerably better than some of the other campers. It was a welcomed relief to not be scratching and itching for days on end. Preparation for mosquito bites is the best defense.
Natural Mosquito Repellent For Camping
When it comes to a natural mosquito repellent for camping, it’s got to contain no DEET. DEET is an abbreviation of a chemical that was first used by the US Army back in 1946. It doesn’t kill mosquitoes, but repels them. While it’s safe for kids to use (Preferably not on newborns up to 8 weeks old), some people don’t like DEET repellents becasue they can cause headaches, rashes and is not to be used on open wounds.
So the best natural organic mosquito repellent I recommend is by Skedattle. It’s a natural spray made from essential oils and contains 0% DEET. According to the manufacturer, this natural repellent is 16 times more effective than a DEET product. I’ll leave that up to you to be the judge. All I know is that it works very well. I even use this product on existing mosquito bits to relieve the itch.
The essential oils that are infused are your common Citronella and Lemongrass, but What I like is the Peppermint and Vanillin additive. Gives this repellent a really nice smell on your skin. Unlike most other repellents.
Many types of bugs and critters won’t like the smell of this spray. The organic ingredients deter many species. But in particular, the mosquito. While deterring many bugs, its a brilliant product for people that have immune problems. With no chemicals and being certified vegan, the Skidattle Natural Repellent is a choice many people with allergies turn too.
Best Mosquito Protection For Camping
While the above repellents are great for on the go hiking, exploring, fishing, swimming etc. Then next tool you need is a repellent for your camp site. For when you are lazying around the campfire, or sun baking on the outdoors cot. Having the entire camp site mosquito free is the ultimate goal so that you can do whatever you want without the worry of pesky bugs.
The following three repellents are designed to keep a designated area of your camp site mosquito and bug free.
Portable Rechargeable Bug Zapper & Lantern
A bug zapper regardless of how awesome it is, will never get rid of all the mosquitoes. Bug zappers are part of an overall plan to reduce the numbers. So never solely rely on a bug zapper to keep your camp site completely insect free.
The reason I like this one by Enkeeo is that it doubles as a waterproof lantern as well as a mosquito zapper. The waterproof feature is great for times of cleaning especially. It allows you to run the zapper under a tap to wash out the dead bugs.
The lantern itself is pretty cool as well. It has 3 light level settings. So all moods are covered from sleeping light to “I need to see where I’m hooking this prawn” light. Or if you have young kids and need a dim light so that you don’t wake up neighboring campers in the middle of the night to change a diaper.
The zapper and lantern come with a rechargeable battery. Lifespan will depend on whether you use it solely as a zapper or a light and zapper at the same time. Also how many hours a night you use it. But for zapper alone, I got a few good nights out of it. IF you have a car with USB ports, then you can charge this zapper up whenever you need. Comes with a handy hook too if you want to hang it inside the tent.
Best Natural Mosquito Repellent Sticks For Outdoors
Not everyone is a fan of sprays, candles, zappers etc. The burning bug stick or coil is often a popular choice. But most of them have that really strong smell and many of them don’t even work that well. So while they are cheap to buy, they can be hard to find when you’re looking for a low scent repellent that actually works.
These 100% natural sticks however, are another story all together. They are brilliant idea repellents for camp sites. Unlike candles, you don’t have to worry about them catching a light. These sticks just die out once they reach a certain point. That is about one hour per stick. So stick a few around the camp site and replace every hour or so.
If close to sand, you can make little hills of sand to stick these in, or you can just jam them into the ground. Pay attention to where you stick them tho. By the camp fire, you can lay a few around the outer edges or hold them in your hands. As they have a better smell than traditional coils, these organic natural mosquito repellent sticks won’t smoke you out of the hole.
Keep The Mosquitoes Away When Camping With This!
I love this little device by Thermacell. It’s perfect for camp dinners when you are eating as a family and don’t want strange smells from repellents wafting into the mouth. It’s one of those small inventions that often gets missed yet is one of the best ever. Especially if you dislike mosquitoes!.
So what is it?. A small little device that hates mosquitoes with a passion. It comes in different colors including a cool looking camo design for outdoors activities. It’s designed to sit flat, however a pouch is available to buy separately that allows you to wear this on your body. It covers a 15 foot by 15 foot radius, so think of it as a portable invisible insect bubble proof protection unit.
I’m not very sciency, but it works by generating a little bit of heat. Hence why you cant wear on your body without the pouch. The Thermacell has a butane cartridge that heats up the repellent mat. When this mat is heated, it releases a natural mosquito repellent called Allethrin. Mosquitoes cant stand this invisible fume that is being put out from the Thermacell. It’s really quite incredible how it works and manages to cover 15 ft2.
The downside is the obvious need to replace the butane and repellent pads. The kit comes with 3 pads and the butane to survive 12 hours of mosquito free camping. But if you use this tool in combination with others listed above, you won’t need it on for 12 hours a day. So it can work out to be incredible value. Especially at food time. Extra butane and repellent pad kits can be bought separately for around the same price as the initial purchase. But with the refills you get four times the repellents.
