I'm biased because I work for the company, but All Terrain (based in Sunapee, NH) makes a very effective natural insect repellent called Herbal Armor. It has been shown effective against black flies, mosquitoes and other insects. Independent testing also proved it 100% effective for two hours and 95.8% effective for three hours.

Hope this helps!

I'm a big fan of both Off and Ben's. I usually stick with Off as it tends to be cheaper, and seems to work very well for me.

Bugs really dont bother me all too much so I dont use anyhting. I found the best remedy is to hike with someone who has better tasting blood than you do and let them deal with the pesky insects

I do carry it however for my dog, and I dont like the idea of putting DEET on him, so I use whatever I can find that uses boatnicals, etc. rather than chemicals. Seems to work okay for him, but dosent last nearly as long as the products with DEET.

Agree. I used 90-95% deet for about 25 years. I tried the 30% and it works just fine. Everyone's body is different , so it's a matter of trial and error.

Bug nets are effective - I use on in the height of BF season.

BF modus operandi is a straight shot into your orifice. Glasses will keep them out of your eyes. Can't help with your nose, ears or other places not described here.

So all I have to do to get rid of bugs while hiking is toss a match into the leafs?? That's GENIUS!! Why didn't I think of that?! Would do a heck of a nice job viewscaping as well now that you mention it. I'm going to have to write to the forest service and see what they think about this plan.

This guy smokes neem leaves while hiking? I think I was behind him on a trail once... cause I swear the dude ahead of me was smoking SOMETHING.

I've found the BEST insect repellent to be winter. Which is fortunate... because if you've ever tried to find neem leaves in the winter, its damn near impossible.

...my wife is a total bug magnet, and swears by Natrapel wipes: 20% picardin and the other 80% evidently inert. 50¢ each @ Amazon.

I just stay close to her, and the bugs don't even notice me!

I sprayed my hiking shirts, pants, shorts, hats, socks, boots, backpacks, and tents with permethrin last spring. Worked great. I'll do the same thing this spring. Instead of the Sawyer spray bottles, I buy a large economy size and mix it with water to the same dilution. Spray the stuff outside and let it dry. One treatment is probably enough for a full bug season in New England, unless its something you are wearing and washing constantly. Then, you might have to re-treat mid-season.

I use DEET on my skin. I doubt the brand matters at all. 100% DEET is 100% DEET.

Perhaps something new is on the horizon for repellant.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/05/tech/inno ... ech&page=1

I have a story about DEET and its effects. I was hiking in the Daks with my son's Boy Scout Troop in the Mt. Marcy area. We were required to carry bear canisters and to help demonstrate LNT principles and safety, we stored ALL smellables, including the bug spray (pump), into the canisters.

Well, the liquid from the spray bottle leaked all over the inside of the canister, dissolving some of the plastic and fusing the lid of the canister onto it.

Fortunately, this happened on the last night / final day of the hike and most of the food was stored in the other canister. I took me several hours to open that canister after I got home. It took several months for the bug spray smell to dissipate from the canister and the plastic to recover.

If memory serves me, the spray was the 30% DEET level. DEET is a solvent, so I would be careful applying it to synthetic clothing. I still do use bug spray containing DEET because it does work for me.