Non-bear attracting, non-DEET bug repellent?

[Kodiak Firesmith]

Folks,
I've grown up day-hiking and kayaking completely slathered in hippy-dippy natural anti-bug stuff – and it's worked well. Lots of citrus, citronella, eucalyptus oils.

Now that I'm backpacking I need to find a non-smelly anti-bug solution since I've read multiple places that bears are attracted to my typical anti-bug protocols.

Got any non-DEET options I should try?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about bug net clothing at all? Or are you doing a lot of bushwacking?

A couple of summers ago, we went to Alaska, and beside having record breaking heat, they were also having crazy mosquitoes. In Fairbanks, at the start of the near perpetual dusk, when we got out of the car to go into this guys cabin, it was almost like dark clouds of mozzies (he was located outside of Fairbanks proper, in the woods). I've never seen anything like before or since.

I brought some bug net clothing, and was very grateful i did. In fact, most of the trip i was very glad i brought it.

No messy or smelly creams or sprays, no worries about chemicals at all. It did cut the wind a bit, which in the heat, sucked a bit, but it really wasn't that bad. I wore shorts with over sized bug net pants, a hat with a bug net over same. I didn't wear a bug net top though, just light colored, cool ls shirts that were just tightly woven enough to keep them from biting through overmuch.

Anyways, a lot of folks here seem to use permethrin. The stuff you soak your clothes in, and will kill the mozzies after exposure to same.

[Kodiak Firesmith]

So for me my primary worry is ticks. Not sure if netting will help there.

[Anonymous]

Probably not the cheap suits, but stuff made out of no-see-um should keep them off you, but your best bet would be to treat the bug netting with permethrin at key areas.

Whether or not bears are attracted to permethrin, i don't know. It has little to no smell for humans once dried and set.

Some would probably see that as over kill though, bug netting + permethrin.

Some folks just take a cheap pair of socks, cut part of the bottom off, treat it with permethrin and put it over the ankles and over the bottom of the pants, sort of like a gaiter.

As ticks crawl on it, they will eventually die, but there is minimal direct contact with your skin.

[Bob Gross]

"Whether or not bears are attracted to permethrin, i don't know."

In Alaska, I think the bears are attracted only to sockeye salmon, Arctic ground squirrels, and elk calves.

–B.G.–

[Bob Gross]

At the last time that I was in Alaska, the mosquitos were not nearly as bad as the biting flies. I think they were dark with a white spot.

As long as you had full skin coverage by clothing or netting, that stopped them, and permethrin took care of the rest.

–B.G.–

[IVO K]

I have been doing just fine with Picaridin-based bug repellent (Sawyer's) on exposed skin during the last 6-7 years.

Used DEET-based stuff before, and found out it killed prematurely my biking socks, jerseys and shorts…

As others pointed out, Permethrin on gear and clothing works well.

No bears were overly attracted to me, although I've met a few black ones closely.

[Miner]

Wear permithrin treated clothing with long sleeves and pants and a hat. Some clothing comes pretreated and lasts longer then self treating at home. I find that I rarely need to use DEET anymore. I do a lot of hiking in black bear infested parts of the Sierra Nevada and never felt that I was attracting them somehow with my smell. In fact, since they started requiring bear cans, I have very few encounters with them compared to what I use to see 20 years ago. So I'd be more worried about where and what I was cooking for dinner then my insect repellent.

[Colin Krusor]

There's also IR3535. It's the active ingredient in a few repellents available in the US. Industry-sponsored research suggests that it is effective against blacklegged ticks.

[Zorg Zumo]

If you're not using DEET, then you're getting bit. Seriously, if you're not going to use an effective repellent, then invest in some good barriers. Don't rely on make-believe solutions.

[Earl Gilbert]

Permethrin is not make believe.

[IVO K]

Neither is Picaridin.

Not a single bite when treated, for some 6-7 years now.

[John Klinepeter]

Another vote for permethrin-infused clothing. I have watched ticks climb up my pant legs and drop off before reaching the knees!

As a side note I have found the spray-on solution for pets to be ineffective when used on clothing. Too bad since it is easy to find and cheap. As I recall the concentration of the active ingredient is about half that of the normal concentration. Spraying the clothing twice did not improve the situation.

[Kodiak Firesmith]

Thanks everyone; looks like I'll be going with Repel Active Gear Smart which of course you can guess from the name to be non-deet.

[Zorg Zumo]

The insecticides go on clothing, DEET goes on skin. Clothing is a barrier. Perm does nothing for exposed skin. So to repeat, use DEET/Picard or a barrier – or get bit.
Lots of products sound good until you're in a cloud of skeeters.

Edited to fix my misunderstanding of picardin.

[Jeremy and Angela]

Picaridin, like Deet, goes on skin. It's only the permethrin that goes on clothes.

-J

[IVO K]

@ Zorg:

You better check your facts before spewing myth and lore on the interwebs…

Picaridin is to be applied on skin.
And it works very well, as I already posted.

[Cameron M]

"I have been doing just fine with Picaridin-based bug repellent (Sawyer's) on exposed skin during the last 6-7 years."

+1 I cannot tolerate DEET, and don't much like Permethrin either. Sawyer Picaridan, on skin, works great for me.

[Katherine .]

But curiously the OP didn't seem to have this problem.

[Author]

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