Study shows best ways to keep mosquitos from biting

What works for me is layers, head net, keep moving and get in my tent right away at the end of the day.

“My experience with Picaridin is that it keeps Mosquitos about 6-8″ away from treated skin.”

Maybe it works on the same principle as DEET: it doesn’t block their CO2 sensor so they go into hover/hunt mode, but it blocks their IR sensor so they don’t “see” your warm body.

That’s my experience with DEET – they don’t leave the area, they do go into a more active mode, but they don’t land and bite nearly as much as without DEET.

I have a berry picking spot where I go every July-August, and it is fabulous black fly territory. No amount of 100% deet directly applied to skin stops them from biting. Maybe our Alaskan black flies are more ferocious. Of course, when picking you’re not moving so the experiment is a bit different than deet worn while hiking.

I don’t even mind telling people where my picking spot is, because most cannot stand it for more than 20 minutes. The berries are superb. Gotta just be tough sometimes!

In my opinion the best mosquito repellent is below zero temperatures.