What's your best homemade or commercial bug repellant?

[WiseOwl]

i read that dryer sheets and fragrant body soap shavings will repel bugs but also repel deer, great for the garden but bad for hunting.

Take a bar of dial soap and put it in a sock. Tie a few of these on post in or around your garden. You have to replace them every few weeks but its supposed to repel deer. When we first moved here we tried it but no deer had the juevos to jump the barb wire fence in the back so I quit wasting soap.

I heard Irish Spring works also

[protus]

Take a bar of dial soap and put it in a sock. Tie a few of these on post in or around your garden. You have to replace them every few weeks but its supposed to repel deer. When we first moved here we tried it but no deer had the juevos to jump the barb wire fence in the back so I quit wasting soap.

I heard Irish Spring works also

i knew a guy in Canada that when hunting would take Brut aftershave and spalsh it on thick each Am before he went out. I thought it was a joke till i seen him do it.
he would miss a few deer the 1st few days of season but by weeks end he normally had already fille dhis tags while the restof us went skunked...

[survive]

Here's a couple of great sites that offers some recipes for homemade repellants:

http://www.drlisawatson.com/natural-insect-repellents

http://wellnessmama.com/2565/homemade-natural-bug-spray-recipes-that-work/

[scoob]

down here in skeeterland i use deet 29% works fine for me, even with fleas too.

[BillM]

Deep Woods Off.
This works for me . As for the fear about useing Deet, I think it is a lot less dangerous than the Lyme deisese carried by the Deer ticks here in KY.

When I was younger and got a tick, it usually just left a small itchy red spot after I removed it. Now it leaves a scar that resembles a gun shot wound!

Hell ,I guess that is just one of the problems with advanced maturity.

[PerryJeff]

I use Deet, but have wanted to try some Beauty berry leaves sometime? I haven't tried this yet or planted any but on my list to grow.

http://forestry.about.com/b/2011/10/04/american-beautyberry-wildlife-food-and-insect-repellant.htm

Survive, those links are interesting with the recipe mix. In raising bees we use lemon grass for attracting swarms to an empty box. Now the mint extracts have been used to control the mites on the bees. Not sure how that relates to ticks and biting criters but found it interesting... ;o)

[JUSTIFIED]

Thanks for that link PerryJeff. Always looking for alternatives to chemicals. I don't like the idea of my skin absorbing what's in these insect repellants.

[Daelith]

Deep Woods Off.
This works for me . As for the fear about useing Deet, I think it is a lot less dangerous than the Lyme deisese carried by the Deer ticks here in KY.

When I was younger and got a tick, it usually just left a small itchy red spot after I removed it. Now it leaves a scar that resembles a gun shot wound!

Hell ,I guess that is just one of the problems with advanced maturity.

I have the same problem with tick bits now. They just take forever to go away. I will spray on some Deep Woods Off on my clothing but not on my skin.

After reading this thread last weekend, I purchased a Thermacell and I have to say, I was impressed. Took about 10 minutes for it to really start working, but once it did, I was not bothered unless I moved away from it.
I found the best deal at Tractor Supply. They had the Thermacell unit plus the carry case for $19.99. Had box of 4 butane refills and several refill pads for $19.99 also. Will be going back for some of those. Wal-Mart was selling unit and case separately. Only had box with 1 butane refill cylinder and a few pads. They were $6.88 or thereabouts. Better deal at TSC on those too.

[Georgia_Boy]

Normally when I know I'll be in the woods for a few days or longer, I start taking 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar each morning. I tried plain white vinegar but did not notice any difference, they both work. The gnats and skeeters will land on me but usually they take off right away as the vinegar comes through my pores. A good ol boy showed me that 20 years ago when we were near the swamps and I was being driven crazy and here he was serene and all with no bug problems. I still carry a thermacell with me in case the clouds of the boogers messes with my aim.
I still haven't learned to do the backstroke without swallowing 4 lbs of protein........
GB

[Spock]

Coleman SkinSmart DEET free seems to work on SWFL fresh water mosquito but the Asian Tiger Stripes up in manatee county just laughed at it.

[Pop_45]

When I was in scouting, the going thing was Avon's Skin So Soft to keep the skeeters and gnats at bay, with a dusting of sulfured flour to repel ticks and chiggers. Don't know if they are still available, I've been out of Scouting since the mid 80's

[JUSTIFIED]

When I was in scouting, the going thing was Avon's Skin So Soft to keep the skeeters and gnats at bay, with a dusting of sulfured flour to repel ticks and chiggers. Don't know if they are still available, I've been out of Scouting since the mid 80's

Skin So Soft is still available. Not as effective as some but smells better.

[WiseOwl]

http://www.soapdelinews.com/2012/06/diy-bug-repellent.html?m=1

Found this today