Best Bug Spray for Hiking of 2026

Quick verdict: Sawyer's picaridin spray is my answer whenever someone asks what to buy. At 20 percent picaridin, Sawyer labels it for up to twelve hours against mosquitoes and ticks and up to eight against biting flies, gnats and chiggers.

It's first mostly because of what it doesn't do. It won't eat the coating on a rain shell or cloud a watch face, and it isn't greasy, so reapplying at lunch is no chore. The pump is refillable, and it has one of the highest Amazon review counts among the skin repellents on this page.

Quick verdict: Ben's is the DEET brand that came out on top in Consumer Reports' 2025 ratings, where its 30 percent Wilderness Formula pump earned top marks against mosquitoes and ticks. This listing is the same 30 percent formula in four 1.25 ounce bottles, which is a smart size for hikers: one per pack, the car and the first aid kit.

Ben's labels it for up to seven hours. It's water-based with no alcohol or fragrance, so it doesn't sting or smell like much. It's still DEET, though, so keep it off your sunglasses and anything stretchy.

Quick verdict: This isn't a repellent you put on yourself, and it's the one I'd least want to skip. Sawyer's permethrin goes on your pants, socks, shirt and boots, at the 0.5 percent strength the CDC recommends for tick protection, and it works on the tick itself once it starts crawling up your sock.

Sawyer says one treatment lasts six weeks or six washes, and this bottle is enough for five outfits by its label. It dries odorless. The work is doing it right: spray outdoors, keep it off skin, let it dry fully, and keep wet clothes away from cats.

Quick verdict: Ranger Ready uses the same 20 percent picaridin as Sawyer and labels it much the same way: up to twelve hours against mosquitoes and ticks and eight against gnats, biting flies, chiggers, no-see-ums and fleas.

Two things set it apart. The Scent Zero version is made to be odorless, which matters if Sawyer's faint smell bothers you, and the 3.4 ounce non-aerosol bottle sprays a fine mist and still fits under the carry-on limit. Ranger Ready says it's suitable for kids a year and older, and it won't harm fishing line or synthetic gear.

Quick verdict: Consumer Reports gave Ben's wipes top marks in 2025, alongside the Ben's pump, and they solve a real problem. Repellent labels say not to spray your face directly, and a wipe puts 30 percent DEET exactly where you want it: forehead, ears and the back of your neck.

They also keep DEET off your pack straps and sunglasses. Ben's labels them for up to seven hours, and they're alcohol and fragrance free. The trade-off is cost and trash: this is the priciest way to carry repellent on the page, and every wrapper goes home with you.

Quick verdict: Cutter's Backwoods Dry is 25 percent DEET, inside the range Consumer Reports found worked best, for less than any other product here. Cutter labels it for up to ten hours against mosquitoes, with ticks, gnats, biting flies, chiggers and fleas also on the list.

The dry formula is the point: it goes on feeling dry rather than oily, which is what the name promises. As an aerosol, though, it sprays a cloud onto whatever's around you, and a 4 ounce can is over the carry-on liquid limit. Use it at the trailhead, not in a crowded tent.

Quick verdict: Oil of lemon eucalyptus is one of two plant-derived ingredients on the CDC's list, and Consumer Reports rated Repel's the best DEET-free product in its 2025 testing. Repel labels this can for up to six hours against mosquitoes, including those that can carry West Nile and Zika.

Read the label carefully, though. This one is labeled for mosquitoes and doesn't list ticks, so it's a summer-evening repellent more than a tick-country one. It smells strongly of lemon, and the CDC says not to use OLE on children under three.

Quick verdict: Repel 100 is 98 percent DEET, and Repel labels it for severe insect conditions and up to ten hours. It's the bottle for black fly season in the north woods or a long day in a buggy marsh, where reapplying every few hours is the real problem.

It is not three times as protective as a 30 percent product. The EPA's own summary says concentration mainly sets how long DEET lasts. At this strength it's oily, and it's hard on plastics and synthetic fabrics. For most hikes, a 25 to 30 percent product is the better buy.