Originally Posted by
robow
Best insecticide as in something you place on your skin to prevent bites and ticks? Nothing is better than pure DEET that I know of but you have to be so careful with that stuff as it will take the finish of most things it comes into contact with and can even damage some tent fabrics.
Edit: We began using OFF! Deep Woods Insect Repellent Wipes the last couple years and those things are so convenient and you don't have to worry about a bottle of that stuff breaking open in one your panniers. Seemed to work quite well including on the biting black flies of Wisconsin and would highly recommend. You can bet we'll be carrying some with us on the Minnesota Mesabi trail in a few weeks.
I had a can of Off in my damp basement for a long time. It was in a box with, among other things, an old helmet a stereo cable. Th can rusted a bit, allowing some DEET so slowly leak out. It dissolved part of the inside of the helmet and turned the portion of the plastic stereo cable insulating outer layer that it came in contact with into goo.
With that said, I have a brand new bottle of Ben's Jungle Juice I'll be taking with me next month. 100% DEET. I abhor mosquitoes and have lived a full life.
Back in 1999, one guy in our cross country group had some Avon Skin So Soft wipes. They did an OK job. His wife was an Avon rep. She got some business from us during the trip. Both from wipes and lotion. The added perk was that the lotion had a pretty hight SPF.