Originally Posted by
andrewclaus
I don't use DEET anymore. My wife had a health scare with it. Now I cover up with long sleeves and trousers, and occasionally use Permethrin. And use a head net--it's worth its weight in gold.
Campsite selection is also important. A breezy site away from bodies of water will have fewer bugs.
I avoid using it for extended periods on a long tour. There are parts of the world e.g. Arctic regions in US/Canada (e.g. Dempster/Dalton highways), taiga (e.g. roads across Siberia) with a lot of mosquitoes. Worst I had on sustained basis was between the Ural Mountains and Lake Baikal for about six weeks they were dense every day except the few large cities. I didn't want to be wearing deet for six weeks - so instead put a dab or two on worst days and otherwise [1] got out the mosquito nets and full rain gear as soon as we stopped [2] set up the tent as quickly as possible [3] jumped in the tent and smooshed any that happened to have snuck in while setting it up [4] stayed there until morning when I reversed the procedure.