How To Repel Mosquitoes While Camping: 14 Proven Ways

Are you too tired of uninvited guests like bugs and mosquitoes on campsites?

You are here it means you are looking for smart ways to get rid of these tiny troublesome creatures that won’t leave you alone at a camping site.

Especially if it’s on the ground near a stream. Mosquitoes are your companions for sure.
Their continuous buzz-buzz will keep you awake and irritated, devoid of peace.

Camping, trekking, hiking is all fun until you find a variety of wildlife. Insects, bugs, mosquitoes, ticks, and what not? Besides being irritant, some of them are dangerous. Their bites can cause itching, swelling and you might catch a fever.
Therefore, it is necessary to take care of yourself and your family when you camp.

How To Repel Mosquitoes While Camping

Taking precautionary measures and being equipped with bug-repellent weapons will provide good protection. So keep these pests at the bay, plan, read well bug-free camping guidelines, and pack mandatory stuff for protection before setting out to camping.

In order to provide you with the best ways to repel miniature wildlife when camping, this article compiles around 14 ways, so dig into them to discover what suits you:

1-Bug Sprays and Lotions

The first thing that comes to mind is bug spray or lotion. No doubt, these sprays, creams, and lotions are very effective and everybody knows how to use them but still, it is necessary to read and follow the instructions before use.

Among all, look for a waterproof formula, so that you can have more protection even if water touches your skin.

Picaridin and Deet bug sprays are the most commonly used safe formulas. Be careful while using sprays or lotions, make sure to protect your eyes and lips as they can cause irritation and critically harm your eyes.

Furthermore, check your skin type before applying them, if your skin is sensitive and allergic to chemicals you might get rashes.

2- Natural Essential Oils

Essential oils are a natural option to repel bugs and insects. Essential oils are very helpful to keep bugs and insects away due to their certain properties.

More so, if you are allergic to chemicals that are part of the lotions and sprays, this makes the perfect substitute for you. Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, Catnip Oil, thyme oil, and clove are some of the highly effective oils with a 90 – 95% rate of protection.

Several other options make a good bug-repellent such as Sage, Cedarwood, Tea Tree, Lavender, Rosemary, and Lemongrass. You can apply these naturally extracted oils directly to your face and body. Plus, spraying them is also good.

Making essential oil spray at home will save you a lot of costs like you just need to mix 20-30 drops of oil in a glass of water along with one spoon rubbing alcohol and a cup of witch hazel. This will make you a regular spray bottle, now take it along with you and spray it for protection.

3- Natural Herbs as Mosquito Repellent

Natural items like herbs, onion, garlic, citrus fruits, and vinegar are some of the examples through which you can keep your bugs and mosquitoes away. Since vinegar is used as a spray option, let’s discuss it first. Spray some vinegar around your sitting and sleeping area to keep the bugs at bay because they despise its smell.

Onions, garlic, and citrus fruits make another natural option to cast such creatures away. Consuming them raw or grilled with food, both work fine. They’ll detoxify your blood and release a strong smell from your skin that repels mosquitoes, if they attempt to bite, you will find them wriggling around your skin due to the detoxing properties of garlic, onion, and citrus fruits.

There is another alternative to it, that is applying onion and garlic juice on your body or rub citrus fruits peels on the exposed skin but people usually don’t like applying the juice on the skin due to its kind-of-permanent-smell. That is totally up to you which method you would like to choose as per your requirement.

Mint is also an effective bug repellent. You can eat it in several ways. It will work the same. You can eat it in salads, kinds of pasta or chew a few leaves of it. It will resolve that upsetting of stomach functions. Moreover, you can take along a small pot of mint, its fragrance will keep the nasty pests away.

Herbs like chives, lemongrass, basil, cedar, rosemary, and lavender are useful for repelling several bugs, flies, ants, and moths. You can consume them as food or burn them or apply their oils on your skin, each method has its benefits but it will keep the bugs far away from you.

4- Coils, Lanterns, and Diffusers to Keep the Mosquitoes Away

There are several effective methods that you can use at the campsite to repel the pests. Using mosquito coils is another effective way to keep the bugs at bay while you’re camping. Mosquitos are one of the most annoying and potentially dangerous bugs that you will encounter while camping.

Mosquito coils are excellent for keeping those pests away as they are pyrethrum-infused and release smoke when burnt, which works like a campfire’s smoke. Once you reach your Camping site, place coils all around your camping space.

Mosquito repellent lanterns are also good to use. They serve the same purpose as coils do. You can even place them inside your tent, they are safe to use inside. These lanterns come with a removable cartridge that emits a smell that pests don’t like and this is why they stay away. But you need to replace this cartridge after 2 days.

Metofluthrin Diffuser is also one of the good options that will keep mosquitoes away from you. Just attach the diffuser to a surface close to your camp, it will release metofluthrin, which is a strong bug-repellent and kills the pests. You can easily enjoy your almost half-day without worrying about insects when a diffuser is around you.

5- Clothes with Insect Repellent Fabric

When you cover yourself fully, there would be no exposed skin left for mosquitoes to bite. Wearing clothes that have insect repellent fabric will save you a great deal of effort. Because when you wear them there would be no need left to use anything else. Therefore this option is highly recommended as you don’t have to apply chemical products onto your skin. If you have sensitive skin, then you should go for it.

No worries if you don’t have clothes with insect repellent fabric, you can simply use full pants and loose shirts with full sleeves after applying bug repellent lotions, sprays, or oils on your body and face. Another important thing is the colour of your clothes, wear light-coloured clothes because mosquitoes are attracted to blacks, blues, and browns. And wearing light colours can help protect you from pests

6- Ignite a Fire at the Camping Site

By the time when the sun is about to set, you tend to switch on all the lights of your camp which is a huge mistake, because some bugs and flies are more attracted to light than dark. That is why keeping a moderate light inside is important to keep pests away even from your net.

When you decide to sleep, use the same mesh or screen over your bed and relax. You do not have to apply any spray while you are sleeping inside the screen. Because it’s well protected, and won’t let any bugs enter. Just make sure once you put it up, don’t open it frequently, that way mosquitoes may get a chance to enter!

7- Bug-Repellent Candles

You can use bug-repellent candles to get rid of pests. It is a natural technique and needs no rocket science to practice. Some bug-repellent candles come with mint and rosemary scents, when such candles are used, they will repel the bugs but will affect your surroundings.

No doubt candles will make your camping area glow like stars, but always be careful when you lit so many candles, there is a chance twigs or grass may catch candle fire. Therefore, try to use them in a protected way like place them in a jelly or glass jar and set them around your tent. Because you only need their smoke to keep the bugs at bay, and this way you will get the smoke in a shielded way.

The best bug-repellent candle is the citronella candle. Keep these candles with you while you start your camping or trekking.

8- Choose a Dry and Higher Place for Camping

As a fact, mosquitoes can be found anywhere. But Camping at a place of height that is dry all around solves half of your bug problems. Since stagnant waters like puddles and pools or swamps are considered breeding places for mosquitoes because they lay their eggs at the surface of the water. Even if there are just some water-filled holes, chances are mosquitoes will soon reproduce there.

Many Insects and bugs carry infectious diseases, therefore it is important to save yourself from their bites. They might cause skin allergies, temperature, swelling leading to severe infections. That would be the last thing you would want to be happening with you at a camping site. That is why the farther you camp from watery areas the better experience you will get.

9- Bug Protection Through Bracelets

Have you heard about bug repellent bracelets? These bracelets do amazing work by releasing special chemicals into the surroundings to repel bugs, mosquitoes, and flies.

Bug repellent bracelet is a great option especially for kids who don’t want to apply any lotions or oils. You just need to put it on your child’s wrist and it will start doing its work. If they don’t want to wear it the whole time, just place these magical bands near them, they will do the work. You see, these bracelets are easy.

You too can use it, and then you won’t feel any need to spray on yourself or apply any lotions.

You can either buy them from the market or environmental protection agencies. But be aware, there are so many markets where the bands and bracelets are being sold, but they aren’t of high quality, and as a result, won’t give you the desired results.

10- Tent-Screen Rooms

The perfect option to make your sleep at the campground a peaceful sleep. With a cool breeze touching your skin to mosquito-free surroundings. Tent screens basically are tents, but larger than regular with mesh walls. They are screened from all around and let only the breeze enter.

If you want to have your lunch or dinner without applying any lotions or sprays, try using this. Just set it up over your dining table and zip it up. You are all set to have a victory party against flying bugs.

This way you can enjoy your food with a view. A view protected from bugs and mosquitoes and all those tiny creatures that keep on flying around you when you decide to munch on your food.

By the time when the sun is about to set, you tend to switch on all the lights of your camp which is a huge mistake, because some bugs and flies are more attracted to light than dark. That is why keeping a moderate light inside is important to keep pests away even from your net.

When you decide to sleep, use the same mesh or screen over your bed and relax. You do not have to apply any spray while you are sleeping inside the screen. Because it’s well protected, and won’t let any bugs enter. Just make sure once you put it up, don’t open it frequently, that way mosquitoes may get a chance to enter!

11- Use Unscented Hygiene Products

This is obvious when you are going camping, you will stay there for more than a day or so. You will have to take bathing products, deodorants, and some skincare goods with you. And when you use such products which have fragrance, the bugs get attracted to you. That could be one of the reasons why you are surrounded by flies, mosquitoes, and other insects.

That is why using unscented products is recommended. You can use all-natural products which are organic and have no artificial fragrance in them.

12- Keep your Campground Clean

It is a very important thing to keep in mind while camping. Once you are done with lunch or dinner, quickly cleanse your dishes, wash the cups, and damp the leftovers that you don’t intend to use. Whatever just make sure your camping area is clean, no food particles are left behind, otherwise, these particles will invite ants, flies, and other tiny creatures to your site.

13- Use Electronic Bug Repellents

Electronic bug repellents such as Bocianelli Ultrasonic are ultrasonic devices that emit high-frequency sound waves to repel nasty pests like carrot flies, mosquitoes, whiteflies, and beetles. High-frequency sound irritates them, therefore these pests will stay away from the whole area where these electronic devices are placed.

Are you worrying too much about the sounds?
Oh no, these devices won’t hurt you at all. As a matter of fact, these ultrasonic devices are made for bugs and pests. This frequency is silent to human ears. You can relax, take a nap, or even sleep-deep while your device is at work to haunt pests.

14– ​Use Bug Zappers

Since many bugs and insects are attracted to light, bug zappers work using UV light to create an artificial light illusion just to capture phototaxis pests. Once the bugs are captured, the high-voltage current flowing in the bug zapper burns them.

Facts state that bugs are good at sensing artificial light more than sunlight, that is why hanging your bug zapper near your camp will attract the traffic of bugs toward itself and then kill them. Flying insects bug zapper is also a good option, but it demands your time and efforts to function.

This article is an attempt to compile useful and proven ways, devices, and methods to keep the pests away. We hope these unique ideas will help you out whenever you plan to go out and will equip you with useful tips.

No doubt beautiful places on the surface of the earth are infested with insects, bugs, and flying creatures. You cannot avoid them completely if you are a camper. However, by learning from others Experiences and following useful tips and tricks you can combat them.

If you are planning your next trip and looking for some foods that require no cooking skills, have a look at our MUST-READ Camping Food Without Cooking guide that will surely help you a lot!

So note them down and get benefitted from them, next time you decide to go camping. Always make contingency plans and choose more than one option from above, because you never know what else becomes your need. That is the reason, I have put so many tricks down to help you out with planning. Happy pests-free camping!