Bug Off! Send Irritating Insects Packing With This Gear

Bug bites are no fun. They can itch or hurt, and some can make you sick.

Bug spray can help, but you have to reapply it often, especially if you’re sweating or doing an activity where it might wash off. Another effective way to keep biting bugs away is with insect-repellent clothing.

Most anti-bug clothing is infused with permethrin, a synthetic version of a natural repellent found in chrysanthemum plants. It has been EPA-registered since 1979 and is approved for use by the whole family, with no restriction.

Continue reading to learn more, written by Berne Broudy.

DÈNYE MIZAJOU

April 3, 2025

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Berne Broudy

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Berne Broudy, a Vermont-based writer, photographer, and adventurer has been reporting on hiking, biking, skiing, overlanding, travel, climbing, kayaking, and anything else you can do outdoors plus the gear you need to do it for category-leading publications in the U.S., UK, Spain, Germany, and beyond. Broudy rigorously tests the gear she reviews. In the field, she’s been asked to deliver a herd of llamas to a Bolivian mountaintop corral, she’s had first fat biking descents in Alaska, she helped establish the first sport climbing in East Greenland, she biked the length of Jordan, she worked to help brands clean up their materials and manufacturing, and she had guns pulled on her in at least three continents. In a story for Bicycling, she coined the term "poop doping," which then went viral.

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Medya Mansyone

This stuff flat-out works and this bottle from Sawyer is easy to apply, lasts for six weeks or six washes, and is less than $20.

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Medya Mansyone soti nan vole Seyè

Medya Mansyone

Smart backpackers now combine a lightweight filter like the Sawyer Squeeze with chemical tablets as backup – a system that processes water from alpine streams and desert potholes alike.

Brave Words
Editorial Team

Medya Mansyone

This insect repellant's permethrin spray provides long-lasting insect and tick protection for clothing and gear, effective for up to 6 weeks.

Adam Oram
Senior Editor