Hiking and Camping Bug Kit: What to Pack and Wear

The most useful bug protection for a hike is the stuff you put on before you leave the house. Treated socks and long pants do the quiet, steady work, a registered repellent covers exposed skin, and a good check at the end of the day handles whatever got through. Here is how we would pack it.

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Start with what you wear

Most "best bug spray for hiking" pages start with a spray. We would start with clothing, and so does CDC. Its tick guidance opens with gear: treat boots, clothing and camping gear with a product containing 0.5% permethrin, or buy items that come pretreated, and the treatment stays protective through several washings. CDC's mosquito guidance agrees on cover: loose-fitting long sleeves and pants, and clothing and gear treated with permethrin. Permethrin is for fabric only, never skin, and the product label tells you how to apply it.

The reason clothing leads is practical. On the trail the usual problem is ticks brushing off grass and leaf litter, and a spray is the layer you forget to reapply at mile eight. Fabric keeps working without your attention. If you are weighing a skin product against treated clothes, our piece on lemon eucalyptus versus permethrin explains why they work as partners.

Then the skin layer

CDC lists six active ingredients to look for in an EPA-registered repellent: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, PMD and 2-undecanone. Look for the EPA registration number on the label, apply sunscreen first and repellent second, and reapply as directed. CDC also says not to use products containing OLE or PMD on children under 3.

We sell lemon eucalyptus essential oil, which is a scent material and not a registered repellent, so it has no place in this kit. We keep this point simple on purpose. Choosing a registered product with its label in hand takes two minutes at a pharmacy, and it is worth doing before a trip. Our guide to choosing a lemon eucalyptus repellent walks through the label.

Small habits that cost nothing

Stay in the middle of the trail. CDC advises avoiding brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter and walking in the center of trails.
Take a quick look at breaks. This one is our own habit suggestion, not a CDC rule: a tick spotted after an hour is simpler to deal with than one found at camp.
Choose where you sleep. EPA suggests emptying standing water at home at least weekly because it breeds mosquitoes. You cannot drain a marsh, but you can pitch your tent away from it.
Close the gaps. EPA recommends long sleeves, long pants and socks, and covering beds and baby carriers completely with netting.

A packing list that fits in one pocket

Pants and socks treated with permethrin, or ones you treated at home ahead of the trip.
A lightweight long-sleeved layer you can pull on in a minute.
A registered repellent in a zip bag, so a leak never reaches the rest of your pack.
A small mirror for the evening check.

Keep the lot together in one stuff sack, so the kit is always ready to grab and you are never hunting for it at the trailhead.

When you get back

CDC's after-hike routine is short and worth following to the letter:

Dry your clothes on high heat for about 10 minutes to kill ticks. Hot water is recommended if you wash them first, because cooler water will not do it.
Shower within two hours of coming indoors, which CDC links with a lower risk of Lyme disease.
Use a mirror for a full-body check, including the backs of the knees, inside the belly button, and in and around the hair.

The daily check matters because of timing. CDC says that in most cases a tick must be attached for more than 24 hours before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. If you do find one attached, or feel unwell after a trip, mention your time outdoors to a clinician. Our tick prevention checklist has the full routine, and tick and mosquito season by region tells you when to start packing all this.

The campsite at dusk

Camp is where the day slows down, and so do you. Boots come off, the stove comes on, and suddenly you are standing still at exactly the hour insects are busiest. Pull on the long sleeves before you start cooking rather than after the first bite, and keep a light layer within reach of the tent door. There is something satisfying about a camp that is a step ahead: the headlamp on its hook, the food stowed, and you in your sleeves watching the light go orange.

Matching the kit to the trip

A day hike through tall grass is a tick trip: put your effort into treated pants and socks, trail discipline and the evening check. An overnight near a lake is a mosquito trip: mesh on the tent, covering clothes at dawn and dusk, and a registered repellent on whatever skin shows. A long trek in unfamiliar country may involve disease risk we cannot assess from here, so a travel clinic comes first, as in our travel guide. And if you are bringing children to camp, bug spray for summer camp covers the age rules.

The nice part about all this is that it is mostly gear you already own. A well-chosen shirt and a few minutes of laundry do more than most people expect, and they leave your evening free for the campfire and the stars.