Bug Spray for Summer Camp: What to Sort Out First

The camp packing list always says "bug spray" in one line, as if every can on the shelf were interchangeable. For a child, three small decisions make the difference: which active ingredient suits their age, who will actually apply it, and whether the camp has its own rules. Sorting those out before you shop saves a lot of second-guessing in the checkout aisle.

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Start with a call to the camp

Camps differ a great deal. Some let older campers keep a bottle in their bag, some hold everything in the health lodge, and some limit aerosols. A few quick questions are worth asking before you buy anything: Do campers carry their own repellent or do counselors hold it? Are pump sprays, lotions and wipes allowed, or only certain formats? Who applies it for younger children? The answers may point you toward a stick, lotion or pump spray over a pressurized can, which fits the American Academy of Pediatrics' advice to choose sticks, lotions or unpressurized sprays for children.

Match the active ingredient to the age

CDC and AAP both recommend EPA-registered repellents, and CDC's list of active ingredients is DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD) and 2-undecanone. The age line parents most often miss concerns OLE and PMD: CDC says not to use products containing them on children under 3, and AAP says the same. EPA adds that some OLE labels carry that restriction, while certain products with OLE as the only active ingredient at 30 percent or less have none, which is one more reason the label has the final word. EPA also notes that DEET labels have no age restriction.

Camp-age children are generally past the under-3 line, so age alone does not rule anything out. AAP gives rough protection times that help you pick: about 2 hours from 10 percent DEET and about 5 hours from 30 percent, with nothing gained above 50 percent; 3 to 4 hours from 5 percent picaridin and 8 to 12 hours from 20 percent; and up to 2 hours from OLE products at 8 to 10 percent versus around 6 hours at 30 to 40 percent. A day of swimming and games is not a weekend picnic, so it makes sense to choose by how long the child will be out.

How it goes on a child

The application rules are the same whichever active you choose, and they are worth teaching your camper in the driveway:

Apply it to exposed skin and the outside of clothing, never under clothing.
Use just enough to cover. AAP notes that using more does not make it work better.
Spray it on your hands first, then rub it onto the face, avoiding eyes and mouth. Not directly on the face, and not on a child's hands, which go to mouths and eyes.
Skip cuts, wounds and irritated skin.
Wash the skin with soap and water when they come indoors, and wash the clothes before they are worn again.

On sunscreen, CDC's order is sunscreen first and repellent second. AAP advises against combination sunscreen and repellent products, because sunscreen is reapplied often and that could mean too much repellent. Two separate bottles, labeled with your child's name, keep the routine clear at the camp lodge.

Clothes and tick checks carry more of the load than you might expect

For woods, fields and lake edges, AAP suggests lightweight long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, socks and closed shoes, plus a brimmed hat. It also advises against scented soaps, perfumes and hair sprays for the trip, and bright colors or flowery prints, which it says seem to attract insects. In tick country, AAP says to check your child's skin at the end of the day, and that the most effective product for ticks is permethrin, which goes on clothing and gear and never on skin. Ask whether the camp does evening tick checks, and our tick prevention guide covers the routine in detail.

About our oil

We sell a lemon eucalyptus essential oil for fragrance, and it is not an EPA-registered repellent. AAP is direct on this point: "pure" oil of lemon eucalyptus products have not been tested for safety as insect repellents and are not registered with EPA as repellents. If you came here for a camp repellent, a registered product from a pharmacy is the right buy. Our guides to lemon eucalyptus and children and lemon eucalyptus versus DEET go through the differences if you want the full picture.

Practice at home before the trip

A week before camp, let your camper rehearse the routine with you watching: put it on their own hands first, then rub it onto arms and legs, then wash up. Kids who have done it once at the kitchen sink are far more likely to do it properly at the lodge.

Label everything with their name, pack the repellent and sunscreen in a zip bag together, and write a one-line note on the bag about which goes on first. It is the kind of small thing a child remembers when the camp is loud and the shoes are lost.

A note for the health form

If your child has ever had a rash after a repellent, sunscreen or fragrance, put it on the camp health form. AAP's advice for a reaction is to stop using the product, wash the skin with soap and water, and call the pediatrician or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222, taking the container along. Pack a small bottle, a clear plan, and the camp will take it from there.