I had the opportunity in Papua New Guinea to test out a couple of natural safe mosquito repellents. I am not one to take malaria tablets due to their side effects and I go running when I see a DEET-based mosquito repellent. While some might think this is irresponsible, I simply don’t like to ingest unnatural crap and I’m certainly not going to slather my body with toxic oils or creams.
The first mosquito repellent I tried was Avon’s Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus. I had heard for years that Avon Skin-So-Soft was a great mosquito repellent. I kept forgetting to pick this up before a trip because it’s not something you can buy in a store. Knowing that I was going to mosquito-infested PNG, I remembered to order it ahead of time and was ecstatic to have found it on Amazon. By the way, it appears to be on sale at the moment for about $4. Don’t pass up THAT great price!
I know that it works because I only put it on after I first got bitten (I know, don’t give me a hard time about that, 
please) in the Mt. Hagen region. It goes on more like a moisturizing lotion than a bug repellent so it’s actually quite pleasant. While it’s lightly scented, there’s absolutely no lingering unpleasant smell. And once I did cover my arms, legs and feet in it, not a mosquito bothered me. It has the added bonus of being SPF 30.
Available as both a lotion and spray on Amazon.
The next mosquito repellent I tested out in Papua New Guinea was All Terrain’s Herbal Armor Insect Repellent. I picked up some free samples when I was at the Outdoor Retailer Show and it was easy enough to toss the little 5ml samples into my carry-on bag.
I tested this when I was at the Tawali Dive Resort near Alotau (see photo above). This area actually had more mosquitoes than the area up near Mt. Hagen so I was battling them a bit more.
I found the All Terrain Herbal Armor to be quite effective. Once applying the lotion, I never got bitten and the mosquitoes seemed to have completely disappeared from my range. This product uses a combination of citronella, peppermint, lemongrass, geranium and other ingredients to repel the bugs. Unfortunately, it kinda repelled me, too. I noticed that the strong scent gave me a bit of a headache because it was so 
strong. I don’t consider myself usually very sensitive to scents and I likely would use this again, but be forewarned that it has a strong enough scent for others to notice. (My escort, Taita, commented about the smell after I applied Herbal Armor, but she liked it.)
It seems that most of the options available on Amazon for Herbal Armor are 4 oz. spray bottles, which obviously wouldn’t work if you’re flying and you only have a carry-on, but they do have a lotion available that you could transfer into a smaller bottle. And with this stuff, a little dab’ll do ya.
These are available on Amazon in a variety of sizes and formats.
Note – I’ve read reviews and responses from many people that non-Deet mosquito repellents just don’t work for them so these products may not be for you. However, if you’re more like me, searching for a natural way to scare away the mossies, either one of these would be a great option.
Travel Well,
Beth
Related links:
Win Tilley Clothes from Tilley!
CLEAN Anti-bacterial Hand Cream
Naturopathica for the Traveler
Join other Wanderlusters and stay updated on travel-related items by subscribing via email or RSS feed.
Thanks for the recommendations.
I’ve tried Skin So Soft several times and it DOES NOT WORK for me. I am severely prone to bites and this stuff is no where near strong enough. I’ll try the All terrain though. We shall see what happens.
Give Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus a try, it works great! Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus is the only plant based ingredient recommended by the EPA and CDC for use as a repellent.
Sitting here with dozens of bites on my legs right now, I’d love to try any or all of these products you mention. My problem is – where to get them once you’re already on the road?! We’re using the standard stuffed with chemicals but available everywhere spray variety at the moment. It works, but I just don’t feel right about it considering just how much I, with my sweet blood, have to apply it. I’ll definitely be on the look out now, thanks for the recommendations!