Discussion: Good Bug spray that works?

Can anybody recommend an effective bug spray that works even when you are sweating like a lost orienteerer?

What kind of bugs?

all! mostly mossies and the weird flies that keep chasing you in packs on the trails that attack your head but dont actually bite (i think)--they really freak me out!

For mosquitoes, anything with DEET will help. For deerflies, which sound like lightsabers and I think are your second type of bug, you need a sticky blue hat.

DEET applied to clothing, sweatbands & hair, rather than skin, stays best when sweating.

Bushmans 80% Deet. You can get it either in a Dry gel or aerosol...
Otherwise you could treat your clothes with permethrin.....but that won't stop them biting... you'd still want to use the deet on exposed skin...

Permethrin stops them biting through your clothes. Mosquitoes especially will stand on your clothes (which usually don't have DEET on them), and bite you through the clothes. Permethrin is very effective for clothes, but the warning label says to avoid spraying it on your skin. (Repel is a common brand. The label says to reapply after 2 weeks, but I find it lasts much longer than that, through multiple washings. You should wash in cold water, because hot is said to remove the permethrin.)

The biggest problem with DEET is that it melts certain plastics---watch bands and buttons especially. I would avoid spraying DEET on most synthetics (like high-tech wicking fabrics). Because of my expensive GPS watch, if I have DEET on my hands, I wash them before I touch the watch. Permethrin has no strong smell and doesn't damage clothes or plastics as far as I can tell.

The longest lasting DEET product is said to be 3M Ultrathon, which is a cream and supposedly lasts 12 hours. I only use it on the worst days and when I'm somewhere with serious tick problems. It's just a little too involved to put on, and washing hands afterwards is important. I usually just get a can of Off, take off my watch, spray my arms, exposed legs (or lift pants legs and spray my lower legs), and a little squirt at the back of my neck. I used to do my neck by spraying my hands first and dabbing it on, but seriously, with the watch and lack of washing facilities, quick is better than perfect.

Short answer: DEET on skin, Permethrin on clothes. Good for mosquitoes and ticks.

What's the state-of-the-art in blue hat technology?

Skin - so - soft!

No, no, that is a very dated blue hat picture. Cups are passe. The current technology calls for a strip of blue ductape on the back of the hat, smeared with Tanglefoot/Tangletrap. Deerflies wind up stuck to the goo, and you don't even realize there were any around until you're done and you take off the hat.

(Another useful technique is to hang around with someone who is more appealing to bugs than you are.)

Keep Permethrin solution and treated clothing away from cats!
It's okay for dogs, but extremely toxic to cats.

Do bugs have an affinity for blue? Or orienteers?

There is growing evidence that DEET can also be an effective Zombie repellent. The theory is that undead are attracted to the living by a mechanism that is similar to the way mosquitoes are attracted to us. The DEET shorts out their Olfactory Receptors and the ghouls never notice your presence. More research is needed.

There is anecdotal evidence that deerflies are more likely to land on something blue than other colors. The sticky tape thing will probably work with any color tape, though blue may be more effective.