Medical studies on mosquito-borne illnesses pretty consistently show that nothing works better than DEET for topical application. People keep trying to find something bad about it but that has been hard to do, although most authorities recommend against it’s use in young children. If you really are sweating it off, the problem likely lies with the formulation rather than the DEET itself, so you might try switching brands. Thermacells do work well–as long as you are staying in one place. All I can say for sure from a medical perspective is that with the dramatic increase in serious mosquitoe-borne illnesses (think West Nile, zika, chikungaya, dengue) we had all best have a plan in place. It is only a matter of time until they get wherever we hunt. Don
