Bug Zappers Are Out — Here Are The Items Everyone Wants Instead For Bug-Free Camping

There's a lot to love about camping, but going home covered in itchy bites is not one of them. To combat this, some people pack a bug zapper. Unfortunately, those aren't effective at keeping biting bugs at bay. As The American Mosquito Control Association notes, studies have found that bug zappers have no meaningful impact on the amount of mosquitoes in an area. A smoking campfire and a powerful fan can certainly help, but if you really want to stay safe from biting bugs, you'll want to consider other options like DEET, and for good reason. 

In many parts of the world, including dream vacation destinations, mosquitoes are a growing health risk. They can carry unpleasant, even deadly diseases, per the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The pulsing blueish light and electrical buzz of a bug zapper may make you feel safer, but unfortunately, bug zappers are not great at killing the bugs you should be worried about, according to The New York Times. These devices use black lights to attract flying insects and electrocute them, and the piles of dead bugs around them are proof that they are, in some ways, effective. However, if you were to go digging through with a magnifying glass, you would find very few mosquitoes or biting flies, and definitely no ticks. Worse still, the kinds of bugs they typically attract are vital parts of the ecosystem and are harmless to humans. Zappers literally explode bugs, meaning if a particular insect was carrying a disease, those germs are now spread around your campsite.

So, what does work? To find out, we did a deep dive into the scientific literature that analyzes all kinds of devices and strategies to keep you bite-free while camping. Then, we arranged our list according to how effective they are for people staying outside for extended periods in temporary shelters. Here's what we found.

Whether you prefer sprays, lotions, or wipes, if you're looking for a scientifically proven way to stay safe from mosquito and tick bites while camping, your best bet is probably an insect repellent where the active ingredient is DEET. Originally developed by the U.S. military to protect its soldiers in areas with a high mosquito population, DEET doesn't actually kill bugs. Instead, it keeps them away. Studies have suggested various explanations for this, with one 2013 study from the Journal of Insect Physiology finding that the substance actually prevents mosquitoes from being able to detect human breath and skin. Whatever the exact reason, however, the results are clear: If you use it right, DEET can keep you from getting bitten, which makes it a great choice for campers.

While this chemical has a bad reputation thanks to some very publicized cases of DEET poisoning and toxicity, when used correctly, there should be no issues using products that utilize it as the active ingredient. Even when people do have issues, they usually manifest as rashes rather than potentially deadly reactions. The vast majority of cases involving medical complications from DEET are linked to its misuse. 

To avoid any potential issues, make sure to follow the instructions on the label for whatever product you choose, as different concentrations tend to require different application techniques. Ensure that you store your DEET-based repellent in a location inaccessible to children. While it's safe to use on your skin and clothes as directed, you definitely don't want to consume it. You probably shower when you get back from camping anyway, but this is even more important if you used bug spray.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency offers a search tool to help people choose the best repellent for their situation. For people who need protection from both mosquitoes and ticks and who are planning to be outside for a while, the agency's top recommendations contain one specific active ingredient: picaridin. Picaridin is an artificially synthesized compound that was created to mimic piperine, a compound found in the plants that produce black pepper. 

While it's not as well known or studied as the gold standard of bug repellents, DEET, Picaridin is believed to be just as effective at scrambling the information mosquitoes and ticks use to find people to bite, per Consumer Reports. A 2018 review in the Journal of Travel Medicine, which examined various studies of bug repellents, suggested that picaridin may actually last longer than DEET.

While people can experience skin irritation from picaridin, it's very rare. Still, you should plan to wash the repellent off as soon as you get back inside and always follow the instructions on the label of your chosen product. As with any repellent, make sure not to hand it to kids to apply themselves. In general, however, campers can protect themselves with picaridin-based products without concern for any unwanted effects. A test from Consumer Reports suggested that wipes and lotions might be less effective when it comes to the substance, so you may want to consider bringing a spray on your next camping trip.

If you're looking for a way to keep yourself safe from mosquitoes, flies, and ticks while camping, you may want to consider buying clothes, shoes, and even tents treated with permethrin before you head out. While these products won't protect your face, hands, or other exposed skin, they are still fantastic tools to avoid getting bitten. You can also buy permethrin and treat your favorite camping gear yourself, but it might not last as long as if you buy items that were treated from the beginning, per Consumer Reports.

Unlike bug sprays that have to be reapplied regularly, permethrin is self-sustaining across several uses, even if you wash the items in between. It's a synthetic insecticide designed to mimic a chemical in chrysanthemums. It doesn't just keep insects away; it also kills them. It can hurt harmless bugs and other wildlife, too, but unlike sprays, pre-treated items don't come with the risk of harming creatures downwind of you. 

While it is dangerous if you get it on your skin, permethrin is a great way for campers to keep harmful insects away from them and their tents — and you can stop worrying about ticks on your hike, too. According to one 2020 study from the Journal of Medical Entomology, clothes that were treated by the manufacturer with permethrin reduced the number of tick bites wearers got by 65% in the first year of use and 50% in the second year.

Bug sprays are fantastic at keeping your body safe from bites, but what if you want to protect your entire campsite? A growing body of evidence has shown that spatial emanators — devices that release repellents into the air — might be effective at keeping a particular area mosquito-free. More testing is definitely needed to determine how well they work, but the World Health Organization (WHO) already recommends spatial emanators to help protect people from malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses. 

Their safety and risk to the environment depends entirely on what chemical it is that they are dispersing, so make sure to do your research on what exactly is in your emanator, but if you're looking for a set-it-and-forget-it device to replace your ineffective bug zapper, this might be your best bet.

While the SC Johnson Guardian and Mosquito Shield devices that were recommended by WHO are designed to be used in settings like homes (and could, in theory, be used in a tent or at a campsite), they aren't currently available for purchase by the general public. However, there are some promising spatial emanators designed for outdoor use that you can use to protect your campsite. It's important to be mindful of the natural world around you, however. The brand Thermacell uses prallethrin and allethrin, insecticides similar to permethrin. While one 2023 study from the Journal of Insect Science found that at least prallethrin may not be harmful to bees, both are known to be toxic to aquatic life. If you're planning a relaxing lakeside getaway or going near any natural body of water, you'll need to leave this one behind.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones. If you're going to be sleeping outdoors in an area with mosquitoes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a mosquito net. While having a mosquito-proof barrier might seem like a rudimentary option, it's believed that mosquito nets have saved millions of lives and prevented at least a billion malaria cases, according to United to Beat Malaria. Best of all, a plain mosquito net is lightweight and easy to pack to use on your camping trip. It also comes with no risk to the environment around you, so you can use an untreated net in even the most delicate of ecosystems.

Not all nets are made equal, however. You definitely want a white net with at least 156 holes per square inch (according to the CDC), but beyond that, you have plenty of options to choose from. There are large pop-up rectangular ones that you can put over your folding chairs or picnic table, pyramid-shaped ones that you can hang from your tent, and special hammock bug nets in case you love camping but hate sleeping on the ground. You can even find hats with bug nets to protect your face. If you are going to be in an area with dangerous mosquito-borne illnesses, you can make sure you're being as careful as possible by getting a mosquito net treated with permethrin.

To find the best products to keep campers safe from bugs, we first decided what kinds of bugs pose the biggest risk. While some may find it unsettling to see a large centipede or have a big fluttery moth stuck in their tent, a certain amount of contact with harmless insect life is unavoidable when you sleep where animals live. However, bugs like mosquitoes, ticks, and biting flies can transmit serious illness, so we prioritized strategies designed to keep you safe from them. Generally, mosquitoes pose the biggest danger, so we ranked products that are effective against them most highly.

Next, we looked into which sprays, devices, and strategies have been scientifically proven to keep these bugs from biting you. This eliminated some popular products like ultrasonic devices and citronella candles. While anecdotal evidence may assert that something works, we kept such items off our list unless we could find a scientific study demonstrating their efficacy or a recommendation from a trusted authority, like an entomologist.

Finally, we ranked the remaining strategies and devices by how effective they would be for campers specifically, prioritizing ones that would keep people safe when they are sitting outside for long periods of time and eliminating those that require extensive setup or time to work. This eliminated all mosquito traps, from dunks to baited glue traps, which require long periods of time to have any impact on the mosquito population in an area, per The American Mosquito Control Association. While these may be worth exploring for those who own campgrounds that have an interest in reducing the amount of mosquitoes in a given area, campers heading out into nature for a few days are unlikely to see any benefits.