Not OFF!, Not Repel — Consumer Reports Has Named The Best Bug Repellent For Camping

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You've done your camping homework. You picked the breezy site up the hill away from the lake, got the tent up before dark, and packed the trusty bug spray you've been buying since college. So why did you wake up covered in bug bites? The problem may not be your campsite or your timing — it could be the bug spray you brought along.Here's the good news: the fix is probably sitting on a shelf at your local Walmart for less than $8 — Ben's 30 Tick & Insect Repellent Wipes.

Consumer Reports put 57 insect repellents through a genuinely brutal lab test, one that asks volunteers to hold their arms inside cages filled with disease-free mosquitoes for five minutes, counting every landing, every probe, and every bite. They repeated the rounds with a sweaty walk in between to mimic a real day outdoors, until each repellent failed or eight hours had passed. Some lasted close to the full eight hours, while others gave out in less than one.

The product that came out on top isn't in a can or bottle at all. It's a packet of wipes. Ben's 30 Tick & Insect Repellent Wipes scored 96 out of 100, the highest mark in the entire field. Here's why they beat every spray on the shelf, and the one thing to know before you toss a pack in your bag.

So what makes Ben's 30 Tick & Insect Repellent Wipes so great? The individually wrapped wipes contain 30% DEET, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended active ingredient for repelling disease-carrying insects. Plus, their compact size makes them easy to toss into a hiking pack or camping gear. They cost about $8 per pack at Walmart or $32 for a four-pack on Amazon.

The lab results aren't the only reason the wipes stand out. Buyer reviews on REI highlight practical advantages, with reviewers praising the wipes' tidy application and the fact that they don't create the cloud of spray that can fumigate everyone nearby. They're especially convenient when you only pack a carry-on or need something compact to stash in your bag. One REI reviewer used them throughout a trip to Peru, including the Amazon rainforest and Machu Picchu, and reported returning home without a single bug bite. Ben's also has a 4.8-star rating on Backcountry.

The wipes aren't flawless. They scored only three out of five on resisting damage to materials, staining or damaging polycarbonate, vinyl, painted car metal, and nail polish in CR's tests, and testers logged a strong medicinal, burnt rubber odor on application that eased to moderate after 10 minutes. That's a fair trade if you're traveling to destinations where mosquitoes pose serious health risks, like dengue fever. While mosquito nets can help keep the pests away from your sleeping area, and some campers even turn to vodka as a campsite hack to banish bugs, the CDC recommends using an EPA-registered insect repellent to help reduce your risk of mosquito bites.