Repel Sportsmen Gear Smart Formula Spray Pump Insect Repellent

Yeah, there's always a "but". In this case, there are several: (A) The full effect doesn't last ten hours. Maybe it rubs off or something, but I've found I need to re-apply it periodically. I don't want (or need) to take two or three showers a day! (B) Instructions say wash it off when you come inside, which makes me wonder if it should go on my skin at all. Hmmm. (C) Fleas whose window for getting a blood meal is running out are not deterred by it, but it does keep most of these evil parasites away - and it works very well against mosquitoes. (D) Picaridin is NOT odorless. It smells sort of like a chemical-y version of corn chips (similar to some derelicts I've encountered on city buses). (E) Like all pump sprayers, when you get down to the last inch or so in the bottle it will only work if held exactly upright (and even then some squirts are "duds", so it's a little frustrating).That said, I prefer using picaridin to DEET. I think (I hope) it's less toxic, and at least it doesn't interact badly with plastics. At first I used Cutter Advanced, which is 7% - half the concentration of Repel Sportsman Gear Smart (studies say concentration determines how long-acting it is). Now that manufacturers are allowed to sell products containing higher concentrations of picaridin, I've switched to the Repel because it's twice as strong and close to the same price. I've found SOME versions of the herbal based repellents (cedarwood, lemon eucalyptus, catnip, pennyroyal, etc.) work just as well, but during summertime, having a coating of oil on my skin makes me feel a LOT hotter.

It doesnt work as well for some one who is constantly being eaten by mosquitos. Im used to putting on the repel 100% deet because i work construction outside a building in a forrest with a pond next to it. So the mosquitos are all over the place. As soon as i get there i spray this on and i still feel them hovering around me. I actually still see them close to me as well.Be advice it might work for you but it didnt work as well for me because mosquitos are attracted to me everywhere i go. To some poeple not as much so for them it might be perfect.If your the type of person the mosquitos are constantly bitting on I would suggest the repel 100% deet spray.Dont get me wrong this one still works but not as great for me.Im the type of guy that if i dont put on anything in a matter of 5 minutes i would already have over 10 mosquito bites. No lie.

I work outdoors in Florida, at all hours of the day and night, so mosquitoes are a problem. We now have the tiger mosquito which is extra aggressive.I will not use DEET, (makes me kinda sick just thinking about it) so I had to find something really effective. I used to use the Cutter Advanced. At first you could only get it in 7% Picaridin (in a pump spray), which was not sufficient. Eventually Cutter gave us "Advanced Sport". It was 15% and came in a lovely, quick to apply aerosol spray. By the time I discovered it, it was already getting hard to find, so I ordered a case. The case lasted me for 3 years.Bugs will fly for a mile to bite me. They will fly around blood banks and "yard guard" factories to bite me... but 15% Picaridin does keep mosquitoes away. Usually I only have to apply it once at the beginning of a sweaty 8 hr Florida work day. I rarely have to re-apply, maybe that's a sign that I've worked more than 10 hours.This is the same product as the cutter advanced sport, made by the same people. The only thing that makes me sad is the pump sprayer. Mosquitoes will find "untreated areas" and this spray makes it harder to get good coverage. I have to spray and then rub it around to make sure all exposed skin is covered. Then the little blighters will hover around a bit and fly away.info for non-mosquito bugs:Please notice I have not mentioned fleas or "no-seeums." We have been fortunate enough to not have fleas. As for no-seeums, first I think every region has its own "bug small enough to get through the window screen" called a no-seeum. I can tell you that this product does not work well for the kind we have in FL. It reduces their attention to a small degree, but not enough for me to be willing to stay outdoors when those little guys are around.I have not had a problem with biting flies when using this product, but we don't have a ton of those in FL. The only ones I've had to deal with are those that bite your ankles when you are standing in the grass at dusk. I am bitten by these much more rarely with this product, but I am not sure it is 100% effective. Since dusk is usually near the end of my work day, I can't claim to have run a fair test.Summary - If I was going on Survivor and could only bring one thing from home, it would be a bottle of this repellent.

I'm very pleased with this product. In my opinion, the Picaridin based repellents are equivalent to Deet. Advantages are no more chemical smell or sticky skin. The smell is a little like corn. I'm hoping this will be a good thing early in our whitetail deer bowhunting season here in Missouri. I plan to use it in the deer woods.I've already used it on several trips into the woods, replacing a deer stand, cutting brush and clearing shooting lanes. Can't say its 100% effective, but nothing is. You tend to wipe it off during physical acitivty, etc.. I will say the last trip in the woods I had zero ticks, zero chigger bites, and zero mosquito bites. Me and my two boys sprayed each other in those hard to reach areas (back and shoulders).I highly reccommend it. Like other repellents, don't get it in your eyes, mouth, or even on your lips or tongue. You'll experience some numbness if you do (or likely burning eyes if you get it there).

Picaridin isn't as effective as DEET but it's gentle enough for babies. I'll take a few extra bugs rather than the potential toxicity of DEET. I wouldn't use this if I was going to some remote place teeming with mosquitos.

One of the things I don't like about Deet is that it can melt plastic. You don't have that problem with Picaridin and I find it less irritating on my skin. It doesn't seem to last as long as Deet but I like its other attributes. Wish this package were an aerosol spray instead of a pump.