The 5 Most Recommended Mosquito Repellants for Alaska

If you ask the most hardy and hardened Alaskans, there’s only one way to deal with mosquitos when they’re at their worst: 100% DEET. (Okay, technically 98.11% DEET, 1.89% other ingredients which mosquitos don’t care about because they hate DEET so much.)

As you likely know, DEET is not exactly good for humans (and especially bad on plastic, which it melts), so it’s really important to learn how to properly use DEET before buying something like Ben’s 100 for your Alaska trip.

Ben’s 100 is hands down the most recommended mosquito repellant for Alaska based on the questions my group has received; their bottles have 100% DEET and come in 100ml size so they will fit in your carry-on bag if you pack light for your Alaska trip.

Best of all, it’s pretty affordable so you can bring it as a backup option in the event some of the less intense options further down this list don’t work to stave them off.

Repel 100 Insect Repellent

For an alternative to Ben’s, Repel 100 is another option with heavy-duty DEET; it’s 98.11% too, so you should still exercise caution when using this product and not apply it directly to skin.

That said, it’s definitely highly recommended by both travelers and Alaskan locals who’ve done battle with the mosquitos.

Bottles of Repel 100 come in 4oz sizes, so you’ll need to check it in your luggage when visiting Alaska, but they’re a bit more budget-friendly than Ben’s.

The other ingredient a lot of people recommended for repelling mosquitos in Alaska is Picaridin, which is a lot better for humans than DEET – but still requires a few extra steps to ensure you’re using it safely.

In short, Picaridin works like DEET to repel mosquitos and discourage them from biting if they do land. It has been ruled safer but equally effective to DEET products, which is why more people are starting to use and recommend it as a mosquito repellant for Alaska.

In any case, the most-recommended brand of Picaridin product is Sawyers, so that’s what I’m including on this list. Their 20% Picaridin insect repellant is available in both lotion and spray forms, and is really reasonably priced compared to DEET products – it also doesn’t have the same corrosive effect on plastic products, which is good if you accidentally spray your sunglasses!

If you’re looking for a traditional bug spray rather than the big guns, OFF! Deep Woods is the top-recommended “standard” mosquito repellant people recommend for Alaska trips; it’s what I bought for my most recent trip – though it admittedly didn’t hold up against the swarm out in the backcountry!

That said, it’s probably enough to handle your standard Alaskan mosquito encounter, and with 25% DEET, it does a decent job of repelling mosquitos without the same risks that the almost-100% DEET products have.

I particularly like the “Dry” version (pictured) because it doesn’t leave the same greasy feeling that many bug sprays have.

If this list has given you the heebie-jeebies with all the chemicals you’ll be putting on your skin just to avoid the inconvenience of mosquitos, you obviously have never met an Alaskan mosquito – those suckers are no minor inconvenience!

But I don’t judge you for not wanting to put these things on your skin (or your children’s skin!), so I made sure to review all of the suggestions people made in my group for an organic option.

The most commonly recommended one was Greenerways Organic Bug Repellant. It combines natural oils like citronella, cedarwood, lemongrass, peppermint, and thyme for a naturally-repelling product that can be applied directly on your skin to form a barrier against bites.

I can’t speak for how effective this product is; I tried something similar on my rafting trip and it did exactly nothing to keep the mosquitos away. Sometimes they are just too persistent (hungry!) for anything less than the heavy-duty chemicals.