Australian Hiker

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Bushman Insect Repellent Review

We don’t usually have insect repellent on hand when we hike however the day before we commenced the K’gari Great Walk I had visions of being bitten alive by mosquitoes in the rain forest. A quick trip to shop at the Kingfisher Resort and I made an impulse purchase of Bushman Insect Repellent in an aerosol can and I am very glad I did!

While warding off mosquitoes was my initial reason for the purchase, it didn’t take long to discover that Bushman Insect Repellent was going to be my secret weapon to warding off an unexpected pest.

The first few days on the trail were relatively bug free so I didn’t need to reach for the repellent. However, as we approached the rain forest areas, it was becoming clear that I needed to test the effectiveness of my chosen repellent. There I was standing in the Valley of the Giants marvelling at the size of the amazing fig trees and looked down to find many leeches trying to climb onto my shoes in search of some flesh to suck on. My initial reaction was to jump about and scrape and shake them off which was only partially effective but must have looked very entertaining!

Then I had a brain wave – I wondered if the Bushman spray will help and it did. Given I had the spray version it was very easy to spray over my shoes – any leeches that found their way onto my shoes dropped off and those leeches nearby waiting for their turn retreated. The spray also made it easy to reapply when the rain diluted the spray.

It’s not new that insect repellent can repel leeches but I had never thought about using it for that purpose….partly because I generally don’t hang around where there are leeches and partly because when leeches are around, I don’t generally hang around!

This was certainly not new for Bushman given that repelling leeches is a claim they’ve printed on the label!

As with most insect repellent today, this one contains DEET and in this case at a level of 40% which is considered ‘heavy duty’. You can also get a repellent with 80% DEET but your skin and clothes are likely to suffer at that level. Bushman also has insect repellents with 20% DEET and some that contain sunscreen so you can cover all basis.

Now for the bad news – the odour. Bushman suggests the spray version has a ‘pleasant, neutral odour’ but don’t believe that! It smells like very cheap and bad perfume to me! The only good thing about the odour is that it encouraged me to use the spray sparingly which when I think about it, may have been the goal all along!

We like

• Up to 8 hours protection time
• Water, sweat and rub resistant
• Time Release Technology so it keeps on working
• 40% DEET
• It doesn’t just work against insects it also works against leeches

We don't like

• While this one is marketed by as natural odour, don’t believe it!
• We minimise use and only use them when absolutely necessary
• Insect repellent cost can add up if the insects are really bad

Best Uses

• For when you have no choice because the insects are so bad
• For sitting around the campsite at night when the mosquitoes are out
• If you are using Bushman Insect Repellent to repel leaches then the best version is aerosol as its easy to apply to your shoes

Buy One

You can purchase the Bushman Insect Repellent online from Wild Earth

Disclosure:  We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

Investment

AUD $9.90 RRP

Other options

If you don’t like the aerosol then Bushman Insect Repellent can be purchased as a gel or in a pump spray that can also include a sunscreen component

Bushman Insect Repellent

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

Last updated

4 June 2024

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