This guest post is written by Melissa Bachman, host of the TV show Winchester Deadly Passion. She has had a lifelong passion for hunting and fishing, and is a brand ambassador for Ranger Ready Repellents.  

With a couple hunts already under my belt this season, I can assure you there has been one common theme throughout, bugs.  This is pretty common in most early season hunts before the temps have had a chance to drop below freezing.  Not only can bugs be extremely annoying, they can break a hunt. 

"We put it to the test out in Colorado and walked away bug free."

For example, we do a lot of spot and stalk hunting whether it’s for mule deer, antelope or elk in August and September. As evening draws near and you’re on an incredible stalk the last 50-yards or so are key. Every movement needs to be slow, methodical and only done if absolutely necessary. With that, if you have mosquitoes drilling into your face, neck, ears, hands it can be extremely difficult to not swat them or try to get them off. This adds a ton of extra movement and takes your focus off what you’re doing. Instead of watching so you don’t step on a loose rock or stick, you’re trying to get the bugs off and then make extra noise with your feet. Overall you get the idea, bugs are not only annoying but they can be distracting and take a toll on your hunt. I’ve tried a variety of options and settled in on a deet-alternative option made with Picaridin 20%. We put it to the test out in Colorado and walked away bug free and notched my tag on a big mule deer and beautiful antelope.

In the past I figured if it didn’t contain deet it wouldn’t work. Unfortunately, deet is not very good for you or your gear. Once I actually had the deet that was on my hands eat the paint off one of my cameras, so yea probably not very good for your skin. I found one company that makes tick and insect repellent that is deet free and also scent free, Ranger Ready. It’s safe to use on the entire family and really works well.

I wanted to learn a bit more about it and found that Ranger Ready’s body-worn repellent contains Picaridin 20%, which is a synthetic compound derived from the natural compound piperine, found in the plants used to produce black pepper. To me the most important part was that it could be safely applied to skin, doesn’t damage my gear and my son Jax who is 3-years old can use it too. This covers everything from mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers and biting flies. (Can’t wait to test it out in Mozambique on our next adventure, as those Tsetse fly bites are horrible!) We used this on our spot and stalk mule deer hunt to keep bugs off and also used it in the blind as the flies were getting us while we waited on an antelope. 5-stars on both instances and the Ranger Ready Body-Worn Picaridin kept the bugs at bay without spooking game, since their Scent Zero® line is scent free.

Next up are my all time least favorite, ticks. Everyone has things they absolutely despise, for some its spiders, snakes, mice…for me its ticks. They invade my space, creep me out, and the worst part is they spread a ton of disease. I continue to know more and more people who have developed Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and the Alpha-Gal Meat allergy that can come from ticks where you develop an allergic reaction and can no longer eat red meat! No thank you to any and all of these.  Scary part is the amount of time I spend outside, and my entire family spends outside.  We are all at a much higher risk so its super important to find something that works and is safe for all.

To avoid ticks I’ve always been a huge fan of Permethrin spray. Ranger Ready offers a Scent Zero® Permethrin 0.5% spray which you can simply treat your clothing and gear and it will last up to 40 days or 5 washes. This is crucial during turkey season when ticks are at their peak, but its also important for early season hunts or treestand prep, hiking, or whatever you may be doing outside throughout the summer. Ranger Ready makes a Scent Zero P2Pak which includes a bottle of both their clothing-worn Permethrin 0.5% repellent as well as their body-worn Picaridn 20%, perfect protection for your next hunting trip.

I’m all about spreading the word when I find something that works, and for me this was an area that I didn’t quite have nailed down. Often times I would avoid putting on bug spray until I was eaten alive and then regret it the moment that nasty smell and deet hit my skin. Now I have a much better system and can keep my entire family safe from biting insects and ticks with the safe and effective alternative to deet, Ranger Ready Repellents. Use promo code: Melissa10 for 10% off your purchase today!

You can follow all of Melissa's hunting adventures on her Instagram at @Melissa_Bachman or on her website MelissaBachman.com