So a lot of really great information in here! Several people have covered the basics.
Our favorite Essential oils for bug repellent: Cedar, Lemongrass, Geranium, Citronella, Mint, Tea Tree, Lavender, (Maybe for the deep wood days have a spray bottle that has these oils, a bit of vinegar for spiders and some Diatomaceous earth I would go food grade when applying it to your body.)
Guinea Fowl will eat most ticks. (and bugs)
There are also a variety of fungal products that actually kill ticks as well that have good reviews. we used some of this at my parents property in Checotah OK for seed ticks (a literal horror story) and it cleared them up in a season (last year: scraping seed ticks by the hundreds off my bare legs before they latch with a credit card. This year: I've seen about 4 so far.) worth some research.
For chiggers,
Diatomaceous earth? it says that it kills them almost instantly. so maybe put some powder on the boots and belt?
Also to answer some ones question eating sulfurous foods does help. BUT its an add it to every single meal type of life change for it to affectively work and I would only give it a 30% difference but everything helps. And I find that garlic is more potent.
Here was a pretty handy website I found
https://www.tipsbulletin.com/homemade-chigger-repellent/#:~:text=However%2C%20a%20DIY%20insect%20repellent,that%20of%20a%20bed%20bug.
Our favorite Essential oils for bug repellent: Cedar, Lemongrass, Geranium, Citronella, Mint, Tea Tree, Lavender, (Maybe for the deep wood days have a spray bottle that has these oils, a bit of vinegar for spiders and some Diatomaceous earth I would go food grade when applying it to your body.)
Dawn soap and be okay with showering 3-4 times a day. OK is hot as an oven and has all sorts of poisons and pests just chilling in the middle of Eden. We're doing hard work in a mildly toxic environment. (like a nice long search through some poison ivy for a lost disc) after that you just need to go in and shower with dawn to get everything off. Lye soap may also work. I use both regularly. (We keep dawn for skunk spray as well )
Make or buy a great lotion or salve because showering that much is harsh on the body chemistry. If you include all of those scents in your own made salve (personally haven't figured out lotions) after you shower every time you apply a new layer of a fantastic smelling and healthy bug repellent.
Hope that helped! Don't forget to drink water!
