I read they dislike pepper too, in fact most of the repellents that don't have strong chemicals are based in pepper, as it says it doesn't kill it repels. Me and my partner hike a lot and yes, it's about to be the time again, in fact the other day we faced the first brave mosquitoes. But my fear with natural lotions is not keeping ticks at bay. I had a bite last year and well you know the story after at tick bite :/. So trying to keep them away effectively while not using anything strong is changeling. Do you know if this works against them too. I need to locate the herbs, have coconut oil and lavender from last year already. My aussie friend sends me natural citronella soap for mosquitoes too.