8 Best Mosquito Repellents for Dogs in 2024 – Reviews & Top Picks

The movies always make vampires look cool, but for most people, experiences with bloodsuckers are anything but sexy and sophisticated.

That’s true for your dog as well, as mosquitoes can eat up a defenseless pooch that’s left outside — and worse, they can potentially transmit deadly diseases through their saliva.

In the reviews below, we’ll examine some of the top mosquito repellents on the market today, so that you can prevent these charmless little vampires from chomping on your pup.

After all, using a repellent is much more efficient than tracking every bug down individually and trying to put a stake through their hearts.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorite Picks for 2024

The 8 Best Mosquito Repellents for Dogs

1. Flea Away Natural Mosquito Repellent for Dogs — Best Overall

If you don’t like dealing with sprays or gels, Flea Away Natural comes in a chewable tablet that makes administering it as easy as possible. The tablets are liver-flavored, too, so your dog should gulp them right down.

Even better, there are no pesticides or toxic chemicals inside, so you don’t have to risk your pup’s health to keep him mosquito-free.

Beyond keeping mosquitoes at bay, Flea Away also, well, keeps fleas away (imagine that). It deters ticks, too, so it’s a good all-in-one solution for most pests. There’s a proprietary vitamin blend inside each tablet as well.

Unfortunately, it’s kind of a labor-intensive solution, as you’ll have to remember to give your dog a pill every day for a month before he builds up any kind of immunity to pests. The end result is well worth it, though, which is why Flea Away Natural is our top pick.

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2. Vet’s Best Mosquito Spray for Dogs — Best Value

Vet’s Best is a spray that uses essential oils to deter mosquitoes. These oils include lemongrass and citronella, so your dog should smell good while he’s being saved from being a walking buffet.

Using essential oils means it’s DEET-free, so your dog won’t be exposed to that potentially harmful chemical. Nevertheless, it’s fairly effective, even if it wears off quickly. You can reapply it every two hours, though.

As a result, it’s best suited for indoor dogs that only go out occasionally, rather than pups that live outside full-time. It’s a great way to keep your pet safe on walks or camping trips, though, and the price is incredibly reasonable, making it the best mosquito repellent for dogs for the money.

While Vet’s Best isn’t a good set-and-forget solution, it’s incredibly effective on an as-needed basis. It clocks in at #2 here, but even if you buy another solution, it’s worth having a bottle of this around for extra protection.

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3. Bayer Advantix II Mosquito Prevention — Premium Choice

Bayer K9 Advantix II is a prescription-grade treatment that kills bugs on contact, rather than just repelling them. It also takes care of eggs and larvae too, and your dog doesn’t even need to get bit for it to kill them. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more effective treatment.

Of course, that kind of effectiveness comes at a price, and this stuff isn’t cheap. Some owners may balk at applying pesticides to their dog’s skin, too.

Still, it’s great at eliminating all kinds of biting bugs. Applying it is easy, as all you have to do is squeeze a tube onto your pup’s neck and rub it in. One application lasts a month, too, so this is a fairly low-maintenance solution.

If you can afford it and you have no qualms about the ingredients, we heartily recommend Bayer K9 Advantix II. Then again, you may just want to try one of the two solutions above and use this as a last resort.

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4. Wondercide Natural Products Mosquito Spray for Dogs

Wondercide Natural is another essential oil-based spray, and it can kill the bugs in your dog’s fur as well as the ones lurking in your carpet and on your furniture. There are four different aromas available, allowing you to determine exactly what you want your mosquito-free dog to smell like.

You can buy it as a spray or as wipes if you prefer to just rub it on your pup. Be aware that the lemongrass variety will discolor fur and fabric, although this is only temporary.

Applying it can also be a bit of a chore. Many dogs don’t appreciate being sprayed, and may take it as a disciplinary tactic. If that’s the case, you’ll likely need to spray it in your hands and then rub it on them, in which case you’ll have to deal with smelly hands for a while.

Luckily, you only have to apply it two or three times a week to see results, so that’s not a huge issue. It is enough to knock it down a few spots on this list, but this is still a quality repellent.

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5. Nantucket Spider Best Natural Repellent

Another spray that relies on essential oils, Nantucket Spider Best uses thyme oil to deter fleas, geranium to repel ticks, and cedar wood and peppermint oil to keep mosquitoes away.

The spray is not greasy or sticky, so you won’t need to wash your hands immediately after applying it. The sprayer does a good job of emitting a consistent mist, so it won’t dribble in some places and completely coat your dog in others.

Be sure you like how it smells before you apply it though (and most people do), because your dog will smell like this stuff for quite some time. Your hands will, too, after you pet him.

While Nantucket Spider Best has shown promise in repelling mosquitoes, ticks aren’t the least bit put off by it. That’s not the focus of this list, of course, but if you’re going to have to buy a completely different product to protect against ticks, we don’t see why you wouldn’t just buy one that could do both to begin with.

• Related Read: 7 Home Remedies for a Spider Bite on Your Dog

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6. All Terrain Herbal Armor Insect Repellent for Dogs

As the name suggests, All Terrain Herbal Armor is both made from natural sources and intended to work in all environments. Unfortunately, you may find its smell to be far more repellent than any bugs do.

The primary odor source is citronella, so it’s a smart choice for anyone that wants their dog to walk around smelling like a candle. There’s also soybean and peppermint oil inside, both of which contribute strong aromas of their own. Your dog will likely find it all to be overpowering, as will you.

The spray doesn’t come out in a fine mist, either; it’s more like a thick sludge. This requires you to spread it over your dog manually, and while he may appreciate the extra pets, you’ll likely wish there was a less messy way to apply it.

The price is low and the bottle is small, though, so you may want to buy a couple and stash them in your car, purse, backpack, or any other gear you take with you on the go. All Terrain Herbal Armor wouldn’t be our first choice to stop mosquitoes, but it’ll do in a pinch.

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7. AMRITA Aromatherapy Organic Insect Repellent for Dogs

No one will ever accuse AMRITA Aromatherapy of being too subtle. It will make your dog smell like he was a victim of a citronella explosion, but despite its pungent odor, it struggles to keep insects at bay.

The overpowering smell is likely to be off-putting for your dog, so any attempt to apply it after the first spray will probably be met with resistance. Users with sensitive noses will also have problems tolerating it, and they may not be able to handle being around their pooch until it dissipates a bit.

Speaking of which, the smell doesn’t last long, and we’re not sure whether that’s a positive or a negative. That means you’ll have to reapply it often (and handle the rodeo that each application will entail), but you won’t have your senses attacked by a citronella bomb for long.

AMRITA Aromatherapy is colorless and non-staining, so your pup’s fur won’t be affected, nor will your clothes if some rubs off on you. However, it’s hard to recommend a product too highly when one of the best things you can say about it is that it doesn’t last long.

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8. Insect Shield Tee Insect Repellent

The most unique option on this list, the Insect Shield Tee is a shirt that your dog wears over his chest and torso. In addition to limiting the exposed flesh that mosquitoes can attack, the fabric is also treated with an odorless insect-repellent called Permethrin.

Does it work? Well, if your goal is to make your dog look adorable, then yes. If, however, you’re hoping to keep the bugs off him, you’ll find the results are much less promising.

One of the best (and worst) things about the shirt is that it’s available in two bright colors. These make it easier to see any bugs that are trying to bite your dog…but they also let you see all the bugs that are trying to bite your dog, completely undeterred by the shirt.

It tends to run a little small, and if it’s too tight around the neck and chest, it can severely limit your dog’s mobility. So, even if you find that it’s working, there’s a good chance you’ll have to take it off anyway.

Despite being tight, the shirt is also long, so if you have a male dog you should expect to get a little pee on it. All of this adds up to a good idea poorly realized, which is why the Insect Shield Tee ranks so low on this list.

Conclusion

Flea Away Natural comes in chewable form, making it extremely easy to apply while creating long-lasting effects, which puts it at number one for the best mosquito repellent for dogs. Even better, dogs seem to love the liver taste, so getting them to take their medicine isn’t a chore at all.

For a slightly less expensive solution, try Vet’s Best. This fresh-smelling spray is DEET-free, yet nevertheless keeps mosquitoes at bay for hours at a time.

The fight against mosquitoes is one that’s important for your dog to win, and we hope these reviews have given you a powerful weapon to help them do just that.

Then again, if you succeed in getting mosquitoes to leave your dog alone, they may just come for you instead.

• Related Read: How to Keep Mosquitos Away from Your Dog (6 Proven Methods)