Natural insect repellent

Is there a natural insect repellent we can use on our shoot? We don’t like DEET as it’s really bad for dogs if they accidentally get sprayed or lick our hands. We are plagued by horseflies so we’ll try anything once.

JONNY CROCKETT replies: The first thing that springs to mind is elder.

Take half a dozen or so elder leaves and scrunch them up, then rub them on the exposed areas.

If you rub too hard then your skin will turn green, but anything is better than horseflies! The elder leaves have an unpleasant but not horrible smell and seem to work remarkably well.