Autan Tropical Pump Spray Review: My Croatia Mosquito Test
My Autan Tropical Pump Spray review after taking it to Croatia and using it in Copenhagen: 4.2/5. I bought one 100 ml bottle for €4.95 on 3 June 2026 because I wanted mosquito protection for a trip near Dubrovnik, particularly against tiger mosquitoes. I’m someone who gets bitten frequently, and in my informal use this spray seemed to make a clear difference versus going without protection. I noticed about 4–5 hours of reasonably effective protection before occasionally seeing mosquitoes land on me and deciding to reapply.
It isn’t perfect. I still received some mosquito bites while using it, I don’t particularly enjoy the scent, and I cannot confirm that the mosquitoes I avoided were tiger mosquitoes. One important caveat is that I often applied it to clothing, whereas the manufacturer’s instructions for this specific pump spray describe applying it to exposed skin. My experience is therefore not a controlled or label-standard effectiveness test.
Affiliate disclosure: This review contains a paid Amazon shopping link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. I bought this bottle myself at full price, without sponsorship, discount, free product or compensation. My score is my independent, weighted editorial rating—not an Amazon customer average. See my full affiliate disclosure.
My use: Summer 2026 · Croatia and Copenhagen · ~30% of one bottle
I paid: €4.95 for 100 ml on 3 June 2026
Paid link · confirm the 100 ml 20% icaridin pump spray, not Tropical Dry Spray. The shortened link’s destination could not be independently inspected.
Autan Tropical Pumpspray 100 ml — 4.2/5
Quick verdict: A practical travel-size mosquito repellent that seemed noticeably helpful in my Croatian and Danish outings. I still experienced some bites; it wasn’t an impenetrable barrier.
Best for: travellers and everyday outdoor users wanting a 20% icaridin product whose manufacturer specifically includes tiger-mosquito protection among its claims.
Important limitation: I can’t establish real-world efficacy against tiger mosquitoes because I did not confidently identify the species I encountered. I also often sprayed clothing rather than following the skin-application instructions.
Would I buy it again? Yes. For the mosquitoes I encountered, the experience was positive enough that I would happily pack another bottle.
What I liked
- Seemed to reduce how often mosquitoes bothered me compared with no protection
- I felt adequately protected for roughly 4–5 hours between applications
- 20% icaridin formula; manufacturer explicitly lists protection against tiger mosquitoes
- Small 100 ml bottle with a straightforward pump nozzle
- No leakage or spray-pump trouble during my travel and occasional use
What I would improve
- I still got mosquito bites while using the spray
- Fragrance is tolerable, rather than genuinely pleasant
- €4.95 still felt like a cost to weigh for something I use only occasionally
- Tiger-mosquito effectiveness not personally verified; no controlled test
- My frequent clothing-based application doesn’t match this product’s stated skin-use method
Bottom line: 4.2/5. I would buy Autan Tropical again because it was convenient and felt worthwhile when mosquitoes were active around me. That is a personal experience-based recommendation—not proof that it prevents every bite, delivers precisely six or eight hours for everyone, or was separately validated by me against tiger mosquitoes.
Why I bought Autan Tropical for Dubrovnik
The purchase was straightforward: on 3 June 2026, I spent €4.95 of my own money on one 100 ml pump bottle. I had an upcoming trip to Croatia, specifically the Dubrovnik area, and knew that tiger mosquitoes could be an issue there. The words Tropical and the packaging’s distinct claims for tiger mosquitoes were decisive in choosing this particular version.
I had also read favourable recommendations and wanted something that might be useful beyond a single holiday—on mosquito-heavy days in Copenhagen and on future summer-house trips to Sweden. I have since used it in Croatia and Denmark; I have not separately tested this particular bottle in Sweden.
The bottle is easy to identify: a yellow body, red cap, green front label and a “Tropical” name. It is not the similarly named Autan Tropical Dry Spray aerosol, which has a different formula. The official Autan Tropical Pumpspray page is the appropriate source for this pump version.
Did it actually prevent mosquito bites in Croatia?
It helped in my experience, but it didn’t stop every bite. I was in places with plenty of mosquitoes, and I tend to attract them: on outings without protection I often notice them landing and biting me frequently. With Autan Tropical, the situation felt much more manageable. That’s the main reason I am satisfied with the purchase.
I did still find myself with mosquito bites despite having used the spray. That matters more than promotional phrases such as “maximum protection”. Mosquito exposure changes from place to place and from hour to hour, so I cannot calculate a percentage reduction or claim to know what the exact same evening would have been like without repellent.
In normal use I felt it was reasonably effective for around four to five hours. When I noticed a mosquito landing on me from time to time, that was my signal to think about applying more. This is an informal observation—not a stopwatch-based efficacy test, and it shouldn’t be treated as a personalised guaranteed reapplication schedule. Follow the label’s application limits instead.
As far as I could tell, I didn’t positively identify any tiger mosquitoes biting me. That does not demonstrate that all tiger mosquitoes were successfully repelled; I wasn’t doing insect identification or a controlled comparison. I bought the spray because of that risk, while most of my actual experience is about mosquitoes in general.
The 8-hour and 6-hour claims: what I can and cannot confirm
| Point | Manufacturer or bottle claim | What my use establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Active ingredient | 20% icaridin (also called picaridin) | Confirmed by the back label on my photographed 100 ml bottle |
| Ordinary mosquitoes | Up to 8 hours | Subjectively helpful for about 4–5 hours; no formal duration test |
| Tiger mosquitoes | Up to 6 hours | Not separately established; species not confidently identified |
| Volume | 100 ml pump bottle | One bottle purchased; ~30% used is only my estimate |
| Application | Manufacturer instructs use on exposed skin, spread evenly by hand | My use was often on clothing, so it differs from labelled directions |
The manufacturer claims up to eight hours against ordinary mosquitoes and six hours against tiger mosquitoes. Those are up-to claims. My 4–5-hour estimate is neither an independent confirmation nor a refutation of those figures, especially given my application method and variable field conditions.
How I applied it — and an important correction about clothing
I generally use repellent only when I expect to encounter mosquitoes, rather than every day. I most often target the neck and nape, arms and legs, and I have frequently preferred spraying onto clothing because I personally prefer to limit putting repellent on my skin. That preference is not a scientific finding that approved repellents are inherently unhealthy on skin, and it does not mean that spraying this particular product onto clothing is the best method.
My skin did not become noticeably irritated during my limited experience, but because I often applied it to clothing I cannot make a strong claim about how it feels on skin after extensive use. It seems to dry reasonably quickly where I have applied it. CDC travel guidance likewise emphasises using repellent on exposed skin or clothing only as directed by its label, avoiding the face while spraying and keeping repellent off wounds and irritated skin.
Smell, nozzle, travel size and my bottle after use
I’m not a fan of the scent. I wouldn’t call it a good smell, but I have used unnamed supermarket mosquito sprays that smelled worse. I cannot make a rigorous brand-versus-brand fragrance comparison because I don’t remember the names of those older products. For me, the scent is an acceptable compromise rather than a reason to buy it.
The pump is easy enough to use, and the size of the bottle is convenient. I haven’t had problems with leaking in my luggage or with the nozzle failing. The red cap closes the bottle, and the triangular cut-out in the cap is a useful physical feature if you want to attach it to a bag. The design doesn’t feel complicated, which I appreciate when I just want protection before going outside.
My use has been sporadic, rather than continuous. As of this review, I estimate I’ve used roughly 30% of the 100 ml bottle, leaving around 70 ml if that rough percentage is accurate. That is a visual/user estimate, not a measured quantity. It would be misleading to predict an exact number of full-body applications or an exact price-per-outing from it.
Autan Tropical 20% icaridin vs Matas Medicare 40% DEET
I’ve also used a different product, Matas Medicare Myggefri Spray 40% DEET. My personal impression is that Autan may have worked slightly better against mosquitoes in the situations where I used it. But I didn’t run a simultaneous, same-location, same-mosquito-pressure comparison, so I cannot fairly declare it the more effective repellent in general.
I plan to keep the Matas DEET spray around partly because I associate DEET with tick protection. There is a genuine product-specific distinction here: Matas lists up to four hours of tick-bite protection for its 40% DEET spray. It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that icaridin as a whole is ineffective against ticks or that every DEET formula always beats every icaridin formula.
The CDC lists both DEET and picaridin/icaridin among useful ingredients in properly registered and labelled tick repellents. This Autan Tropical bottle’s stated focus is mosquitoes; I would choose a product with an explicit tick-protection claim when ticks are my priority, rather than assuming it from the ingredient alone.
| Decision | Autan Tropical Pump 100 ml | Matas Medicare Myggefri 40% DEET 100 ml |
|---|---|---|
| Active ingredient | 20% icaridin | 40% DEET |
| Primary intended use | Mosquitoes; includes manufacturer’s tiger-mosquito claim | Mosquitoes; Matas also provides an explicit tick-bite protection duration |
| Mosquito duration listed | Up to 8 h common; up to 6 h tiger mosquitoes | Up to 8 h mosquitoes, according to Matas |
| Tick duration listed for this exact product | Not a confirmed, separate promise on the Tropical Pumpspray product page | Up to 4 h, according to Matas |
| My personal impression | Slightly preferred for mosquitoes in my informal, unmatched experiences | Useful as a separate option, especially because of the explicit tick claim |
| Test quality | No controlled A/B comparison, identical application protocol or logged mosquito counts | |
Is it good value at €4.95 for 100 ml?
My personal purchase price was €4.95 for one 100 ml bottle, or €4.95 per 100 ml. Although the price was one of my reservations, I still thought it was reasonable enough to buy for the Croatian trip, and the bottle has lasted through multiple outings because I don’t use repellent every day.
For market context, the German dm store showed €7.45 for 100 ml when I researched this review in October 2026. This is a retailer snapshot, not a live-price guarantee or a like-for-like delivered-price comparison. On that basis, my €4.95 purchase appears relatively favourable even though I still consider cost when buying repellents.
Price should not be the only consideration in a bite-heavy area. I’d rather have a spray I am happy to carry and use when needed than save a little money on one I find unpleasant or inconvenient. For me, Autan’s practical bottle and perceived benefit made the purchase worthwhile.
How I calculated my 4.2/5 score
This is my hands-on editorial assessment of the bottle I bought, not a laboratory effectiveness rating or a retailer average. I weighted practical mosquito performance most heavily. Because I used it sporadically and often applied it to clothing, I did not add an invented skin safety or long-term reliability subscore.
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Evidence behind it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mosquito protection as experienced | 45% | 4.3/5 | Meaningfully fewer nuisance mosquitoes in my impression; roughly 4–5 useful hours, but still some bites; no controlled tiger-mosquito test |
| Pump, bottle and ease of carrying | 20% | 4.6/5 | Easy spraying, convenient 100 ml size, no reported leaks or nozzle issues |
| Smell and everyday comfort | 15% | 3.6/5 | Scent merely tolerable; seems quick to dry; extensive skin comfort not tested |
| Value at my purchase price | 20% | 4.0/5 | €4.95 for 100 ml, sporadic use and willingness to repurchase, balanced against my own price reservation |
Calculation: (4.3 × 0.45) + (4.6 × 0.20) + (3.6 × 0.15) + (4.0 × 0.20) = 4.195 → 4.2/5 after rounding to one decimal. These category scores are transparent editorial judgments from my notes and actual use, not independently measured efficacy percentages.
Who I would recommend it to — and who should look elsewhere
I’d buy it again, particularly for a journey where tiger mosquitoes may be present and I want a repellent that is at least marketed and formulated with those mosquitoes in mind. I also expect to keep using it for ordinary mosquito outings in Denmark and perhaps at a Swedish summer house, though that last location isn’t part of the test I can report here.
It makes most sense for adults who want a compact 20% icaridin pump and are comfortable using it as the label directs on exposed skin. It makes less sense if you need a completely fragrance-free experience, guaranteed bite-free results, or a dedicated tick repellent with a verified tick-protection claim. Someone who wants a spray specifically for clothing should check a different product’s explicit textile-use directions rather than assume this one is suitable.
For mosquito-heavy and disease-risk destinations, no repellent should be treated as a perfect barrier. Follow the local travel-health advice, use properly applied repellent and protective clothing, and consult CDC mosquito-bite prevention guidance for additional precautions.
Sources, product identification and review independence
My purchase date, €4.95 price, Croatian and Danish use, mosquito-bite experience, perceived 4–5-hour window, scent impressions, roughly 30% consumption and bottle observations come from my own firsthand account and original photographs. The official Autan Tropical Pumpspray page and dm’s precise 100 ml listing underpin the formulation and manufacturer instructions; CDC and travel guidance underpin general repellent and tick-safety context.
The owner-supplied Amazon.de listing (ASIN B004Q1VSPK) has independently corroborated catalog identification as Autan Tropical Pumpspray 100 ml, but the owner-supplied shortened Amazon shopping link could not have its final redirect independently inspected. Please check the checkout listing and use instructions for the exact 100 ml pump / 20% icaridin version, rather than the separate Dry Spray aerosol. All product prices and listings can change.
Read How I Test to understand the site’s first-hand testing and weighted-rating approach, and Affiliate Disclosure for how paid links work. I receive no compensation for a positive opinion in this review.
