I am cautious in entering this thread as the company I work for is a major global manufacture and supplier of many pesticides (household, PCO and other)...including permethrin and a whole range of other isomer synthetic pyrethroids (SP) as well as other non-SP insecticides...there are many many products that can effectively control mosquito and other flying insects but few are registered for use directly sprayed on human skin...I would never ever suggest or encourage the use of a household SP based insecticide sprayed directly on to your skin as it can be dangerous...many people can show rash or skin irritation by coming in contact with SP (or other insecticides)...be careful and follow the label recommendations...
Insecticides kill insects...repellents do just that repel insects...there is a difference...
Attached is a link that talks about different products and their repellency effectveness...by and large in almost all of them the active ingredient is the same...DEET...there is a newer product (picardin or something like this) that I think is approved for use in Australia but I am not familiar with...
http://www.choice.com.au/viewarticle...tid=100008&p=1
Insecticide (all pesticides) including repellents are a heavily regulated industry as it should be. Australia is fortunate in that it's regulations are concerned with not only safety (health and environment) but also requires efficacy data to be submitted to gain registration...this at least gives some asurance that any product you buy has been tested and has passed a stringent assesment for safety and efficacy. Yes, it is expensive and yes, it does take time and effort but it is worth it as a society...Having said that, remember!
In all cases people should read, understand and follow the label use directions.