no..the old camping books i have that go back to the late 1800's are full instructions on how to make bug repellents.anti bug advice included not washing and one writer said that after you got enough bug juice on you had a layer of "varnish" the bugs can't bite thru.
on our last camping trip my Wife was spraying her legs all the time with some sort of "no bad chemicals" repellent.note i said "all the time",one wipe over with those packs with the DEET in them and i was good all day.DEET can be nasty stuff and i make a point of washing up before bed time.