Key takeaways
- Autumn is the best time to sort your bite-and-sun kit: gather every repellent, sun cream, aftersun and first-aid item in one place and check dates, condition and fill level.
- Keep unopened products that are well within date and opened bottles that are in date, have been stored cool and still look and smell normal. Replace anything past its date, anything that has separated or changed colour, and anything that spent the summer in a hot car.
- Never pour leftover repellent or sun cream down the sink or onto soil. Part-full bottles go to a household hazardous waste or chemical collection point; properly emptied bottles go into plastic recycling.
- Reusable tools — tick removers, bite-relief devices and wearable repellent holders — usually just need cleaning, a quick function check and a dry drawer for the winter.
- Store what you keep cool, dark and upright, in its original carton, and write a short restock list now so you are ready when the first mosquitoes and ticks return in spring.
By late September most people have a scattering of half-used repellents, sticky sun creams and loose plasters spread across bathroom shelves, beach bags and car doors. An end-of-season kit check takes about ten minutes and saves you from packing an ineffective bottle next May. Here is what to keep, what to replace and how to recycle or dispose of the rest responsibly.
Why an end-of-season check is worth ten minutes
Insect repellents and sun creams do not fail loudly. A bottle that has lost part of its active ingredient still sprays and still smells pleasant — it simply protects you for a shorter time than the label promises, and you only notice when you start getting bitten or burnt. Summer is also the harshest season for these products: heat, sunlight, sand and repeated opening all speed up ageing.
Sorting your kit in autumn has three benefits. You avoid starting next season with products that no longer work, you reduce waste by using up what is still good, and you can dispose of the rest properly instead of letting it drift into the bin — or the drain — months later.
Step 1: Gather everything in one place
Check the obvious and the less obvious spots:
- Bathroom cabinet, hallway drawer and kitchen cupboard
- Beach bag, rucksack, bike panniers and camping box
- Car glovebox, door pockets and boot
- Children’s school and nursery bags
- Travel wash bags and hand-luggage liquid pouches
Line everything up on a table and sort it into three piles: keep, replace, and recycle or dispose.
What to keep, what to replace and what to recycle
| Item | Keep if… | Replace or dispose if… |
|---|---|---|
| Unopened insect repellent | Well within its best-before date, stored cool and dark | Past its date or kept in a hot car or on a windowsill |
| Opened insect repellent | Within its period-after-opening (PAO) time, looks and smells as it did when new | Separated, cloudy, discoloured, smells odd, or the pump is blocked or leaking |
| Sun cream and SPF combination products | In date, smooth texture, stored out of the sun | Past its date, watery or grainy, or baked in a beach bag all summer |
| Aftersun and moisturiser | In date and unchanged in smell and texture | Rancid smell, mould or separation |
| Tick remover (tweezers, card or hook) | Tips still meet precisely and are not bent | Bent tips, cracked card or missing parts |
| Bite-relief device | Clean, clicks normally and is within its stated lifetime | No longer clicks or is visibly damaged |
| First-aid items (plasters, antiseptic wipes, antihistamines) | Packaging sealed and in date | Expired medicines, dried-out wipes, damp plasters |
Insect repellent
Look for three things on the label: a best-before date, the open-jar PAO symbol (for example 12M) or a batch code. As a general guide, an unopened repellent kept in sensible conditions lasts around two to three years, and an opened bottle around twelve months — but your own label always takes priority. Our detailed guide on how to store insect repellent and whether it expires explains how to read these markings.
Then trust your senses. Separation that does not shake back together, cloudiness, a colour change or a sour smell all mean the formula has changed. If you are planning a trip to an area with mosquito- or tick-borne disease, replace a doubtful bottle rather than gamble on patchy protection.
Sun cream
The NHS advises checking that sunscreen is not past its expiry date. Heat is the enemy here too: a tube that spent July in a hot beach bag may have degraded well before its printed date. If the texture has become watery, grainy or lumpy, replace it.
Tools and accessories
Reusable items rarely need replacing, but they do need a check. Make sure tick tweezers still close precisely at the tip — our comparison of tick tweezers, cards and hooks explains why a precise grip matters. Wipe bite-relief devices clean and test that they still work. Remove old refill capsules from repellent wristbands before storing them.
How to recycle and dispose of what you do not keep
- Use up what is still good. The greenest option is a bottle that gets finished. Autumn walks, mushroom foraging and mild spells are still tick and mosquito time in much of Europe.
- Do not pour leftovers away. Never tip repellent or sun cream down the sink, the toilet or onto garden soil. Actives and solvents should not end up in rivers and lakes.
- Take part-full bottles to a collection point. Most councils run a household hazardous waste or chemical collection service. The US EPA lists pesticides among household products that need special care at disposal. In Germany and Austria this is typically the local Schadstoffsammelstelle or a mobile collection service.
- Recycle genuinely empty packaging. Empty bottles, caps and tubes can usually go into household plastic recycling — in Germany, the yellow bin or yellow bag. Follow the symbol on the pack and your local rules.
- Handle aerosols with care. Never puncture, crush or burn an aerosol can. Empty cans are usually accepted with metal packaging; part-full cans belong at a hazardous waste point.
- Return expired medicines to a pharmacy where a take-back scheme is available.
How to store what you keep over winter
- Cool, not cold: normal room temperature is ideal. Avoid unheated sheds and garages where products can freeze, and never leave them in the car.
- Dark and dry: a bedroom or hallway drawer beats a steamy bathroom shelf.
- Upright with caps closed: lock pump sprays and wipe bottle necks before closing.
- In the original carton: it shields the product from light and keeps the batch code and instructions together.
- Out of reach of children and pets, and away from food.
Before you close the box, write a short restock list: what you ran out of, which sizes you actually used, and anything you wished you had packed. If you hike, our minimal bite and sting first-aid kit for hikers is a useful checklist.
How incognito® helps
We design our range to make the end of the season simpler. Our Insect Repellent Spray 100ml is DEET-free and uses PMD (Citrepel®), a plant-based active from Java citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus) — the same class of active that the EPA lists alongside DEET for skin-applied protection. It is clinically proven, recommended against mosquitoes and ticks, vegan and biodegradable. The bottles are made from sugarcane-based polyethylene, which goes into the same recycling stream as ordinary plastic; our article on sugarcane packaging explains how it works. To avoid half-used bottles next autumn, choose the size that matches your season — you can browse all incognito® products. Always follow the label for use and storage.
FAQs
Can I use last year’s insect repellent?
Yes, if it is within its best-before date or period-after-opening time, has been stored somewhere cool and dark, and still looks and smells as it did when new. If it has separated, changed colour or spent the summer in a hot car, replace it.
How do I dispose of old insect repellent?
Take part-full bottles to a household hazardous waste or chemical collection point. Never pour repellent down the sink, the toilet or onto soil. Genuinely empty bottles can usually be recycled with household plastics.
Can I recycle an empty repellent or sun cream bottle?
In most areas, yes. Once the bottle is properly empty it can go into household plastic recycling. Check the recycling symbol on the pack and your local rules.
Where should I store sun cream and repellent over winter?
At normal room temperature in a dark, dry cupboard or drawer, upright, with the cap closed and ideally in the original carton. Avoid cars, windowsills, steamy bathrooms and unheated sheds.
Does sun cream go off after one summer?
Not necessarily. Unopened or well-stored sun cream can last beyond one season, but always check the expiry date and the PAO symbol, and replace any product that has changed in texture or smell.
Sources
- US EPA — Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
- US EPA — Skin-Applied Repellent Ingredients
- ECDC — Protective measures against mosquitoes
- NHS — Sunscreen and sun safety
- NHS — Insect bites and stings
This article is for general information only and is not medical or professional advice. Always read and follow the label of the product you are using, and check your local authority’s rules for recycling and hazardous waste.