I ran into a similar issue during my first trip up to the Green River below Fontenelle Dam; the skeeters and horseflies were worthy of Biblical status. Of course I used tons of bug spray, but after a few days I really found out that how much I disliked almost everything about the stuff; the noxious smell, the sting of it in my eyes, and so on.
The big problem was that I was doing a lot of wet-wading, and the repellent would soon wash off after repeated river crossings. So by noon, I was forced to re-apply the spray or get eaten alive by 2 o'clock. I went through several bottles of repellent that week. By week's end I had been bitten several hundred times; I looked like I'd gotten the pox.
Note: and you have to get fairly dry first before spraying bug spray on for it to work. So I'd have to put up with the bugs until I air-dried enough to re-apply the spray. Which meant I got bit a lot while waiting to dry.
First I tried Naturapel, which is an insect repellent based on Picaridin instead of DEET. To my surprise, it worked pretty well and doesn't make you choke if you breathe some of it while putting it on.
The following year I found some Insect Defense clothing at Cabela's. I decided to try a set of pants and a shirt out when I returned to the Green. Well, the stuff really works, even when wet. I also got a bottle of Sawyer insect repellent for clothing and applied the stuff to my socks, buf, and hat. Again, the stuff really works. After my last trip up to the Green I had only five bites on me at the end of 8 days of fishing and camping outdoors. And I got all five of those bites while I
wasn't wearing the bug defense clothes.
I've been using the clothes and the Sawyer clothing spray for a couple years now, and wouldn't go back to just DEET bug spray ever again. Not only is it cheaper in the long run, but I really like the idea of not applying a bunch of chemicals to my skin for days at a time. And it's pretty nice going to bed not smelling like bug spray.
So nowadays I put a little Nutrapel on my ears and neck, and everything else is covered by bug defense clothing. That's it.
Here's a link to InsectShield clothing, in case anyone's interested. It's the company that invented the process of bonding insect repellent to apparel. Also their clothing is significantly less expensive than most of the brand names like Cabela's, Bass Pro, REI and so forth.
Insect & Mosquito Repellent Clothing - Permethrin Treated Clothes | Insect Shield
Also a link for Sawyer Insect Repellent Clothing Spray (you can get this stuff at Wally-world; I just provided the link for informational purposes):
Permethrin Insect Repellent Treatment for Clothing Gear and Tents | Sawyer Products
Background company info on InsectShield:
Company Background | Insect Shield