Bushman mosquito repellent was developed in the 1980s by Tom Bethurem, an Australian chemist living in Australia's northern marshes, notorious for extremely severe mosquito and insect conditions. Bushman was tested and improved for many years in these extremely difficult conditions, to ensure maximum protection and the best effect in the most difficult environments. Since the Bushman was made available to the Australian and New Zealand markets in the early 1990s, sales have steadily increased to become the best-selling insect repellent on the market.