I have tried natural spray, with I think lemon? with mixed results. DEET isn't the best option for being natural, but it will work most effectively.

Dealing with ticks is not as much of an issue as visitors think they are. Tuck pants into socks, and when you come inside strip down and do a thorough check for ticks (including in your hair). They will crawl on you for a surprisingly long amount of time before they bite.

Seeing the outdoors is well worth a few bugs.

Black flies are more annoying than anything else, I wouldn't worry overly about bites from them. Avoid wet places and water, wear light clothing and a hat, use bug spray. You can also keep moving to keep them off of you.

Deer flies are the nasty ones, they refuse to leave you alone and their bites can hurt.

I'm growing one to use as a living outside Christmas tree, and personally for me it's 100% the color.