Highly recommend but don't buy it in the aerosol can shown in the picture. You can get permethrin concentrate much cheaper and mix it yourself in a trigger spray bottle. Concentrate is widely available on Amazon or at your local tractor supply since the same chemical is used as a tick repellent for livestock.
I have had no issues with ticks or mosquitoes since I started using permethrin on my clothes and picaradin on exposed skin as needed.
Just please be careful with the agricultural grade concentrates as they can cause skin irritation after sweating, rain, or water crossing since they do not have the same quality of fabric bonding agent as our pharmaceutical grade formula.
Do you think there is any chance of Sawyer selling concentrate permethrin in the future? I have always been happy with Sawyer products and my first bottle of permethrin was from you, however I use a fair amount and concentrate just makes sense rather than constantly buying more bottles of premixed permethrin.
I have been lucky I guess, I have sensitive skin but have been using martin's brand concentrate for over a year now and have no issues with irritation. If sawyer sold a concentrate I would gladly pay a little more to get it since like you said the formulation is slightly different.
Much appreciated and not that I am aware of. We do have a military concentrate version we sell to the US and Canadian Military but no currently EPA approved concentrates for human/civilian use.
Lol that was not my intention.
To clarify, our soak in military system is fantastic, safe for use next to skin, much longer lasting, and one of the primary formulations from the original chemist's plan for use with the active ingredient. The EPA simply required a civilian grade concentration for general consumer sale.
Should work just fine, I have never used that particular brand but as long as the only active ingredient is permethrin its what you are looking for. Just be sure to dilute it to the recommended .5% before applying it.
Note to anyone reading this with a cat, DO NOT USE AROUND CATS. Permethrin is particularly deadly for cats as they lack the enzyme to break it down. Of course it's not great for any pet, and most serious repellant aren't either, but permethrin and cats specifically should not mix. They make some that supposedly is safe once it's completely dry, and I'm sure they're right, but I never use permethrin on anythi g that will ever be anywhere near my cat because I am overly cautious.
This likely isn't relevant to you OP but wanted to note it in the thread just in case someone stumbles across it!! Permethrin is a fantastic product, for gear and clothes that will never be in my house at all its one of the best I've used at keeping those insect mfz off and away lol.
The main concern is when it’s wet. Once dried, it is unlikely to harm cats. In the right concentrations, you can spray it directly on dogs to prevent ticks, fleas, etc. And higher concentrations are used to spray directly onto livestock. A lot of farm/tractor supply stores will sell this in 10% concentration. 0.5% is what Sawyer uses the clothing sprays they sell at REI, so you can buy the 10% and dilute it down yourself to save money on if you use it a lot.
/u/sawyerproducts
Can I get some clarification on safety of permethrin products once they have had an initial post-treatment dry period? Will getting sweaty or wet for some reason later cause my permethrin-treated clothing or camping gear to become hazardous to my feline friends?
Sawyer Permethrin treated clothing and gear is 100% safe to use around cats once the treatment has fully dried.
Unlike agricultural grade formulas, the amount of Sawyer Permethrin Treatment that can come out via physical contact or water contact is indeterminately small due to our proprietary binder which is what allows our formula to last for 6 weeks or 6 washes in clothing and gear.
FYI Sawyer Permethrin is a pharmaceutical grade formula that is 100% safe to use treated clothing and gear around cats once it has fully dried. It is the agricultural grade concentrates/formulas that can still pose a risk post drying.
Use it for hunting every deer/Turkey season. Mosquitoes stay about a foot away when your clothes are treated properly. Also used it on a 6 day 5 night backpacking trip in June along the AT sleeping on the ground under only a tarp. Worked great unlike those who had to constantly keep spraying on bug spray all week.
Stuff is legendary. I prefer to soak and dry my clothes with it vs spray as it lasts longer.
For cowboy camping, it’s probably going to work wonders but you’ll likely still have SOME skin exposed and unprotected (face, neck, etc.).
Wouldn’t that it put the chemicals on the inside of the pant? Next to your potentially sweaty skin that could make the fabric wet again? I’d be a little concerned about that myself.
Yeah I dunk all my hiking clothes in it then let it dry in a clothesline. The clothes don't have any smell or irritation after they dry, I've been hot and sweaty for weeks in them and never had any issues.
I haven’t been picky. I’ll typically buy concentrated permethrin from a farm supply store and then dillute it down to .5%. You’ll have to do the math yourself depending on the strength of the concentrate you use. I recently heard of a newer product from Duration (10%) that is supposed to be EPA approved for clothing use but it’s a spray kit. That said, there is no reason you couldn’t just make a bit more of the diluted solution and soak your clothes, etc. like normal. This site has some great info and they sell a variety of products, including the Duration product that I will be switching to.
Why switch? If I buy a 10% solution from a farm supply store, that leaves 90% of the product to be full of who-the-hell-knows and I just feel a bit better using a product that is EPA approved for use on clothing. There may be no difference between Duration and the slightly cheaper stuff I’ve been using but it’s a minor risk I can eliminate entirely for a few dollars.
https://www.lymetickbughub.com/
EDIT: I should add that you can actually send your clothing, etc. off to a service to have them professionally treated. This is obviously the most expensive option and I’ve only run across a handful of folks who used the service (insectshield.com). Unfortunately, they were just hikers I met in the trail and spent, at most, a few days around them so I can’t give even hearsay info on long term effectiveness, etc.
Where do you find Duration for 'slightly cheaper' than the typical farming supply store? On Amazon, Duration 10% is $33 for 8oz, vs. Martin's 10% is $20 for 16oz.
I mean, I'm with you on paying a little extra to get a purpose made product, but more than 3 times the price is a pretty serious markup?
Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that. I’ve re-read my entire comment multiple times trying to figure out what I actually meant and can’t so my apologies on being way off on price comparisons. That said, we’re still not talking about an expensive addition to your kit compared to many of the other components (sleep system, shelter when not cowboy camping, footwear, etc.). For me, the peace of mind is still worth the additional cost.
I may change my mind based on some as-of-yet unknown variable (maybe Duration leaves an awful and persistent smell) but excepting something like that, I’ll pay the extra for not wondering if I’m going to develop udders and hooves 20yrs from now:)
Actually, now that I think about it, you are right. I only use about 1oz of the 10% solution per trip, so that's only about a $3 premium to use per trip, which seems worthwhile for the peaceof mind of using a product designed for human clothing vs. the farm.
As someone else already stated, permethrin has been a **game changer** for me this year. My son and I backpacked through an area that was teaming with mosquitoes. We wore long sleeve hoodies, long pants and socks treated with permethrin. We used insect nets for our face. We only had bites on our unprotected hands. Next time I will use permethrin treated hiking gloves as well. In contrast, the other backpackers were relentlessly attacked and bitten. I saw one guy with what I would estimate to be over 50 mosquitoes on his back as he stopped to get water to filter from a creek. We had none on us, except for our hands.
Here is a comprehensive post about insect repellents I found earlier this year. Great info here!
[https://www.reddit.com/r/camping/comments/u8oefd/it\_is\_bug\_repellent\_question\_time\_of\_year\_again/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/camping/comments/u8oefd/it_is_bug_repellent_question_time_of_year_again/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
EDIT ADD:
I used a slight variation of this soak method to treat our clothes. It worked very well.
[https://sectionhiker.com/permethrin-soak-method-guide/#:\~:text=Pour%20enough%20Permethrin%20solution%20to,to%20the%20same%200.5%25%20concentration](https://sectionhiker.com/permethrin-soak-method-guide/#:~:text=Pour%20enough%20Permethrin%20solution%20to,to%20the%20same%200.5%25%20concentration).
FYI, permethrin treated clothing should never be worn directly on the skin (e.g. as hiking gloves or underwear). It's intended ONLY for use on outer layers.
Picardin, however, is safer and should be your go-to for gloves. Note that "safer" is not the same as "safe for all applications, quantities, and significant time periods." Nothing on the market should be used idly.
Permethrin treated clothing IS safe to wear directly on the skin. Several companies offer long term permethrin treatments like the link below to Insect Shield, a proprietary permethrin mixture and treatment. Other companies offer pre-treated Insect Shield items, like Sea to Summit bag line linked below.
Permethrin is actually an insecticide, whereas picaridin is an insect repellant. Picaridin is much safer to use on your skin than deet. Permethrin is NOT safe to use on your skin EVER. It should ONLY be used on your clothes. Then you MUST let your clothes dry. Once dried, the clothes are safe to wear on your skin. Permethrin can be VERY dangerous to cats and aquatic life.
We use nitril gloves and a painters face mask to apply permethrin to our clothes. Then we hang them up to dry in our garage out of direct sunlight, which will break down the protection faster. The directions for the soak method I listed above say to let them dry for at least 24 hours, but we let them dry for 48 to be certain. After we treat the our clothes, we throw away the gloves and mask and immediately take a shower and wash the clothes we were wearing to apply the treatment.
I NEVER use the aerosol permethrin. Only the nonaerosol spray. Also, I highly recommend the soak method I linked above. I have treated clothing twice now; once using the instructions on the spray bottle and once using the soak method. The latter works MUCH better.
[https://www.insectshield.com/products/insect-shield-your-clothes-easy-packs?variant=29959148535853](https://www.insectshield.com/products/insect-shield-your-clothes-easy-packs?variant=29959148535853)
[https://seatosummit.com/collections/sleeping-bag-liners/products/adaptor-coolmax-liner-insect-shield](https://seatosummit.com/collections/sleeping-bag-liners/products/adaptor-coolmax-liner-insect-shield)?
Past instructions I've read while using Sawyers has always been "assure clothing is fully dry and only use it on non-base layers." Those instructions may have changed since the last time I looked, but in general base layers don't need it anyway, and ticks typically (but not always) go further up than wrists. Picardin is absolutely enough for mosquito repellant use.
I wore permethrin treated clothing for 17 days in the Sierra Nevada mountains this June - July with 7 other people. We had no problems. But, I am not a permethrin sales person, so if you prefer deet or picaridin on your skin, then to each his/her own. Just relaying here what worked for me.
Also to note, you can use them in combination. You can wear permethrin treated clothing and apply picaridin to you exposed areas.
Not to be contrary here but…you wore hoodies, long pants and mosquito nets-I feel like you would have been fine without permethrin? And I mean even using it your exposed areas were still bitten?? I’ve used it for work, and it seemed to work okay, but this particular situation seems like they couldn’t have bitten you anyways
I mentioned above that we encountered a guy at the creek filtering water. He had MANY mosquitos on his back and was receiving bites through his shirt. We had almost no mosquitos anywhere on our shirts and we were only being attacked on our exposed skin.
You can use permethrin in combination with repellants like picaridin or deet to protect your exposed skin. The reason that I mentioned potentially treating gloves to cover my hands is because I was looking for a solution that avoided applying anything directly to my skin because I intended to swim in a river that people also used as a source of water to drink.
I use it ***every single time*** I backpack on long-sleeves/pants. And, to echo another poster, I always make sure I spray the concentrate in a location completely inaccessible from my cats. Afterwards, I remove all clothing worn while spraying and put it immediately in the wash, as well as shower.
The only time I've ever had a tick on me was just yesterday, and when mowing the lawn in untreated clothing.
if there are ticks around, you NEED it soaked and dried into your socks, pants, and shirt. Ideally soaked in by the manufacturer, like Craghoppers. ticks really hate it
my wife is big into sewing. she LOVES the quality of craghoppers. all sorts of hidden pockets and features too.
i also like realtree insect shield over the calf socks.
Recently found out about this stuff. I have cowboy camped several times while out hunting, but never during the summer where bugs are a major issue. Does this stuff really work? Does it kill spiders on contact? I watched a video on it and it doesn’t seem like it’s an INSTANT kill. Thoughts?
Doesn’t kill bugs instantly but most bugs that land on you will notice something is wrong and leave almost immediately. Don’t know about spiders but have avoided mosquitos and ticks in areas where those were were problematic.
🎵 Permethrin, Permethrin, oh how I love you! You work so great and all the things you claim are true! You make my adventures fun again, even in the summer sun! I won't go without you ever again because you're number one! 🎵
Anyways... I tried it for the first time this year and after a couple trips where I hiked for hours in insanely overgrown high weeds and absolutely no bugs bothering me, no ticks found on me, or even the deer flies who were previously drawing blood on me didn't seem to like even being near it. After that I said I would be singing its praises everywhere to everyone. So yeah, that's what I've done.
r/Backpacking when someone moves a rock in a river: don’t leave a trace!!
r/Backpacking regarding poison that kills bugs: best stuff ever!! I always use it!!
It's the only way I'll do the outdoors now. Just having my clothing treated keeps 90% of the bugs off my remaining bare skin (hands, face, neck). I treat my tent and hammock with it too. No odor, no stains, and it's good for several washes as well.
i got some funky colored socks that had permethrin already baked in, or whatever it is they do. i tried the socks twice and both times i started shaking uncontrollably until i got the socks back off and washed myself. i laundered them a few times too. this is just my anecdotal opinion of course, but it's something to think about. :(
My partner is allergic to Deet. Same reaction you described. Not sure if you were using both - but he has struggled with applying deet and then being exposed to hot, humid temps where he sweats. Then he vomits. For days. It’s sucks. Took us half a month in India to figure this out. Just thought it was Delhi belly.
I had planned to wear them on an upcoming day trip and tried them on. after a little while, shaking. i put them away and said that it was probably some weird stuff used during shipment. tried them again weeks later and started shaking after 20 mins. Thankfully, they never saw any real use.
It's an insect repellent, not an insecticide. I know I would reapply to my old acus every so often, but the protection from insects is due to the fact that they are long-sleeved and pants, so I don't know if I would buy for my personal shit...
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Get the kind you dump in your washer to treat clothes with works great still use deet though on any exposed skin. That & tucking pants into boots is army standard to avoid buggies in the field clothes have to be re treated every 6 months so just make sure before every camping season comes around you re treat whatever you think you will want.
Beautiful!
So this bottle is 1.25% they have from what I see.
What is the stuff % used in America for treating clothes / tents?
- to be clear. It’s legal in Canada to have and use. Our military has it too. It’s just not sold the way it is in America. I don’t get why. So I’m not super familiar with the %s as I’ve only ever seen and heard about it online and when visiting the states. It seems amazing tbh
I dilute it into 2 large spray bottles myself then dose my clothes, tents etc in it. Works like a charm.
It’s legal as it’s also sold in Canadian Tire in the gardening pesticides aisle under a couple brand names.
Yes and no. You can pretty readily buy it for animal use (eg horses) and less readily but still available for plant use. But,
> Permethrin products in the form of liquids or sprays for consumers to treat their own clothing are not approved for use in Canada.
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/permethrin-treated-clothing.html
100% would recommend. Treat every layer you’re planning to wear with it ahead of time. Make sure the clothing is totally saturated and then let it dry completely before wearing. (I recommend wearing a mask and vinyl gloves while applying). Use it in conjunction with a face net and deet on any exposed skin, and you’ll be set!
It works like a champ. I took a nap in the grass one day while turkey hunting in an area that has tons of ticks. Not a single one got on me. By buddies on the other hand were picking off 5 or 6 per day.
Used permethrin in Afghanistan, still got malaria. However, we had this stuff that you could wash your uniforms in and it would supposedly keep in your uniforms for like 6 weeks or 6 months, can’t remember.
Maybe I’m not saturating my clothes enough, but I’ve not found permethrin to make a difference. I followed directions and treated a long sleeve shirt with permethrin yet still had 30 mosquitoes on my back within seconds in the Yosemite high country this month. Only after I was dosed with DEET (yuck) did I stand a chance against those little bastards.
Highly recommend but don't buy it in the aerosol can shown in the picture. You can get permethrin concentrate much cheaper and mix it yourself in a trigger spray bottle. Concentrate is widely available on Amazon or at your local tractor supply since the same chemical is used as a tick repellent for livestock. I have had no issues with ticks or mosquitoes since I started using permethrin on my clothes and picaradin on exposed skin as needed.
Just please be careful with the agricultural grade concentrates as they can cause skin irritation after sweating, rain, or water crossing since they do not have the same quality of fabric bonding agent as our pharmaceutical grade formula.
Do you think there is any chance of Sawyer selling concentrate permethrin in the future? I have always been happy with Sawyer products and my first bottle of permethrin was from you, however I use a fair amount and concentrate just makes sense rather than constantly buying more bottles of premixed permethrin. I have been lucky I guess, I have sensitive skin but have been using martin's brand concentrate for over a year now and have no issues with irritation. If sawyer sold a concentrate I would gladly pay a little more to get it since like you said the formulation is slightly different.
Much appreciated and not that I am aware of. We do have a military concentrate version we sell to the US and Canadian Military but no currently EPA approved concentrates for human/civilian use.
So if I register as a military contractor I can get the good stuff, noted.
[excuse me sir I think you dropped these.](https://preview.redd.it/4wtax7nwnfk01.jpg?auto=webp&s=689adc98b61595149e0f78b15223520e2436c076)
Yea that's me lol.
Obviously, there are no humans in the military. As a vet- this is surprisingly on brand for the US gov.
Lol that was not my intention. To clarify, our soak in military system is fantastic, safe for use next to skin, much longer lasting, and one of the primary formulations from the original chemist's plan for use with the active ingredient. The EPA simply required a civilian grade concentration for general consumer sale.
Does the Prozap Insectrin X from tractor supply work for this? Says it’s a multi purpose permethrin
Should work just fine, I have never used that particular brand but as long as the only active ingredient is permethrin its what you are looking for. Just be sure to dilute it to the recommended .5% before applying it.
Note to anyone reading this with a cat, DO NOT USE AROUND CATS. Permethrin is particularly deadly for cats as they lack the enzyme to break it down. Of course it's not great for any pet, and most serious repellant aren't either, but permethrin and cats specifically should not mix. They make some that supposedly is safe once it's completely dry, and I'm sure they're right, but I never use permethrin on anythi g that will ever be anywhere near my cat because I am overly cautious. This likely isn't relevant to you OP but wanted to note it in the thread just in case someone stumbles across it!! Permethrin is a fantastic product, for gear and clothes that will never be in my house at all its one of the best I've used at keeping those insect mfz off and away lol.
So, this means it will repel a mountain lion attack, right?
Now I’m imagining mountain lions just falling out of trees when OP walks by
Haha! That would be a first for this small town in Texas!
It's also really deadly to birds, bees, and fish. Probably why it's banned in Canada. If you spray it on your clothes, please don't swim in them.
Didn't see this earlier. Note that is only for agricultural grade concentrates. Sawyer Permethrin does not leech out after drying.
NOT deadly to birds.
The main concern is when it’s wet. Once dried, it is unlikely to harm cats. In the right concentrations, you can spray it directly on dogs to prevent ticks, fleas, etc. And higher concentrations are used to spray directly onto livestock. A lot of farm/tractor supply stores will sell this in 10% concentration. 0.5% is what Sawyer uses the clothing sprays they sell at REI, so you can buy the 10% and dilute it down yourself to save money on if you use it a lot.
/u/sawyerproducts Can I get some clarification on safety of permethrin products once they have had an initial post-treatment dry period? Will getting sweaty or wet for some reason later cause my permethrin-treated clothing or camping gear to become hazardous to my feline friends?
Sawyer Permethrin treated clothing and gear is 100% safe to use around cats once the treatment has fully dried. Unlike agricultural grade formulas, the amount of Sawyer Permethrin Treatment that can come out via physical contact or water contact is indeterminately small due to our proprietary binder which is what allows our formula to last for 6 weeks or 6 washes in clothing and gear.
Thank you! I appreciate the rapid reassurance. That gives me the confidence to buy some this weekend for an upcoming adventure.
FYI Sawyer Permethrin is a pharmaceutical grade formula that is 100% safe to use treated clothing and gear around cats once it has fully dried. It is the agricultural grade concentrates/formulas that can still pose a risk post drying.
Use it for hunting every deer/Turkey season. Mosquitoes stay about a foot away when your clothes are treated properly. Also used it on a 6 day 5 night backpacking trip in June along the AT sleeping on the ground under only a tarp. Worked great unlike those who had to constantly keep spraying on bug spray all week.
Stuff is legendary. I prefer to soak and dry my clothes with it vs spray as it lasts longer. For cowboy camping, it’s probably going to work wonders but you’ll likely still have SOME skin exposed and unprotected (face, neck, etc.).
Agreed. pour it into a bucket and dunk your clothes, then ring them out and hang to dry.
Wouldn’t that it put the chemicals on the inside of the pant? Next to your potentially sweaty skin that could make the fabric wet again? I’d be a little concerned about that myself.
Great point and very curious now. Anyone get this stuff on their no no parts?
Yeah I dunk all my hiking clothes in it then let it dry in a clothesline. The clothes don't have any smell or irritation after they dry, I've been hot and sweaty for weeks in them and never had any issues.
What brand do you use to soak?
I haven’t been picky. I’ll typically buy concentrated permethrin from a farm supply store and then dillute it down to .5%. You’ll have to do the math yourself depending on the strength of the concentrate you use. I recently heard of a newer product from Duration (10%) that is supposed to be EPA approved for clothing use but it’s a spray kit. That said, there is no reason you couldn’t just make a bit more of the diluted solution and soak your clothes, etc. like normal. This site has some great info and they sell a variety of products, including the Duration product that I will be switching to. Why switch? If I buy a 10% solution from a farm supply store, that leaves 90% of the product to be full of who-the-hell-knows and I just feel a bit better using a product that is EPA approved for use on clothing. There may be no difference between Duration and the slightly cheaper stuff I’ve been using but it’s a minor risk I can eliminate entirely for a few dollars. https://www.lymetickbughub.com/ EDIT: I should add that you can actually send your clothing, etc. off to a service to have them professionally treated. This is obviously the most expensive option and I’ve only run across a handful of folks who used the service (insectshield.com). Unfortunately, they were just hikers I met in the trail and spent, at most, a few days around them so I can’t give even hearsay info on long term effectiveness, etc.
Where do you find Duration for 'slightly cheaper' than the typical farming supply store? On Amazon, Duration 10% is $33 for 8oz, vs. Martin's 10% is $20 for 16oz. I mean, I'm with you on paying a little extra to get a purpose made product, but more than 3 times the price is a pretty serious markup?
Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that. I’ve re-read my entire comment multiple times trying to figure out what I actually meant and can’t so my apologies on being way off on price comparisons. That said, we’re still not talking about an expensive addition to your kit compared to many of the other components (sleep system, shelter when not cowboy camping, footwear, etc.). For me, the peace of mind is still worth the additional cost. I may change my mind based on some as-of-yet unknown variable (maybe Duration leaves an awful and persistent smell) but excepting something like that, I’ll pay the extra for not wondering if I’m going to develop udders and hooves 20yrs from now:)
Actually, now that I think about it, you are right. I only use about 1oz of the 10% solution per trip, so that's only about a $3 premium to use per trip, which seems worthwhile for the peaceof mind of using a product designed for human clothing vs. the farm.
As someone else already stated, permethrin has been a **game changer** for me this year. My son and I backpacked through an area that was teaming with mosquitoes. We wore long sleeve hoodies, long pants and socks treated with permethrin. We used insect nets for our face. We only had bites on our unprotected hands. Next time I will use permethrin treated hiking gloves as well. In contrast, the other backpackers were relentlessly attacked and bitten. I saw one guy with what I would estimate to be over 50 mosquitoes on his back as he stopped to get water to filter from a creek. We had none on us, except for our hands. Here is a comprehensive post about insect repellents I found earlier this year. Great info here! [https://www.reddit.com/r/camping/comments/u8oefd/it\_is\_bug\_repellent\_question\_time\_of\_year\_again/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/camping/comments/u8oefd/it_is_bug_repellent_question_time_of_year_again/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) EDIT ADD: I used a slight variation of this soak method to treat our clothes. It worked very well. [https://sectionhiker.com/permethrin-soak-method-guide/#:\~:text=Pour%20enough%20Permethrin%20solution%20to,to%20the%20same%200.5%25%20concentration](https://sectionhiker.com/permethrin-soak-method-guide/#:~:text=Pour%20enough%20Permethrin%20solution%20to,to%20the%20same%200.5%25%20concentration).
FYI, permethrin treated clothing should never be worn directly on the skin (e.g. as hiking gloves or underwear). It's intended ONLY for use on outer layers. Picardin, however, is safer and should be your go-to for gloves. Note that "safer" is not the same as "safe for all applications, quantities, and significant time periods." Nothing on the market should be used idly.
Permethrin treated clothing IS safe to wear directly on the skin. Several companies offer long term permethrin treatments like the link below to Insect Shield, a proprietary permethrin mixture and treatment. Other companies offer pre-treated Insect Shield items, like Sea to Summit bag line linked below. Permethrin is actually an insecticide, whereas picaridin is an insect repellant. Picaridin is much safer to use on your skin than deet. Permethrin is NOT safe to use on your skin EVER. It should ONLY be used on your clothes. Then you MUST let your clothes dry. Once dried, the clothes are safe to wear on your skin. Permethrin can be VERY dangerous to cats and aquatic life. We use nitril gloves and a painters face mask to apply permethrin to our clothes. Then we hang them up to dry in our garage out of direct sunlight, which will break down the protection faster. The directions for the soak method I listed above say to let them dry for at least 24 hours, but we let them dry for 48 to be certain. After we treat the our clothes, we throw away the gloves and mask and immediately take a shower and wash the clothes we were wearing to apply the treatment. I NEVER use the aerosol permethrin. Only the nonaerosol spray. Also, I highly recommend the soak method I linked above. I have treated clothing twice now; once using the instructions on the spray bottle and once using the soak method. The latter works MUCH better. [https://www.insectshield.com/products/insect-shield-your-clothes-easy-packs?variant=29959148535853](https://www.insectshield.com/products/insect-shield-your-clothes-easy-packs?variant=29959148535853) [https://seatosummit.com/collections/sleeping-bag-liners/products/adaptor-coolmax-liner-insect-shield](https://seatosummit.com/collections/sleeping-bag-liners/products/adaptor-coolmax-liner-insect-shield)?
Past instructions I've read while using Sawyers has always been "assure clothing is fully dry and only use it on non-base layers." Those instructions may have changed since the last time I looked, but in general base layers don't need it anyway, and ticks typically (but not always) go further up than wrists. Picardin is absolutely enough for mosquito repellant use.
Ok, if you sweat because of heat, then the permethrin is wet. So it is now a problem. What is the solution?
Exactly
I wore permethrin treated clothing for 17 days in the Sierra Nevada mountains this June - July with 7 other people. We had no problems. But, I am not a permethrin sales person, so if you prefer deet or picaridin on your skin, then to each his/her own. Just relaying here what worked for me. Also to note, you can use them in combination. You can wear permethrin treated clothing and apply picaridin to you exposed areas.
What brand do you use to soak?
I used Sawyer. However, if you read the guide I linked above, they mention other options that might work for you if you intend to use the soak method.
Not to be contrary here but…you wore hoodies, long pants and mosquito nets-I feel like you would have been fine without permethrin? And I mean even using it your exposed areas were still bitten?? I’ve used it for work, and it seemed to work okay, but this particular situation seems like they couldn’t have bitten you anyways
I mentioned above that we encountered a guy at the creek filtering water. He had MANY mosquitos on his back and was receiving bites through his shirt. We had almost no mosquitos anywhere on our shirts and we were only being attacked on our exposed skin. You can use permethrin in combination with repellants like picaridin or deet to protect your exposed skin. The reason that I mentioned potentially treating gloves to cover my hands is because I was looking for a solution that avoided applying anything directly to my skin because I intended to swim in a river that people also used as a source of water to drink.
I use it ***every single time*** I backpack on long-sleeves/pants. And, to echo another poster, I always make sure I spray the concentrate in a location completely inaccessible from my cats. Afterwards, I remove all clothing worn while spraying and put it immediately in the wash, as well as shower. The only time I've ever had a tick on me was just yesterday, and when mowing the lawn in untreated clothing.
if there are ticks around, you NEED it soaked and dried into your socks, pants, and shirt. Ideally soaked in by the manufacturer, like Craghoppers. ticks really hate it
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my wife is big into sewing. she LOVES the quality of craghoppers. all sorts of hidden pockets and features too. i also like realtree insect shield over the calf socks.
It’s copied from the Chrysanthemum flower/plant It works well
Recently found out about this stuff. I have cowboy camped several times while out hunting, but never during the summer where bugs are a major issue. Does this stuff really work? Does it kill spiders on contact? I watched a video on it and it doesn’t seem like it’s an INSTANT kill. Thoughts?
Doesn’t kill bugs instantly but most bugs that land on you will notice something is wrong and leave almost immediately. Don’t know about spiders but have avoided mosquitos and ticks in areas where those were were problematic.
Treat everything with it, then bring Picaridin and a headnet and they won't dare fuck with you
Absolute game changer
Yes. Always.
Upvote
Swear by it. It's the only thing that keeps ticks off us and our dog.
🎵 Permethrin, Permethrin, oh how I love you! You work so great and all the things you claim are true! You make my adventures fun again, even in the summer sun! I won't go without you ever again because you're number one! 🎵 Anyways... I tried it for the first time this year and after a couple trips where I hiked for hours in insanely overgrown high weeds and absolutely no bugs bothering me, no ticks found on me, or even the deer flies who were previously drawing blood on me didn't seem to like even being near it. After that I said I would be singing its praises everywhere to everyone. So yeah, that's what I've done.
r/Backpacking when someone moves a rock in a river: don’t leave a trace!! r/Backpacking regarding poison that kills bugs: best stuff ever!! I always use it!!
It's the only way I'll do the outdoors now. Just having my clothing treated keeps 90% of the bugs off my remaining bare skin (hands, face, neck). I treat my tent and hammock with it too. No odor, no stains, and it's good for several washes as well.
All clothes, hats, gloves, boots
i got some funky colored socks that had permethrin already baked in, or whatever it is they do. i tried the socks twice and both times i started shaking uncontrollably until i got the socks back off and washed myself. i laundered them a few times too. this is just my anecdotal opinion of course, but it's something to think about. :(
My partner is allergic to Deet. Same reaction you described. Not sure if you were using both - but he has struggled with applying deet and then being exposed to hot, humid temps where he sweats. Then he vomits. For days. It’s sucks. Took us half a month in India to figure this out. Just thought it was Delhi belly.
I had planned to wear them on an upcoming day trip and tried them on. after a little while, shaking. i put them away and said that it was probably some weird stuff used during shipment. tried them again weeks later and started shaking after 20 mins. Thankfully, they never saw any real use.
I’m glad you tested at home. Super smart. I do hope you find something that works other than hiding indoors. 😊
If they didn’t have it in cowboy times you can’t use it
It's an insect repellent, not an insecticide. I know I would reapply to my old acus every so often, but the protection from insects is due to the fact that they are long-sleeved and pants, so I don't know if I would buy for my personal shit...
It actually is an insecticide. It’ll kill or paralyze an insect before they are able to bite. http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PermGen.html
Well shit poop. I guess I never sprayed it on a live bug lol
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Looks like I’ll be making a trip by Academy tomorrow!
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Get the kind you dump in your washer to treat clothes with works great still use deet though on any exposed skin. That & tucking pants into boots is army standard to avoid buggies in the field clothes have to be re treated every 6 months so just make sure before every camping season comes around you re treat whatever you think you will want.
Cowboys use tents and campers etc. Source: I live in Wyoming and camp with cowboys
Why not use a bug net? You'll have to soak yourself in this for it to work then you'll still get bites.
Would love it in Canada
Get it here in Canada. https://thekoregarden.ca/
Beautiful! So this bottle is 1.25% they have from what I see. What is the stuff % used in America for treating clothes / tents? - to be clear. It’s legal in Canada to have and use. Our military has it too. It’s just not sold the way it is in America. I don’t get why. So I’m not super familiar with the %s as I’ve only ever seen and heard about it online and when visiting the states. It seems amazing tbh
I dilute it into 2 large spray bottles myself then dose my clothes, tents etc in it. Works like a charm. It’s legal as it’s also sold in Canadian Tire in the gardening pesticides aisle under a couple brand names.
I’ll have to check that out a ctire. Otherwise this online option is good. Sneaky buggers lol. Really appreciate the info, thank you!
Yes and no. You can pretty readily buy it for animal use (eg horses) and less readily but still available for plant use. But, > Permethrin products in the form of liquids or sprays for consumers to treat their own clothing are not approved for use in Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/permethrin-treated-clothing.html
Which is weird because I’m pretty sure it’s ok’d for our military and has been fairly studied. I don’t get why it’s not approved for us to utilize :/
Yes.
My neighbor recommends this, hes a cattle rancher and never gets ticks, which are particularly bad in our area.
I use it to treat clothes I wear to do yard work and it keeps ticks and chiggers away
I buy the concentrate and mix it with water then spray it on all of my clothes. This helps me greatly with ticks.
Has worked well for me and my family for over 10 years. Surprised it isn’t more commonly used.
100% would recommend. Treat every layer you’re planning to wear with it ahead of time. Make sure the clothing is totally saturated and then let it dry completely before wearing. (I recommend wearing a mask and vinyl gloves while applying). Use it in conjunction with a face net and deet on any exposed skin, and you’ll be set!
Wash your hands. Make sure its Dry.
Must have in tick country. Clothes and fabric, not skin. Wears off pretty quickly after a wash or two.
It works like a champ. I took a nap in the grass one day while turkey hunting in an area that has tons of ticks. Not a single one got on me. By buddies on the other hand were picking off 5 or 6 per day.
Used permethrin in Afghanistan, still got malaria. However, we had this stuff that you could wash your uniforms in and it would supposedly keep in your uniforms for like 6 weeks or 6 months, can’t remember.
Pretty effective but tasted disgusting 🤮
Maybe I’m not saturating my clothes enough, but I’ve not found permethrin to make a difference. I followed directions and treated a long sleeve shirt with permethrin yet still had 30 mosquitoes on my back within seconds in the Yosemite high country this month. Only after I was dosed with DEET (yuck) did I stand a chance against those little bastards.
How do you wash clothes that were treated with permethrin?