Permethrin

[goldielocks]

What is the best type/brand to purchase to treat my clothes with Permethrin? Also - have you treated your clothes with Permethrin; how did the process go? What other measures are you taking to protect yourself from ticks and other creepy-crawlers?

[soumodeler]

https://smile.amazon.com/Sawyer-Prod...rmethrin&psc=1

I have heard good things about this. I have a bottle but have yet to treat any of my clothes.

[Busky2]

https://smile.amazon.com/Sawyer-Prod...rmethrin&psc=1

I have heard good things about this. I have a bottle but have yet to treat any of my clothes.

Been using it for years without failure to protect me. I treat everything but my down sleeping bag! I have used concentrate and diluted it to soak clothes in but now I just spray away and have not seen a difference.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I sent my clothes out to be professionally permethrin treated by a company called Insectshield. It cost about $10 per piece of clothing, but unlike home applications which have to be done every few washings, the professional treatment lasts the average lifetime of a piece of clothing (or so they claim). It was well worth it to me to have it done right once and to not have to deal with any backyard pesticide applications or chemistry experiments. Best part is that because it lasts so much longer than home applications, it can end up being cheaper than Sawyer in the long run.
https://www.insectshield.com/ISYOC.aspx

[Uncle Joe]

I use Sawyer. This year I tried something different and poured it into a bucket and tumbled my clothes in. Didn't go as well as I'd hoped. If you do this, do your socks last. They soak up a ton of the liquid. I ended up leaving the socks in and tumbling other garments in with the socks to try to get the excess off the socks. Others have used like gallon ziplock bags. Putting the garment inside and pouring in some Permethrin. I may try this next. Spraying is a bit cumbersome which is why I tried this method. Plus spraying will allow it to run off a bit too. I like to get good coverage. In the end, I'm still trying to find the best method besides just sending them off to be treated professionally.

[RockDoc]

Search function, please
We've covered this many times.

[Time Zone]

I sent my clothes out to be professionally permethrin treated by a company called Insectshield. It cost about $10 per piece of clothing, but unlike home applications which have to be done every few washings, the professional treatment lasts the average lifetime of a piece of clothing (or so they claim). It was well worth it to me to have it done right once and to not have to deal with any backyard pesticide applications or chemistry experiments. Best part is that because it lasts so much longer than home applications, it can end up being cheaper than Sawyer in the long run.
https://www.insectshield.com/ISYOC.aspx

I have just used them as well, and while I came to the same conclusion regarding your cost/benefit analysis ( btw they claim it lasts 70 washings) there are a couple idiosyncrasies of their service that deserve mentioning.

First, and most notable, is that every item I sent them came back with an orange paper slip that was safety-pinned to the garment. Much like what is done with laundered dress shirts, where the slip is fed through a button hole and stapled. However these slips were pinned through the fabric of the garments. Without getting into detail of my experience, suffice it to say that I would recommend that one consider only sending items that have less-than-fine weaves. Socks of course are fine, and pants often have an interior waistband where any lasting effects of safety-pinning such slips is out of view.

Second, each item came back with an Insect Shield tag sewn in, which describes the treatment (incl. EPA reg. # and the % permethrin), and amends the laundering instructions (wash separately from other clothes). For socks, the tag information was printed on the toe area, topside.

[FreeGoldRush]

What is the best type/brand to purchase to treat my clothes with Permethrin? Also - have you treated your clothes with Permethrin; how did the process go? What other measures are you taking to protect yourself from ticks and other creepy-crawlers?

Treat your clothes and gear. Next most important thing is to AVOiD GRASS. I cringe when it grows over a trail and I always bend over and check my legs for ticks after being forced to follow a trail through grass. Very often you will find ticks immediately after brushing up against grass.

[Rex Clifton]

Permetherin works great on everything but deer flies. Those things bite through anything. You can use the Sawyer but there are much cheaper alternatives. I buy the 10% concentration (on Amazon) and dilute to a .5% solution. Get the indoor/outdoor stuff since since, otherwise, there is a slight residual odor.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Traillium]

I've used the Sawyer spray 0.5% Permethrin (as well as 3M Ultrathon spray). This year I got Martin's 10% Permethrin liquid, diluted it to 0.5% and soaked clothing in big ziplocks. I hung the clothing outside in shade for several days. The Martin's has a slight oily smell that mostly dissipates over a day or more.
Here in Canada, we cannot buy Permethrin (unless we have an agricultural pesticide license or a commercial pesticide license). I ordered through 'AmazingZon' and got it through the border without difficulty.
This year I treated my wife's hiking clothing as well as mine.

[Uncle Joe]

Sawyer recommends keeping clothes in dark bags between washings. What about Insect Shield? I personally haven't been doing that but they are typically hung in an interior closet and out of any light.

[Greenlight]

This is the way to go, IMO. Professionally treated clothing lasts 70 washings, which is more than most people will wash anything before purging it from their wardrobe.
DIY permethrin only lasts six washings. Do the math. You're more than likely only going to take one change of clothes with you on a long hike.

I sent my clothes out to be professionally permethrin treated by a company called Insectshield. It cost about $10 per piece of clothing, but unlike home applications which have to be done every few washings, the professional treatment lasts the average lifetime of a piece of clothing (or so they claim). It was well worth it to me to have it done right once and to not have to deal with any backyard pesticide applications or chemistry experiments. Best part is that because it lasts so much longer than home applications, it can end up being cheaper than Sawyer in the long run.
https://www.insectshield.com/ISYOC.aspx

[Deadeye]

Search function, please
We've covered this many times.

No need to post a helpful reply then, is there?

[BuckeyeBill]

Sawyer recommends keeping clothes in dark bags between washings. What about Insect Shield? I personally haven't been doing that but they are typically hung in an interior closet and out of any light.

I have read everything on their site and even called them a few times before I first used them. The only restrictions I could find state that 1.) Garments must be washed even if they are new. 2.) Under garments are not accepted for treatment. 3.) Garments labeled dry clean only can not be treated. 4.) items labeled water resistant (DWR), line dry only, do not tumble dry may not be suitable for treatment.

As far as Gear being treated, Chris at ULA recommends using the spray and only treating the outside of the pack. I have never had any problems with my tarp or hammock needing treatment. YMMV

[aaronthebugbuffet]

I diluted some 10% permethrin concentrate used for livestock. It's cheap but has a strong smell so I only use it for pants.
How does the Sawyer's smell?

[FreeGoldRush]

I diluted some 10% permethrin concentrate used for livestock. It's cheap but has a strong smell so I only use it for pants.
How does the Sawyer's smell?

Although you are getting the permethrin you have to remember that most of what is in the bottle (even the concentrate) is not permithrin. My bottle of concentrate (forgot the brand) says not safe to use on clothing. The variety used to treat your clothes also has chemical(s) to help it bind to your clothes. Who knows how important these minor details are, but that is what the manufacturers tell us.

[cbxx]

Can anyone tell me when the Tick danger ends, or is greatly reduced? After a couple freezes? Certain month? Any info here?

[FreeGoldRush]

Can anyone tell me when the Tick danger ends, or is greatly reduced? After a couple freezes? Certain month? Any info here?

Here in Georgia the ticks were really bad even in February. Before this year I'd have said you have nothing to worry about in February. It's probably good to be on your best tick behavior anytime there isn't snow or ice on the ground.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Can anyone tell me when the Tick danger ends, or is greatly reduced? After a couple freezes? Certain month? Any info here?

As a general rule, if it's above freezing then ticks can be active. With mild winters like the one we just had, they were active every time we had a thaw.

[Water Rat]

Another vote for Insectshield.

The ticks in my area have not really had much of a dormant season over the past few years. I also have dogs (who do effective monthly tick treatments) and we are outside all the time. I have not tried the concentrated Permethrin, but have used the Sawyer products. I found the Sawyer products to be very effective as long as I maintained the 6 washings (Sawyer says 6 washings or 6 weeks on their website) rule. My only issue with Sawyer was having to constantly re-apply treatment throughout the year. It was also expensive, but I figure using Sawyer was less expensive/less painful than treating Lyme.

I switched to Insectshield because it was a lot easier to ship the clothes off and know the treatment would (most likely) last for the life of the garment. Insectshield does offer an Easy Pack option for 8-10 articles of clothing (1 pair of socks equals 1 article of clothing) and you can save money via this option. https://www.insectshield.com/EZ-Packs-P442.aspx

Ticks can be present anywhere an animal can come into contact with it ("it" being grass, branches, shrubs, etc).