permethrin

[jrstegner]

Anyone use the 10% permethrin that is intended for livestock, diluted down for a clothing spray? If so, does it affect the clothes negatively?

[9 Shocks]

I have a special tote that I keep my turkey gear and clothes in.  I spray my pants and shirts that I turkey hunt in down with permethrin every year before the season and hang them in the backyard to air dry.  Havent noticed any real negative effects...They still smell like permethrin but I really do believe I get less ticks.  Last year I only had 3 on me and none IN me.  Prior years without permethrin I have been not as lucky and found ticks in some very awful places.

     

[Jasper2]

I use it in the spring/summer and I haven't seen any degradation of the clothing itself.  There are at least two versions from what I've seen. One has a nasty oil smell that never seems to go away. This version can be used on livestock, and is also intended for buildings and the ground around horse stalls and such.

Check out Happy Jack's Kennel Dip at Tractor Supply, it is a water based product.

[SuperK]

I use the Sawyers brand that WalMart sells.  This is approved for clothing.  Older threads on permethrin state that some formulations have some nasty "other stuff"  included also.  Many "home brew" mixtures have that diesel fuel smell that Jasper2 is talking about.  The Sawyers brand has a smell when you first apply it, but when the clothes are dry the smell is gone.  I won't go in the woods without it!  It works!

[chuprinko]

From what I read on some other hunting forums you need to make sure it is a permethrin concentrate that Does Not have petroleum in the concentrate. The ones with petroleums are used for cattle and landscaping so that it sticks/adheres.

[Jim Wright]

For information's sake Ex Officio has for a number of years made fly fishing/travel clothing, caps, bandanas etc.. treated with Permethrin and none of them smell. It is advertised to last for 70-75 machine washings.

[bowslinger]

Look for permethrin made specifically for clothing.  Spray your clothes and store while damp in disposable plastic bags that are sealed tight for 24 hours to make sure it soaks into the entire garment(s).  You can use 2 gallon zipper lock bags for this. Whatever you use, I recommend throwing it away.  After 24 hours, let the treated garments dry outside.  I have worked in numerous tick rich environments and would find dead ticks on my pants and shirts that had been treated. Treated clothes are good for 25 to 50 washings depending on manufacturer's claims.  Clothing can be retreated as needed.

[Doc Nock]

I have the Happy Jack Kennel Dip.

I don't know it lasts thru the commercial spray version that is advertised for 2 washings and 2 weeks, but it WORKS!

Ditto to the livestock brand has petrolium stuff and it will never NOT stink... both commercial and my own Happy Jack concoction, work well and dry rather smelling rather like line-dried clothing smell... probably cause I spray then hang on line and let there for 2 days to be sure it's dry...then pack in rubber maid tubs with construction grade bags inside!

[Sam McMichael]

Are you sure that livestock strength is 10% permethrin? I'm not doubting your word, but I just checked my can of spray for clothes and gear and it contains .5% (or 1/2 of 1 percent). That seems like an awfully strong, and potentially harmful, mix. I'm no chemist, but have read numerous warnings about using it at high strength for a long period of time. I have been considering buying stronger solutions, also, but I've just been unsure of it's safety. Bowslinger, what strength have you been using? It sounds like you have gotten very good results.

[Butchie]

Have tried the TSC stuff (Gordon's?), effective but didn't care for the petrol smell.  Just got some Martins 10% which has no smell.

[Robertfishes]

I use the 0.5% Sawyers on my clothes and truck carpet..I use the 10% cut with water in a bug sprayer to spray the grass around my game cleaning area and truck bed. i have used the 0.5% version to kill wasps and other bugs so its plenty strong...

[Bob Moran]

The 10% permethrin that you get from TSC should be diluted 1:19 to give a 0.5% solution. While it is petroleum based, it forms a milky colored emulsion that doesn't separate. It does have an odor, but air drying it outdoors for a few days dispels that. It doesn't harm clothing. However, the solution from TSC is technical grade, so it isn't quite as pure as the permethrin used by Sawyer or the Buz Off clothing (hence the initial petroleum odor). But, it does work. I've used it for a few years now with no ill effects.

[Hoyt]

I use DurationTM Permethrin 10% Concentrate from Amazon which claims to be the only EPA registered permethrin 10% concentrate approved for use on clothing.

[jrstegner]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the response.

[Doc Nock]

I've used the .5% commercial aersol spray bombs for YEARS...but it's gotten pretty pricey.  Culston (?) and others market it.

I've watched ticks crawl up my pant leg and in 6" (as advertised) they dropped off stone dead. Impressive.

I've had garments treated way outside the 2week effective period (like MONTHS) and my buddy and I walked side by side and he was covered in ticks and me not a one...

Course, that is no proof, but I spray everything... head net, hat, gloves, pants shirt, socks, coat... let it line dry overnight and 2 sunny days... washed them a time or two before a repeat treat.

Even skeeters keep a nice distance and just go in "hover" mode... me like!

[RedShaft]

I know guys that use the livestock stuff watered down with great results. Healthy? I have no idea....

[Longbow58]

Been using Sawyers for a while. Works for me.

[Fletcher]

After a bout with "turkey mites" I won't hit the tick woods without Permethrin.  I use the Sawyers,  as I want something certified for human use, but that may be false comfort.

The first time I used permethrin, it came out of a spray can. I could not read the fine print on the can, so I used it like Off. I used some Canadian deet on my neck, but sprayed the new stuff on my pants while I was wearing them. While hunting, I watched a tick walk up my pants, I was going to burn it with my cigar when it got high enough. Then it simply fell off, stone dead. Time to dig out the reading glasses, nothing can work that good and be safe. If not over done and used properly, it is fairly safe for a neurotoxin.

[bowslinger]

Sam,

Sorry for not responding sooner. I don't have a can sitting around, but I think it was 0.5%.

Mike