Permethrin Spray Hack :)

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Viathelens said:
Steve, I thought maybe I should do this spray on my clothes since you were and said it was safe but then I looked it up. See below, from the web, maybe not that safe:

Is Sawyer permethrin safe for humans?
► Inhaling Permethrin can irritate the nose, throat and lungs. ► Exposure to Permethrin can cause headache, dizziness, fatigue, excessive salivation, muscle weakness, nausea and vomiting. ► Permethrin may affect the liver. - it also said you could spray it on dogs but not cats and cats should not be around it until it's dry.

I've already drank enough alcohol over my lifetime to ruin my liver and I have dry throat issues. Will I be ok with just some DEET bug spray? I know it can melt plastic. I don't recall bugs being a problem for me in Kenya or South Africa...are there more bugs in this area?
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FWIW, I've never had an issue with it. We use it in a well-ventilated area, avoid inhalation, and shower afterward.

I don't think it's strictly necessary to spray where we're going since we don't encounter all that many bug/mosquitos - at least we haven't in years past. Files are a bigger problem, but they don't seem to care what you spray on your self or you clothes. Still, mosquitoes can carry a lot of different pathogens, so preventing bites, few as they may be, is important so I take the step to spray my clothes. YMMV.

Also, I'd toss this out as well - if you look at any household product that comes in a bottle (cleaners in particular), you'll often find similar warnings. Lots of the products I use in my garage are far more hazardous. Something as simple as a bottle of bleach can be fairly hazardous. It's all in how you handle it. Once it's dry, my understanding is that it's safe.
 
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Permethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide. It is derived from the natural insecticide pyrethrum, which is found in chrysanthemum flowers. I drink tea made with chrysanthemum flowers. Still alive =]

There isn't any long term study of it yet. So far it is considered relatively safe for humans. However, EPA has declared it carcinogenic in lab animals with heavy exposure but not for humans under normal exposure.

Picaridin is the next safest known insecticide and be applied on skin. Beyond that would be natural essential oils but less effective.

I usually only coat my shoes/pants with Permethrin and try to wear tight shirts, gators or head nets etc.
 
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ajrmd said:
Great strategy though I would add the following recommendations and cautions. Premetherin is highly toxic if inhaled or ingested so spraying outside might be a better approach. It’s highly effective and durable on clothes but shouldn’t be applied to the skin. Instead use DEET or preferably Picaridin. Additionally, Premetherin is highly toxic to dogs, cats, other wild life and especially fish.
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You should be careful with your words. A lot of fly spray for horses is Permethrin. It is not highly toxic. It has to dry on clothes to be safe and effective. Like all things in life there is balance, prevention of Lyme disease and other tick diseases, as well as chigger prevention and mosquito protection, can save severe or deadly problems. Deet is not as safe as you think, and I believe, is not recommended for infants.
 
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Since preparing for a trip to Cambodia many years agoo I have found that buying permethrin concentrate is a 32 oz container and diluting it with water is very effective and I can adjust the concentration as needed.

Dilution of 37% solutio
0.5% solution - 1 oz. 37% permethrin & 2.3 qts or or 9 cups water protects for 6 weeks or 6 washings - protects 6 weeks

1.15% - 2 oz. permethrin and 2 quarts water or 1 ounce permethrin per quart of water - protects for 1 year and thrugh 50 washings.

I use clothes pins to attach pants and shirts to a temporary clothestline and then use a small 1 quart garden sprayer on the clothes includiin socks. I use a dishwash tub to treat my socks and to treat the mosquitoe netting that I aways take for us. Treating the mosquitoe netting makes it twice as effective acoring to WHIO studies.

With this appoach it costs about 10 cents per shirt/blouse and pants. The 37% solution has a shelf life of more than 1 year.
 
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Just in time thread before I move back to Maine and into heavy deer tick habitat. Wife/Dad and many friends, both my dogs multiple times have contracted Lyme. Fortunately we're hyper aware of it and they got treated early with no ill effects. I had the dogs tested every 6 months while I lived there as they were tick magnets.

My brothers part of an ongoing study to eliminate/drastically reduce them from habitats using feed for mice and deer and so far it's been working very well. Something to consider for your community or property in the future as this study will complete in 2026/2027.


 
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Ok I’m late to the party. I’ve never heard about this product. Where do you buy it? In the video I think you said it last multiple washes?
 
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DavidT said:
Ok I’m late to the party. I’ve never heard about this product. Where do you buy it? In the video I think you said it last multiple washes?
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Just go to a Tractor Supply, local Hardware or Farm store and ask for Permethrin concentrate. It may say “for livestock” or something similar on the container but once you dilute it down it's the same thing in terms of the active ingredient. You are getting taken to the cleaners bigtime on the pre-diluted “ready to spray” mixes. You are paying about 90% more if you buy the name brand “ready to spray” stuff as compared to buying the concentrate and diluting it down yourself and one pint of concentrate will last you a long time. Sold under different names depending on where you are but the concentrate containers are normally around 10% Permethrin and you want to dilute your mix down to around .5% Permethrin. Not 5% but POINT 5 percent if you have bad eyes like myself. And as an added bonus if you have a yard and spray for weeds you can also pick up some Glyphosate concentrate and save yourself the same amount of $$$ if not more over buying RoundUp at the big box stores.
 
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abc123brian said:
REI, Amazon, most outdoor stores carry it. generally considered to last 6 washes with treatment but I think it lasts a bit longer than that.

Sawyer Permethrin Amazon
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How long it lasts depends on the concentration that is applied. I do it myself and make a 2% solution that will last for a full year.

I avoid DEET as it damages plastics on a camera or lens Picaridin 15% is egually effective and safe for platics. The Picraridin should be at least a 15% concentration and this is readiily available with the Sawyers products. The armed services are going to use the cheapest product and no a good recommendation.
 
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RichF said:
@Steve Any recommendation to repel TseTse flies? Their bites hurt
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I searched the net at one point briefly. There is definitely a consensus on what colors NOT to wear (black), and to wear (khaki works best it seemed). There seemed to be no repellant for them, though there was something locals seemed to favor that I thought began with a D, not Deet.
 
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viper699 said:
I searched the net at one point briefly. There is definitely a consensus on what colors NOT to wear (black), and to wear (khaki works best it seemed). There seemed to be no repellant for them, though there was something locals seemed to favor that I thought began with a D, not Deet.
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Yup, they love darker blue and black. We made the mistake of wearing black socks once - never again! Thankfully. we haven't run into them that much.
 
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ajrmd said:
Since we alluded to the responsible use of chemicals, I thought I would share this disturbing report. https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlsc...ea-treatments-are-poisoning-wild-birds-study/
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The sad fact is that all insecticides are made to kill, either on us or on our pets. We can shrug it off as much as we want but insecticides are lethal and generally have long-term, if not immediate, consequences. I put flea meds on my dog and I hate doing it but he is terribly reactive to fleas: I know that I am slowly taking months away from his life and he most likely will end up with cancer, as so many dogs these days do. Using any insecticide is bad for us and bad for the environment, a real dilemma at times. Even household products sold routinely can have tragic consequences, my cat ended up with asthma and other problems due to something stupid I did with a cleanser. Life seems to be lethal at times!
 
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Viathelens said:
The sad fact is that all insecticides are made to kill, either on us or on our pets. We can shrug it off as much as we want but insecticides are lethal and generally have long-term, if not immediate, consequences. I put flea meds on my dog and I hate doing it but he is terribly reactive to fleas: I know that I am slowly taking months away from his life and he most likely will end up with cancer, as so many dogs these days do. Using any insecticide is bad for us and bad for the environment, a real dilemma at times. Even household products sold routinely can have tragic consequences, my cat ended up with asthma and other problems due to something stupid I did with a cleanser. Life seems to be lethal at times!
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What was the cleanser issue? I’d like to avoid that.
 
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Viathelens said:
The sad fact is that all insecticides are made to kill, either on us or on our pets. We can shrug it off as much as we want but insecticides are lethal and generally have long-term, if not immediate, consequences. I put flea meds on my dog and I hate doing it but he is terribly reactive to fleas: I know that I am slowly taking months away from his life and he most likely will end up with cancer, as so many dogs these days do. Using any insecticide is bad for us and bad for the environment, a real dilemma at times. Even household products sold routinely can have tragic consequences, my cat ended up with asthma and other problems due to something stupid I did with a cleanser. Life seems to be lethal at times!
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That’s true, though the article referenced a practice where animal owners were disposing the waste fur outside with the intent for birds to use it in their nests. While we can’t prevent every circumstance, behaving responsibly and minimizing our impact is prudent.
 
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