Permythian options??

[4runner]

Well folks, it'll soon be that time of year, the snow, ice and cold (wishful thinking) are nearly gone.

Bugs will reemerge, so on that note, it's time for me to think about pretreating my outdoor clothes and gear for bug repellentcy.

Before I go out and buy the Sawyer pump spray, does anyone have any latest greatest advice on buying the concentrate from the farm store or exterminator supply and making up my own?

I've been hesitant to make up my own solution in the past, but anxious to hear ur experiences.

many thanks in advance!

4r

[Offshore]

I don't bother with the DIY approach - the stuff I've seen is oily and has an odor anyway. I use the Sawyer spray for gear - it's not worth the time to play with diluting neurotoxin concentrates. Permethrin spray is pretty low on the price list for gear and supplies, anyway. Keep your eye on Amazon - they usually drop the price in as the season starts. If you regulaly use the same set of clothing, just send it out to Insect Shield and they'll treat it. http://www.insectshield.com/IS_Your_Own_Clothes/default.aspx Its good for 70 washings and costs less than $10/garment with discounts as you add more. That way, you'll always be ready to go and its probably cheaper in the long run. I just sent in 3 shirts and two pair of socks and got them there and back in about a week.

[Mudsock]

All of my hiking clothes have been soaked in properly diluted permethrin concentrate purchased on Amazon. It was diluted to get the concentration down to .5%. I used gallon zip lock storage bags and filled them with enough fluid to keep the clothing saturated. I let them soak for two hours, then rinsed them and gave them a single washing. If you send your clothing off to have it commercially treated, they will soak it. I poured the diluted solution from the zip lock into a gallon jug using a funnel. Then, I reused it on the next batch of clothing. I treated even my base layer and socks, including the liner socks. It does seem to repel insects.

There is no danger to wearing clothing soaked in permethrin. Diluting the concentrate can be done incorrectly, but people with reasonable math skills can easily handle the calculations necessary to properly dilute the concentrate. Permethrin is used at a 5% for the treatment of scabies. They apply it to infants and let it remain on the skin (head to toe) for more than 10 hours at that concentration. Having your hands exposed to .5% solution, or wearing laundered clothing that has been soaked in .5% for a thousand hours will never result in the level of exposure that is considered safe for babies. It would not hurt to wear rubber gloves, but I never have. I only glow when it is really dark.

[Rain Man]

It is true that some permerthrin is made for farm animals and horse barns, etc., and does smell oily, on purpose. That stuff is not for in-home use nor for personal clothing. However, there is a water-based version, designed for in-home use by pest control companies and home-owners. That's the stuff I get. Almost no odor at all.

BTW, permethrin, when in liquid form, will kill cats and fish. Once dry on fabric, though, it's safe.

Link to where I order mine. (http://www.bugspray.com/)

Video straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak--
Sawyer video. (http://vimeo.com/39012753)

I've used by spray and soak methods and find soak works best for me, in a 5-gallon plastic bucket with lid. I soak over-night. The standard recommendation is soak two hours and dry flat out of sunshine if possible. I hang my stuff from clothes hangers in the garage.

I use left-over mixture to spray my pack, shoes, and such.

[Mr. Bumpy]

The water based has no odor.
The other stuff does, but it is not that bad.
C1V1=C2V2 is your friend.