View Full Version : Good read on permethrin for ticks.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/09/625459326/to-repel-ticks-try-spraying-your-clothes-with-a-pesticide-derived-from-mums
Feral Bill
07-09-2018, 14:38
I think I'll buy some. Ticks are creepy.
Signpost
12-07-2018, 03:02
I don't have any experience with it's effectiveness for ticks, but it works miracles as a mosquito repellent. I treated all my clothing with permethrin just prior to starting the Pacific Northwest Trail last year. During the first evening in camp, we were accosted by clouds of mosquitoes while eating dinner. While other campers resorted to donning their rain gear for protection, I was able to eat dinner with hardly a care. I did tend to wear a head net or apply DEET to exposed skin in especially bad areas, but I wasn't being bitten through my clothing like most other hikers were. The only downside was that after about 4 weeks, there was a noticeable decline in it's effectiveness.
LazyLightning
12-07-2018, 10:40
I couldn't believe how good it works, was like a shield around me when I treated my clothes. Make sure you treat any head gear you wear (hats/buff), I had gnats and mosquitos all over my face all day and they were gone after I treated my stuff. Every once and a while a gnat or something would hit my face but it would be gone in an instant not to return. They say it lasts about 6 weeks or 6 washings but I might want to treat every 3-4 weeks in the future when the bugs are bad.
As stated, very effective AND if you do your research its actually VERY safe even at 10x the concentrations we use to treat clothes.
It worked for us on the Maine AT in June/July a few years ago. We stood around in shorts and tee shirts while other hikers had no exposed flesh because of the clouds of mosquitos.
Old Grouse
12-07-2018, 11:45
I think I'll buy some. Ticks are creepy.
Yes, they suck.
Five Tango
12-07-2018, 12:16
I treat my clothing with Martin's 10% permethrin diluted 1.75-2.0 oz per liter in a spray bottle to soak my clothing and let it dry completely away from pets;especially cats because it is said to kill them.
Additionally,I take 2 apple cider vinegar capsules,1 garlic tablet,and a B multivitamin daily.Mosquitoes really don't like me anymore.I took my shirt off at camp one evening in summer here in Georgia just to make sure it was me and not the clothes-no takers!
Yeah,I know people think it's a wives tale but it works for me.
SC_Forester
12-10-2018, 23:02
I wear Permethrin treated clothes everyday. It does the job well for chiggers and ticks. My only word of caution is make sure you use a product formulated to bond with fabric.
They say that Permethrin can cause Parkinson's disease. But since I already have PD, I apply it liberally to all of my gear. I don't want to end up with something else from a stupid tick bite.
Shaker
Time Zone
01-14-2019, 18:56
They say that Permethrin can cause Parkinson's disease. Shaker
AFAIK, the jury is out on that. There are some indications of an association between PD and some pesticides, but correlation <> causation. Other explanations are possible, research in this area continues.
But I'm with you on avoiding ticks and what diseases they may bring.
I more or less posted that as a joke because I already have PD. We really don't know - and will probably never know - exactly what causes Parkinson's for a variety of reasons. And you are correct, correlation does not equal causation. If it did, then I cause traffic backups on the interstate by letting my gas tank get below 1/4 tank or having to pee. :-?
Time Zone
01-14-2019, 21:49
Obligatory xkcd:
44482
bighammer
01-14-2019, 22:00
Yes, they suck.
Good one. :banana:clap:banana
I was sold after a hike a couple years ago in NH. I had no ticks, my son had plenty. It was a stark difference.
EPA is but a shell of it's former self. Their power and influence has been highly diminished. Relying on the EPA anymore, uh, umm, meh.
Sarcasm the elf
01-15-2019, 00:13
When compared to the effects of untreated Lyme or to the toxicity of Doxycycline, I’m fairly confident in saying that permethrin is by far the lesser evil.
EPA is but a shell of it's former self. Their power and influence has been highly diminished. Relying on the EPA anymore, uh, umm, meh.
I hear you, and I'm a professional doubter myself, but having seen the effects of Lyme on friends & family, I'll take my chances with a few episodes of Permethrin exposure.