Permetherin Question

[Turk6177]

I have an MSR Hubba tent and rain fly. I asked MSR if spraying Permetherin on the tent would harm the tent. Their answer was the standard lawyer answer of "we don't know but if you do it your warrantee will be void, etc." (not an exact quote)
Has anyone used Permetherin on their Hubba tent and had any problems with the waterproofing or weakening of the fabric?

[ChinMusic]

I have sprayed my sil floor of my tent with no ill effects. IMO, you are safe.

YMMV (lawyerese)

[Wise Old Owl]

Best answer....HOW WOULD THEY KNOW? stupid on there part.

[The Cleaner]

Why spray chemicals on a tent?I thought you used a tent to keep the bugs away? IMO some people just haven't figured out life in the woods.If you don't like bugs go winter camping.....

[Rain Man]

Don't know about tents, but I've put Permethrin on my hammock several times. Mosquitoes can bite right through a hammock! No problems at all.

Rain:sunMan

.

[ChinMusic]

Why spray chemicals on a tent?I thought you used a tent to keep the bugs away? IMO some people just haven't figured out life in the woods.If you don't like bugs go winter camping.....
Go ahead and lay spread eagle on the ground. See if we care.

[Turk6177]

I was thinking it was to keep the ticks off of it. I guess one day when I am wise and woodsy like you I won't have to ask any questions on Whiteblaze and I will be an expert on all that is nature. Maybe by then I will have "figured" out life in the woods.

[ChinMusic]

I was thinking it was to keep the ticks off of it. I guess one day when I am wise and woodsy like you I won't have to ask any questions on Whiteblaze and I will be an expert on all that is nature. Maybe by then I will have "figured" out life in the woods.

I treat my clothing with permethrin. I will also spray the opening and floor of my tent when I think of it. The more dead bugs..........the better. Or better yet, maybe they will just leave and be bed-buddies with The Cleaner. He likes em.

[cabbagehead]

Spray your clothes or get a finer netting.

[Wise Old Owl]

Not so nice Turk gonna keep an eye on you!:rolleyes:


http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r114/krileahan/Woodsy.gif

[Winds]

I have an MSR Hubba tent and rain fly. I asked MSR if spraying Permetherin on the tent would harm the tent. Their answer was the standard lawyer answer of "we don't know but if you do it your warrantee will be void, etc." (not an exact quote)
Has anyone used Permetherin on their Hubba tent and had any problems with the waterproofing or weakening of the fabric?

I'm not an expert on the topic, but here's my thoughts:

I would not treat the tent for the following reasons -

1. It may harm the tent
2. Uncertain strategy - You can't even barely control the chemical by washing OR properly maintain it's effectiveness level (whatever that may be?) with re-applications for varying conditions.

Below is some information from another thread on this topic. Read all the entries here.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=47955

Hope this helps your strategy a bit.
~ Cheers

[Snowleopard]

I might treat the entry floor with permethrin so that crawling insects won't get in when the screen door is open.
Permethrin is an insecticide, not a repellent. Bugs that land on it will die or leave, but if they're a couple inches away from it they won't be affected at all. I don't think permethrin will damage the tent, but I don't think it'll help much.

If I were using a tarp, I'd probably treat a tyvek ground cloth, at least the outer couple of inches to keep away crawling insects. It probably wouldn't last with a plastic ground cloth.

DEET might damage the nylon of the tent. Don't use it on your tent unless you test a little spot first. DEET is a solvent, so it dissolves some fabrics (looks like it is melted).

[The Cleaner]

Go ahead and lay spread eagle on the ground. See if we care. I have an MSR Hubba which I use in warmer months.I use a tarp after most of the bugs are gone....

[Rocketman]

I wouldn't hesitate to spray the bug screen with permethrin. For the most part, I would not choose to spray the canopy or the waterproof fly. No real reason for that, however.

Others have suggested that the floor entrance be sprayed. I might do that if I had ever encountered problems with crawling bug entry.

Is it effective for slug control? Those messy things go everywhere.

[peakbagger]

The pemethrin may not hurt the tent but the propellent may. I dont know what they use for a carrier for the aerosol spray on type but it usually is pretty potent stuff. Definitely not somehting to spray indoors. I expect that the carrier may impact the tents fabric far more than the actual product. If you could get it in a pump spray or a liquid and wipe it on it may be a lot easier on the tent.

[Wise Old Owl]

Peakbagger - the propellent in trigger spray is water - I don't know what is in the pressurized can is.