Repel ticks and chiggers

[badfish1977]

With hunting season coming up and lots of us out scouting I thought I would share the best tick repellant I have ever used. You can make it at home for a fraction of the cost of store bought and it really works. I first used the Sawyer brand peremthrin clothes soak that was formulated for the military, and it worked great, but a little costly at about $15-20 for 18 ounces. So I decided to make it myself, first thing you need is permethrin concentrate in 36.8% the cheapest I've found is here http://www.amazon.com/Permethrin-SF...d=1410196148&sr=8-2&keywords=permethrin+36.8%
$22.35 plus free shipping for 32 ounces. Now that concentration is too strong, the products you buy are .5% so you need to dilute it. 1 gallon of water+2 ounces of 36.8% permethrin=130 ounces of .51% solution. Cost is about $1.40 for a whole gallon! Now to treat your clothes, or tent, or whatever you need to mix it up as directed, and soak your clothes in it for two hours. Use a bucket or large ziplock bag or whatever. Soak for two hours and then hang to dry, wear gloves when you pull the clothes out. Once fully dry store in airtight bags or boxes to preserve the permethrin. They say it last six weeks or six washings of your clothes, no need to reapply, but at this cost you can afford to do so if you desire. Once dry permethrin does not have an odor, so no need to worry about it while hunting. Permethrin is toxic to cats when wet, not when fully dry, so dont allow your cats around when soaking or hanging to dry. Permethrin kills bugs like ticks, mosquitoes, fleas, chiggers, flies, etc.. on contact when they get on your clothes, its more than just a repellant. Any leftover mixture you have put in a spray bottle and use to spray your boots, back packs, and other gear. Hope this helps you guys out! You can also use it around your house to spray your yard, or inside your house.

 

[justin_h635]

toxic to cats....hmmmm. I think I know of a bed and scratching post that needs a good flea bath.

 

[Okie4570]

toxic to cats....hmmmm. I think I know of a bed and scratching post that needs a good flea bath.

................warning written in bold letters on the back of horse spray cans/bottles at Atwoods.

 

[DREW42]

Thanks for the heads up

 

[otis147]

http://m.walgreens.com/mt/www.walgr....jsp?skuId=sku6191748&id=prod6219394&vpd=true

works on snake mites, .50% permethrin. cheap.

 

[Deer Slayer]

I thought you were supposed to just spray your clothing and not soak them in it. The dry compound should be able to be absorbed into your skin because of the contact. Common sense tells me this is not a good idea.

 

[badfish1977]

Its the same way the military does it, they soak their clothes in it and once dry its safe.
Here's some facts about permethrin and its safety

Permethrin is over 2,250 times more toxic to ticks than humans; so just a little bit provides great protection safely.
The EPA states "...There is reasonable certainty that Permethrin-treated clothing poses no harm to infants or children".

Put directly on the skin, typically less than 1% of active ingredient is absorbed into the body; DEET can be absorbed at over 20 times that rate.

Exposure risk of Permethrin-treated clothing to toddlers is 27 times below the EPA's Level of Concern (LOC).

A 140-pound person would have no adverse health effects if exposed to 32 gms of permethrin/day.There is less than 1 gram of permethrin in an entire bottle of clothing treatment.


http://travmed.com/products/sawyer-military-style-permethrin-soak

http://www.army.mil/article/110610/Army_launches_website_about_permethrin_treated_ACUs/

http://www.tickinfo.com/permethrin.htm

 

[furlong222]

that stuff works well on the critters that nest on your house - or come in from outside...ants to web moths etc...

 

[Deer Slayer]

WTG Badfish! Great info, thank you

 

[Rod Snell]

Our local Atwoods has the Permethrin concentrate at $10 for 8 oz. I used a bottle in a hose end sprayer this summer to kill out a serious infestation of wasp nests. Same stuff as in the Wasp spray cans, lots cheaper if you need quantity. Permethrin is a nerve toxin that paralyzes the critters; devastating to the stingers and biters, safe for humans.

Also I make dilute spray for repellent on clothes by putting a couple of teaspoons of concentrate in 28 oz of distilled water, about same as Sawyer strength. Use plastic spray bottle.

The diluted Permethrin was one of the few sprays that would keep deer ticks off us when hunting the Land Between the Lakes (in KY). Started using it about 1970, before Sawyer was available.

Safety note P.S. Don't breathe it, eat it, or spray it on your skin. I spray it on the outside of outer clothes until they appear damp, then allow to dry thoroughly.