treating Tyvek with Permethrin

[the_gr8t_waldo]

I want to treat a Tyvek ground cloth with this insect repellant( will probably use the kite building Tyvek) . my limited experience with Tyvek, suggests that it's not very absorbent. so my question is what can a person do to assure that the treatment is thru out the mat'l, rather than a thin coating on the surfaces?

[seanhogge]

You should be able to spray the tyvek, then let the solution evaporate, which will leave behind the active chemical. That's probably not a huge issue, except that you'd have to lay it flat and do one side at a time to be sure. Vertical will probably just allow the active synthetic pyrethrin run off.

The issue is probably going to be that abrasion may knock it off much more quickly than it would a woven fabric. It might be easy enough that it's essentially worthless. Or it might hold up pretty well.

Also, are you using 0.5%, or are you mixing your own? 0.5% might not be enough for this type of application. Since the coverage might be patchy, you might need to beef it up to 1% or 2%.

I'm not sure how it would hold, so maybe test it. Give it a good coating, use it a few times, then find a few test subjects to see if it's still effective.

[the_gr8t_waldo]

spraying on one side might be the best option. I wanted to have this so that I could lay my backpack on it and feel relatively good about the insects not getting on to it or shoes, etc.( scorpions in the desert and ticks here up north) spraying on one side does have an advantage of only threatening insects that try to cross the tyvek. and leave the insects that craw under it unscathed. I think in a few days, i'll order the tyvek and once I receive it, I'll do a lil experimenting some scrap. thank's for the help Sean p.s.- I'll probably just use the std .5% since I'll do a bit treating of the rest of my camping gear. in prep of a big hike mid july

[sunkmail]

Have you considered treating your pack directly?

[SilvrSurfr]

Sounds like a waste of time, especially for a ground cloth. Trying to apply permethrin to any waterproof/water resistant material is probably not an effective use of your time.

[sargevining]

Treat everything with permethrin. No fun waking up in the morning and stepping onto or right next to a stinging insect or spider in your bare feet. Thanks for the idea. I'll be spraying my ground cloth with permethrin as soon as I get home.

EDIT TO ADD:

Permethrin does not need to soak into anything to be effective. I just needs to be sprayed on and allowed to dry. It will work on any waterproof surface, wood, concrete, etc. once it has dried.

[pgibson]

Tyvek will soften up substantially if you wash it several times. It will get more of a fabric feel rather than the glossy feel when new. It should absorb the Permethrin better and allow it to bond to the fibers of the Tyvek.

But like mentioned above...if your worried about your pack then treat your pack, if your concerned about things getting into your boots then treat and or hang your boots.

[Rex Clifton]

Another good way to soften Tyvek is hang it on a cloth line on a windy day.

[dimjim]

I imagine the active chemical would still apply after evaporation onto tyvek as long as you applied it horizontally as others have mentioned. It seems to "stay" applied onto other hydrophobic fabrics and materials like nylon and polyester.

Also just a note, I know that many people think of and use permethrin as an insect repellant on gear and clothing, but as far as I have read, it's much more of a contact killer and therefore should still be combined with some sort of repellant like DEET (or similar).

And just a friendly reminder that it is VERY poisonous/fatal to our feline friends, even in very small concentrations (when applied, and for a period after) and also quite harmful to dogs (again, when wet during application).

[Rolloff]

Good to know although I've not heard dogs were that sensitive. While most of us know it's poison in liquid form to cats, in agricultural use it's sprayed on just about everything, cows, horses, sheep, goats. Some dairy farms fog the milk barn as part of insect control others use worse chemicals.

Permethrins once dry do not rub off on to you or absorbed through contact. It also doesn't run or wash off of what you've treated once properly applied, so you don't have to worry as much about secondary contamination of ground and water sources.

It's a good product used properly and it would take a tough search to find any threads, at least on HF, that list any real life adverse reaction. I can remember one a long time ago, but no further information was forthcoming from the OP concerning the matter. You can draw your own conclusions.