Is Premethrin OK on silnylon

[AScott]

Right, but I trust clothing to absorb and contain the chemical far better than nylon. Not that it isn't safe, because I don't know, I'm just saying if it were me, I wouldn't do it.

I think 90% of the pants I've put it on are made of nylon. Works very well. I don't notice any difference between those and the cotton clothing I've used it on.

A lot of the "bug proof" clothing that is sold treated with permethrin and it is nylon. I'm not sure this is a concern.

I would not use it on sil as I think it would take a lot to soak the fabric and it would not be an efficient use. I also don't see much advantage to treating a tarp. A poncho, maybe, but not a tarp.

JMHO and YMMV

[Jcavenagh]

silentorpheus, I concur.

[SilvrSurfr]

If you were going to spray your silnylon tarp, you may as well spray your tyvek groundcloth, your folding saw, your knives, TQ/UQ, and your alky stove. All would give you about equal amount of protection against mosquitoes, in my opinion!

I pretty much limit my permethrin usage to clothing, boots and bugnet. Since I have an independent bugnet, I've never felt the need to spray my hammock, though I would if my bugnet were integrated.

[silentorpheus]

silentorpheus, I concur.

I will add that I haven't treated my hammock yet - but that's simply because I didn't have enough permethrin to cover it all this season, after treating all my clothes and my pack. So next year it's on my list.

Now, DEET, on the other hand … that stuff eats plastic. Scary. Then again, so does coke/pepsi, if you leave it in contact long enough. Heh.

Nota Bene: All of what I said before is called into question a bit if one chooses to use a different source of Permethrin then Sawyer, by the way. Any of the various formulations you can get via Amazon or at the farm stores or whatnot - those are not designed, at least specifically, for human/clothing use, and therefore you proceed at your own risk when using them. It is known that the Sawyer product delivers the permethrin in an aqueous solution that isn't going to hurt you or your gear. Many of the others use a delivery medium with more of a petroleum base (one of the reasons they tend to stink a lot more) and while I can't say that they will have adverse effects on gear, I can't say that they won't. Plenty of people seem to have used them to no ill effect - but I'll spend a few extra dollars and stick to Sawyer.

Either way, to answer the original question - as long as you don't have qualms about 'chemicals touching your skin' etc., then go ahead and spray your gear without worry. It won't hurt it.

[psyon27]

Yeah I don't know what is made of silnylon that you would be spraying. Regardless the reason it is used on clothes and gear instead of skin is that it degrades and gets absorbed so it doesn't even last as long as DEET on skin. It just breaks down and is no longer effective. The absorbing part is bad for your nervous system.

That said it is perfectly safe on clothing and gear that comes in contact with skin once it is allowed to dry. That's why you use it on clothes and gear in combination with DEET/picaridin on skin. Use woven clothing instead of knit and you have another layer of protection.

[hutzelbein]

I seem to remember the instructions on the bottle said to treat backpack, tent and so on.

From the Sawyer website:

Are you camping in a nylon (synthetic) tent or under mosquito netting? Be sure to treat bedding or tent netting, flaps and zippers with a Sawyer Permethrin spray to keep flying and crawling insects away at night.

I simply used my (silnylon) tent to cover the floor, and put the clothes on this cover to spray. This way, the tent got covered (although not completely) with Permethrin, too.

[Linkster]

Santa brought me a CCS Lean 3 Plus made of silnylon. It has a netting across the front, but I thought I might treat the whole thing. I have never treated silnylon and was not sure that the silicone might prevent the absorption of the premethrin.

After reading the responses, I do not think that I will treat the whole lean. I will treat the bug net on the front.

Thanks for the feedback.

http://www.cookecustomsewing.com/leans.htm