Limiting Permethrin exposure question

[jeff-oh]

I treated my outdoor gear yesterday. My question is do you limit what you treat?

I am skeptical of claims this stuff is safe to long term exposure. Also, I have concerns of the chemicals re-dissolving in water/sweat then being absorbed into my skin. To this end, I only treated the outside of pant legs from the knees down, wind jacket, outer shirts & the cuffs of socks. I did not treat any bedding (TQ/UQ), hammock, base layer shirts, underwear etc.

Your thoughts?

[OneClick]

That sounds reasonable. I do t-shirts against my skin and all of the pants. I wouldn't do a base layer (never worn in these temps anyway) or underwear either. And quilts seem totally unnecessary to me. I did spray my hammock, mostly the net, but I guess that's protecting me regardless. I guess I just like to kill the mosquitoes anyway I can...I hate them.

We have about 5 years yet before they say permethrin causes cancer. "When I was young we sprayed it on our clothes!!"

[jeff-oh]

... (never worn in these temps anyway) or underwear either. "[/I]

[jeff-oh]

When applying I guess I was focusing on Ticks. If I have mosquito issues on untreated areas, then I may expand. This is my first season using Permethrin.

[SilvrSurfr]

I just treat my clothing and hammock. I would be particularly concerned about ticks getting in around the waisbelt of your pants. I don't know how they get there, but that's where I've found the majority of ticks.

[BigE94]

I mix in a 5gal bucket and dip my clothes in, wring them out and hang to dry. Hat gets sprayed in and out as does my hammock (including netting). No spray on quilts or underwear.

[GreatBigDave]

I treat clothes (hat, head net, shirt, pants, socks, boots, camp shoes,not underwear, coats or raingear), hammock (not suspension), bug net, under quilt protector, camp chair, food bag, and backpack. I see no reason to treat tarp or quilts.

[TrailSlug]

If you are worried about using it then I wouldn't recommend using it. There are other methods that may work for you that shouldn't harm you or your pets.

[11x]

I spray myself down at least 2 times a weekend and 3 times through the week. I judge and field trial rabbit dogs. I haven’t noticed any side effects yet. Well unless you count this twitch in my lip. Lol. J/k. In all seriousness I am exposed to it a lot. I mix a 10% solution down to .05% permethrin. I will not say you should do it but I spray everything down. Including my bare skin. Guys around me are covered in ticks while I am bug free. You can watch them crawl on me then 15sec later they do the funky chicken and fall off. Love this stuff. There may be some long term side affects but coming from someone that has had lymes 2 times, I will take my chances with the spray.

[scrope]

I wouldn't worry about Permethrin on clothes once it's dry. Here's what the National Pesticide Information Centers says about that:

"Permethrin is the only pesticide approved by the EPA for these uses. When it is applied properly, permethrin binds tightly to the fabrics, resulting in little loss during washing and minimal transfer to the skin. Permethrin is poorly absorbed through the skin, although sunscreens and other products may increase the rate of skin absorption."

http://npic.orst.edu/pest/mosquito/ptc.html