just wondering, because id like to hang for a bit and i dont have a bugnet, but didnt know if permethrin would be enough from getting eaten all night? im talking just on the hammock fabric.
just wondering, because id like to hang for a bit and i dont have a bugnet, but didnt know if permethrin would be enough from getting eaten all night? im talking just on the hammock fabric.
Give a man fire and he's warm for the night.
Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Dante
You'll still need to spray exposed skin with DEET, or some other repellent.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
You will want to soak your bug net in it too! If you don't want a full lenght bug net, you could use a head net and a sleeping bag/top quilt. But, that obligates you to use a sleeping bag/top quilt even on a hot and sticky night.
"In your face space coyote"-HJS
i dont have a bug net, thats why i was hoping permethrin would cover me, lol
Give a man fire and he's warm for the night.
Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Dante
I find that permethrin just doesn't do much repelling. It does killing fairly well, but sometimes it's not even perfect.
My hike over the weekend saw two ticks get through my defenses. One at my ankle and the other tiny one discovered on my thigh the next day...I think they both moved there from elsewhere. I was wearing stretchy gaiters and I just don't see how the little ******* could get through them to grab my ankle unless it came down from above - maybe a gap in the zipoff leg?
The other tiny one could have come from anywhere.
I may not have applied the stuff heavily enough onto my clothes.
I did not start with any repellents on my skin and didn't have any trouble until I stopped to eat lunch, at which point I was mobbed by an angry swarm of skeeters. I pulled out my picaridin repellent and sprayed my exposed skin, which drove the skeeters back almost instantly. The permethrin really didn't do any repelling for mosquitoes. It did keep the chiggers from biting (whether it repelled them or just killed them, I don't know), and they've been a problem this year.
+1 with oldgringo...
but to answer about effectiveness, I treated my clothing (for the first time) before my last trip -- I watched bugs land on me, walk for a few seconds, begin twitching and fall off. Quite amazing, and a little sobering.
Be sure to follow all directions and warnings.
As others said, Permethrin is not a repellent. Plus, critters have to touch it for it to kill 'em. It doesn't create "vapors" in the air to repel or kill.
Rain Man
.
"You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims." --Harriet Woods
http://www.MeetUp.com/NashvilleBackpacker
.
Regardless how you do it, make sure you do protect yourself from the itty bittys. Mtbikernate's post regarding the ticks scare me to death, one year ago today was admitted to the hospital for 7 days for Erlichiosis, a tick borne disease.... it took 9 months to get my body back straight. I did everything right, sometimes they just want ya bad enough.
.... the Aardvark (earth pig)... a rather unremarkable creature whose sole claim to fame is that it is the first animal listed in the dictionary.
Rob
Originally Posted by REV
Wow! I have ( SO FAR anyway) had much different experiences with Permethrin, even used by itself! I realize it is not actually a repellent, but simply meant to kill many bugs which actually come in contact. Plus, sawyer's (and others) official party line is DEET or Picaridin for exposed skin, even when clothing is treated. And this is no doubt the safest approach and probably should be followed.
Now having said that, I often hike in MS (like today though exposed skin was covered with Picaridin) even near swaps, and if I have on a lot of treated clothing, most of the time I never even see or hear a bug. It almost seems to act like a force field. In the past, I would slather stinking deet on, and I would not get bit. But they would swarm around me and buzz and whine in my ears. It has been a couple of years since I have suffered any of that. I have not yet ever found a bug even on my clothing that has been treated, though I know others have, and I'm sure I will sooner or later. The other day, wearing treated short sleeve shirt,pants, socks and hat- down in a swampy bottom, I stopped to set a compass course. After a few minutes, one mossy lit on my arm. So I added some Picaridin and saw no more bugs that day. Even while hanging in my hammock 60 feet from a lake and near a swampy area.
When I spray my back yard with Permethrin, I see very few or often no bugs. It's not a matter of waiting for them to lite on bushes or whatever and be killed. They just don't much come around, making sitting outside way more pleasant.
Any way, Permethrin treated clothing pretty much does the job for me, at least with all my clothing treated including a big wide brim hat with neck sun shade. But adding 15-20% Picaridin to exposed skin has proved absolutely bombproof for me. I LOVE this stuff. In a pinch, I even put the Picaridin on clothing, as well as skin, with great results. ( oh, and Perm on my packs and tree huggers and occasionally on my single layer hammocks works great also!)
I have spent one night next to the Sipsey River, at the end of bug season. A few Mossies were spotted and heard at a distance late afternoon. Afternoons were still warm and lows were just below 50 by dawn. With some Permethrin treated clothing, and Picaridin on my skin, hat and gloves, but hammock NOT treated and NO NET, I was bite free. While in the hammock, I didn't even see or hear any from bedtime to get up time. But who knows for sure, maybe there were not that many around.
Have y'all seen that 20% Picaridin at WM, in the tiny bottle perfect for hiking?
Last edited by BillyBob58; 06-07-2011 at 19:19.
Permethern doesn't repel, but the bugs that hang around soon die. That really cuts down on the numbers!
"In your face space coyote"-HJS
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks