Permethrin fail

[LakeSuperior777]

Perethrin is not a repellent, it kills bugs after some contact time. You can get a pretty fast kill time if you increase the dose, not sure how safe that is for humans. Bugs seem to land, start looking for a nice place to bite then quickly decide they need to be else where.

[HURTHEART]

I would return the remaining container, plus I would explain that the used container did not do the job that I purchased it for. You should get a refund on both containers, mostly it depends on where you purchased the stuff from.

At one time I would have returned only the unused container, now days I would also return for a refund the goods that did not do what they were purchased for.

[hutzelbein]

Thanks. I don't use DEET if I can avoid it. Had parts of my shoes melting when nothing else was available in South-East-Asia Picaridin works just fine. The mosquitoes didn't bite on the bare skin that was treated. I get most bites when cooking/eating (I try to go easy with the stuff before dinner-time - even traces on the lips taste really, really bad...) and when doing a quick wash in the woods.

With regards to the Permethrin: I'll look for the storing instructions on the bottle again later. I stored it in the coolest place of the car, though. It's near where I stored food like butter and milk as well. I never had the food go really hot, so I cannot imagine that the Permethrin got super hot. Of course I cannot be 100% sure.

The material of the pants was different; all synthetic, though. Maybe the bugs are so hungry that they don't care if they die a couple of minutes later... Best prevention has been to wear two layers. But with the heat that's not so great either.

[fishbait]

I've use Permethrin on several hikes, never had a problem. But when I got home a tick found it's way past my hat that had been soaked in the stuff. It was the only time it failed and that after a four day hike. Last night I got home from a camping trip to find my basement flea infested. Grabbed an old sleeping bag and soaked it good, then laid it out to dry on the basement floor. No more flees. later in the night the dogs stretched out on the bag, no more biting flees.

[Bayrat]

The DOD recommends Permethrin for uniforms plus DEET on skin. Most uniforms are pretreated but they also supply Perma-Kill for field treatment.

http://troop1.bsa.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/permethrinrepellents.doc

(doc)

I bought a quart of 36.8% Permethrin SFR ($24.80 + free shipping) from Amazon ( Innova/Solutions-Self-Chemical vendor):

http://www.amazon.com/Permethrin-SFR-Insecticide-Termiticide-caterpillars/dp/B005UUZ3OI

It has "Martin's" in small letters on the label. This will make almost 150 pints of 0.5% solution, or about 88 pints of 0.83% (military uniforms)
The odor of freshly treated and dried clothes seemed very low to me (an ex-smoker) and much lower than most others I have used.

I contacted the company because I received a double shipment and Zack said I could keep or donate the extra bottle. I learned that Innova donates a lot of chemicals to animal shelters — so I donated the extra bottle the local shelter. I don't have any other involvement in the company, but I am happy to recommend them.

Solution Self-Chem has four retail outlets in Houston area. If you buy some face-to-face, you might mention you learned of it at hammockforums. Their only advertising is by word of mouth.

IMPORTANT: Although used on dogs, the solution and still-damp clothes are deadly for cats.

[DeRozea]

this is the first year I have not used deet related products. I have used permithrin since May and have had no problems hiking through swamps, logging roads, late evening walks in bush after swimming in a lake, misty rain, etc. I have had to reapply it2 more times since then due to sweating and dampness. easy to tell when you need to re-dose. you hear a buzzing sound getting closer and closer and start swatting mosquitoes. and this is from north-western Ontario Canada.

[SilvrSurfr]

I got my first bottle of permethrin 20 years ago. My daughter wanted to have her birthday party in the back yard, but we live next to a swamp and the mosquitoes are horrific (the mosquito is the official NJ state bird).

I decided to spray the lawn, trees, fence and shrubbery with permethrin before the party. Not only did my yard turn into a no-fly zone for mosquitoes, it also scared off/killed every other insect. There were no insects to pollinate my vegetable garden.

So in my experience, permethrin does work on mosquitoes. I've never tried the Sawyer's; seems pretty pricey.

[canoebie]

I got my first bottle of permethrin 20 years ago. My daughter wanted to have her birthday party in the back yard, but we live next to a swamp and the mosquitoes are horrific (the mosquito is the official NJ state bird).

I decided to spray the lawn, trees, fence and shrubbery with permethrin before the party. Not only did my yard turn into a no-fly zone for mosquitoes, it also scared off/killed every other insect. There were no insects to pollinate my vegetable garden.

So in my experience, permethrin does work on mosquitoes. I've never tried the Sawyer's; seems pretty pricey.

Unintended consequences can be costly. I am very careful about overspray, etc. as I need every bee I can get for my fruit trees and garden. I lay my clothes on a piece of plastic designated specifically for that purpose.

[Seeker]

I was issued a can of spray permethrin on my way to Somalia a couple years back... worked then, and made me a believer. I go the 'cheap' route now though, and get a bigger bottle of the stuff from Tractor Supply. I use a .5% mix (1.5 oz to 30 oz of water). This goes in trash bag with a set of clothes (hat, socks, pants, shirt, sometimes add a t-shirt), and gets them plenty soaked. Never had it not work. Don't even use DEET on my skin anymore, even here in LA. yeah, once in awhile I still get bitten, but not often, and not badly. Not sure what happened to you.

[hutzelbein]

I wonder why it's so hard to get the Sawyer soak stuff. To me it seems that soaking is kind of fool-proof. Maybe I just got less concentration in some areas when spraying, and the bugs go for the gaps.

I wouldn't go for the cheap agricultural stuff, though. There were a couple of threads where some experts explained why this isn't a good idea. I think something about the solvents, but forgot the details.