Fly-Ban Synergized Pour On

[stalker42]

Hi all.
My wife brought me back some stuff called FLy-ban. I asked her to pick me up some permethrin and this is all they had. I was wondering if it was safe to use like hikers use permethrin ie soaking clothing in it to keep the nasties away. The active ingredient I am unsure about is Piperonyl Butoxide Tecnical. It says it's safe to pour and spray on cattle and horses as well as used on food. I was wondering if any chem junkies out there would know if there was a reason not to use it on clothing. I have used permethrin spray on pants shirts socks and hats with no ill effects.

[SilvrSurfr]

Pretty pricey stuff. The documentation says, "This is an oil-base, ready-to-use product that may leave an oily appearance on the hair coat of some animals." I'd stick with Martin's 10% Permethrin.

[Itinerant Codger]

I was once responsible for pest management on commercial vegetable and specialty crops, and have probably applied a metric crap-ton of permethrin/piperonyl butoxide for control of certain insect pests over the years. The piperonyl butoxide (PBO) acts as more of a synergist or "exciter" than an insecticide. One chemical company rep said it "gave the bugs the munchies," increasing their activity and feeding, therefore increasing the chances that they would come into contact with a lethal dose of permethrin. This works great if you are killing bugs in the field, but is probably of little help if using permethrin on fabric as a repellent. PBO has proven relatively safe for humans, but it may be best to save the fly-ban mixture for the purposes intended on the label and use straight permethrin on your gear, if only to avoid the risk of staining. If it'll make a cow's hair greasy, what will it do to nylon?

More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piperonyl_butoxide