[pct-l] Update: Permethrin from livestock supply stores

Town Food pctl at marcusschwartz.com
Fri Aug 26 21:31:47 CDT 2022 

Hello again everybody, and thanks for the advice.  Here's what I did, 
and what my results were.

The short version is:

- It worked well on nylon, but poorly on wool.
- The petroleum-based permethrin product I used had a slight gasoline 
smell, but it was not bothersome.  I'd suggest using a water-based 
product instead, but just because it might make application easier.
- I think treating gaiters is a good idea, since that's where ticks tend 
to climb aboard, but, ticks were not an issue on this trip so I don't 
know if it actually helped.

The long version is:

I bought the "Gordon's Permethrin 10 Livestock & Premise Spray", part 
number 9291082.  I diluted it 2oz to 1qt of water, which should result 
in a solution about 0.6% (so, slightly stronger than what they sell for 
clothes).

I soaked my clothes in it for an hour or so, wrung them out, and 
line-dried them outdoors in partial shade for a couple days.  This was 
much longer than necessary, but I wanted to let them air out a bit 
because of the smell (more on that later).  The clothes I treated were:

- A SmartWool 120-weight long-sleeved shirt, 100% wool.
- A pair of REI Sahara pants, 100% nylon.
- A pair of Dirty Girl gaiters, 100% polyester.

Also, I put some of the solution in a spray bottle, and used it to spray 
the following articles that were too large to soak:

- A pair of Altra Lone Peak 6 shoes.
- A Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat, some parts are 100% nylon, others 
100% polyester.

Then, I went backpacking in central Washington for ten days, around Mt. 
Rainier, which has similar conditions to the North Cascades section of 
the PCT.  On my hike, most days didn't have significant mosquito 
problems, but they were present on a couple days, and heavy for a few hours.

I got a number of bites through my shirt, but none through my pants, or 
on my head.  I take this to mean that the permethrin stuck to the nylon 
pants well, but not the wool shirt.  The hat, being synthetic, probably 
also held the permethrin well, and perhaps affected mosquitoes that were 
going for my head.  So, it seems like permethrin sticks to synthetics 
much better than wool (at least, for this permethrin product with this 
application technique).

On the other hand, there were many hot days and lots of steep uphills, 
so maybe my sweat rinsed the permethrin out of the shirt.  Or, maybe the 
weave on my shirt was different from that of the pants, and easier to 
bite through.  So, really, take my results with a grain of salt, this 
was far from a scientific test.

It's hard to say whether the treatment of my shoes or gaiters did 
anything, since they're not really mosquito attack areas.  I do really 
like the idea of treating gaiters with permethrin, since it seems like a 
good way to cut down on ticks, but though ticks were not an issue for 
anybody on this particular trip.

Also, some of the advice I'd read (outside the PCT-L) was to avoid 
permethrin products that contain petroleum distillates, because the 
treated clothes will smell like gasoline.  The brand I used did contain 
them, and my clothes did smell.  But, the smell was not very strong -- 
it was noticeable at close range in town, but not really on trail. 
Nobody aside from me seemed to notice it, even when I asked.

Retrospectively, even though the smell was not strong, I think I 
should've gone with a water-based version anyway, since part of the 
application process involves further diluting it with water.  As the 
permethrin/water solution in my treatment bucket sat still while my 
clothes soaked, I noticed a white film formed on the top.  Maybe this 
was the petroleum-based permethrin solution separating out from the 
water I'd mixed it with.  If so, this might mean that the spots on my 
clothes near the top of the water level got over-treated, and everything 
else got under-treated.  So, maybe mixing oil and water was not the best 
way to get an even application.

And lastly, I had no issues with stains, contrary to some non-PCT-L 
advice I'd received.

Thanks again everybody,
  -=Town Food

On 6/17/22 09:39, ROBERT ELLINWOOD wrote:
>   >"The one year I did not treat my clothes, hat, gloves, etc. I was bombarded
> with mosquitoes and flies!!"
> Ticks!   Permethrin is GREAT for killing ticks.  Waaay back in 2002, My wife and I were camped at Benchmark on the CDT after finishing a 350 mile stretch when, a day later, a group of three hikers pulled in after doing the exact same 350 mile section of CDT. They slept under tarps and complained bitterly of dealing with “hundreds” of ticks. We, having done the pre-trip Permethrin spraying, had dealt with only 6 ticks between us, none biting us .  FWIW.   I also buy it from a hardware store and carefully dilute it into a spray bottle.
> 
>   
>   
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pamela Bryant <pambryant58 at gmail.com>
> To: Town Food <pctl at marcusschwartz.com>; pct-l at backcountry.net <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Fri, Jun 17, 2022 12:26 pm
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Permethrin from livestock supply stores
> 
> Town Food,
> 
> I bought a Durvet (brand) from a feed store (undiluted) Permethrin 10% 8
> ozs for $8.99 about 7 years ago. The container is still full! The people at
> the store were very helpful with all of my questions.
> 
> I used up the spray bottle from REI Sawyer brand 12 oz and used the
> empty bottle. The tricky part for me was getting the ratio to water and the
> Permethrin. You want it to be odorless on your clothes. While it is wet it
> is caustic to cats. So be careful. Once dried it is safe for cats.
> 
> The one year I did not treat my clothes, hat, gloves, etc. I was bombarded
> with mosquitoes and flies!!
> 
> On Thu, Jun 16, 2022 at 10:23 PM Town Food <pctl at marcusschwartz.com> wrote:
> 
>> A while back (7 or 8 years maybe?) I remember reading on this list a
>> recommendation to treat clothes with permethrin, not with the Sawyer
>> products from hiking stores, but with permethrin from a livestock supply
>> store.  The reason being, the livestock supply store will sell a quart
>> of 10% permethrin for about $15, while a hiking store will sell a pint
>> of 0.5% permethrin for about the same price.  So it's 40x cheaper if you
>> dilute the 10% solution yourself.
>>
>> Has anybody here used this method, and if so, are there particular
>> brands I should look for?  I've looked a bit on Amazon, and some of the
>> Q&A there says that some brands are not formulated to stick to clothes,
>> or will stain, or will retain a strong smell, so I'm not sure what I
>> should use.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>    -=Town Food
>> _______________________________________________
>> Pct-L mailing list
>> Pct-L at backcountry.net
>> To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
>> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>>
>> List Archives:
>> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
>> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
>> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
> 
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
> 
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.

More information about the Pct-L mailing list