[pct-l] Permethrin

[Angus <angus@post1.com>]

Regarding Permethrin, I once observed a tick crawl around on treated
clothing, and didn't die. Obviously I did not watch it crawl for too long
before physically killing it (those guys are hard to kill even when you
squeeze them! I had to actually crush it between a rock and my knife), but
it seemed to still be alive after I let it crawl around for almost a minute.

Sometimes I wonder if the dust that is kicked up and lands on clothing
forms a kind of surface protection for ticks, keeping them somewhat away
from direct contact with the Permethrin.

Anyway, a side effect of Permethrin treatment on clothing APPEARS to be a
skeeter repellent, but I can't vouch for that.

On the other hand, I once found an ant dead in a bundle of clothing that
was Permethrin-treated. The ant seemed to have strugged a bit, as it's
corpse clung quite tightly to the fabric. Permethrin is supposed to be an
arachnidcide, killing all "spidery" things, and I guess ticks fall into
that category and maybe ants too. One source said that a tick crossing 10
inches of treated fabric will die (certainly not the above subject that I
observed, however).

Best is pants, tucked into socks, gaiters worn, t-shirts in pants, and
everything light-colored. Also short hair, so that you can check it easier.
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