Sunday, July 28, 2019

Why Permethrin?...Mosquitos, Ticks and Flies…Oh My! ©



Sawyer® Permethrin Insect Repellent 12 oz. pump-bottle, picture by the author

  
So, you are going out into the wilderness, or maybe you are going out into your own backyard.  In either case, there are bugs out there, lots of them!  And they bite!  Some carry diseases too. 


A Lonestar tick biting the author’s leg, picture by the author


So, what are you going to do? 

What you are going to do is treat your clothes with Sawyer® Permethrin Insect Repellent.  Why you ask, well, here is why.

Full disclosure, I am friends with the chemist who invented, patented and marketed permethrin, before selling it to Sawyer.  In addition, I have used this brand of permethrin for four years, I have never had any sensitivity or other issues with it and it has done a great job of keeping the bugs off me.  I am very pleased with and enthusiastically recommend it.
  
Close up of the Sawyer® Permethrin Insect Repellent 12 oz. pump-bottle, picture by the author


Permethrin is the synthetic version of pyrethrin which occurs naturally in chrysanthemum flowers (Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium and Chrysanthemum coccineum), it is a powerful, contact insecticide; it is not an insect repellent.  This is an important distinction since, unlike topical insect repellents that are applied to your skin; permethrin is not sprayed on your skin, it is sprayed on your clothing, tents, sleeping bags and other fabrics. 

Permethrin is effective against mosquitos, biting flies, ticks, fleas, chiggers, lice and more than 55 other types of insects.  When a mosquito or tick lands or crawls onto a fabric that has been treated with permethrin, it absorbs a dose of insecticide that will either kill it, or repel it.

Naturally, occurring pyrethrin breaks down quickly, in sunlight.  However, as Sawyer’s synthetic permethrin establishes a strong bond with most fabrics, it will be effective for six weeks or six washings, whichever comes first.  According to Sawyer, the U.S. Army performed studies and found that 20 to 30 percent of the permethrin was removed after the first laundering. Each laundering after that, removed about 3 to 5 percent of the permethrin treatment, through ten launderings.

If you have to wash your treated clothes, Sawyer recommends hand washing and air drying, because the agitation of the washing machine reduces the effectiveness of permethrin, by knocking loose the permethrin molecules from the fabric.  If you use a conventional washer and dryer, use a gentle wash setting and dryer cycle: loss in the dryer is less in comparison to the loss in the washer.  Also, do not dry clean treated garments, as dry cleaning will remove the permethrin from the fabric.  Store treated garments in dark plastic bags, between uses, as this will help to preserve the permethrin treatment.

Additionally, per Sawyer, sweating and exposure to water does not reduce the effectiveness of permethrin, and it resist degradation from the Sun and heat.

Unlike DEET, which may harm some fabrics and definitely will harm plastics, permethrin is an odorless, non-greasy, non-staining spray, which will not damage your clothes and equipment, and will not harm plastics.  According to Sawyer, permethrin is safe to use on synthetics, waterproof membrane fabrics, silk and if you use the pump spray version of Sawyer® Permethrin Insect Repellent, it will not harm flame retardant clothes.  In addition, based on an email answer I received from Sawyer, if you need to apply a silicone, heavy-duty water repellent spray and permethrin to a garment, such as a wide brimmed hat, apply the waterproofing first and then spray on the permethrin, since permethrin needs to be exposed to be effective. 


First aid instructions from the side of the Sawyer® Permethrin Insect Repellent 12 oz. pump-bottle, picture by the author


Some people have asked if Sawyer® Permethrin Insect Repellent is safe to use.  Per Sawyer, in mammals, the skin poorly absorbs permethrin and if it is absorbed, the body rapidly metabolizes it.  Additionally, it has a low level of toxicity in mammals and animal studies have shown no skin irritation or sensitivity following direct application, except in cats.  Also, Sawyer’s web site noted a controlled study of 200 subjects; permethrin did not cause skin sensitivity or irritation.  However, do not expose cats to wet permethrin as it effects their central nervous system.  Once the permethrin on the clothes has dried, it is safe to have around cats.  Additionally, permethrin is harmful to aquatic creatures, so do not spray permethrin near aquariums or cats! 


Permethrin useful tips, picture by the author


Permethrin useful tips, picture by the author


Instructions from the side of the Sawyer® Permethrin Insect Repellent 12 oz. pump-bottle, picture by the author


According to Sawyer, one 12 ounce pump-bottle of Sawyer® Permethrin Insect Repellent will treat two complete sets of clothing, consisting of one shirt, one pair of socks and one pair of pants.

To treat your clothes follow the instructions on the packaging, however in general the following applications rules apply.

·      While outdoors, in an area protected from the wind, spray.
Ø Hold the pump-bottle about six to eight inches away from the fabric to be treated.
Ø Spray each side of the clothing for about 30 seconds with a slow sweeping motion, just enough to moisten the fabric.
·      Allow the garments to dry for two hours or four hours if it is humid.

And that’s, that!  You are now protected from all of those nasty, crawly bugs.  Apply a little DEET or your favorite topical insect repellent to any exposed skin and you are good to go.

 For the complete video on “Why Permethrin?” see HERE or HERE.

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and my videos at BandanaMan Productions and don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube, and if you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.


Sources

Sawyer, “Permethrin Insect Repellent For Clothing Gear And Tents”, [Sawyer Products, Inc., 2019] https://sawyer.com/products/permethrin-insect-repellent-treatment/, accessed 7/18/19

Wikipedia Contributors, “Pyrethrum”, [Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia, June 10, 2019], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrum, accessed 7/18/19

Wikipedia Contributors, “Pyrethrin”, [Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia, June 2, 2019], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrin, accessed 7/25/19



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