PERMETHRIN - Spray or Soak?

Questions about equipment and supplies to bring on a trip (including reviews).

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Midwest Ed
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PERMETHRIN - Spray or Soak?

Post by Midwest Ed »

I've never used Permethrin and I'm preparing to treat some clothes. I've seen examples of both spraying and soaking in a bucket of solution. It would seem the soaking method would last longer and probably be more effective but it also looks less conventional. The pre-made solutions, ready for spraying are 0.5% Permethrin. There are several brands of bottles of spray ready solution at this strength. There are also 8 oz, 16 oz, and 32 oz bottles at 10% strength. Mixing my own solution by diluting 50 to 1 would be very economical whether spraying or soaking. I can't imagine diluting it with anything but water, else it would never really dry, but the high strength solutions don't seem to have any instructions for dilution for use on clothing. They all talk about diluting it with mineral oil (or even Diesel #2) at about 100 to 1 for direct application to livestock. It makes me wonder if the 10% stuff is already in solution with some sort of petroleum distillates rather than water. The spraying method should keep the majority of the chemical away from the skin, unless of course the spraying process really gets the fabric saturated although once dry it's not supposed to matter. . . I guess. Comments or recommendations?
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Re: PERMETHRIN - Spray or Soak?

Post by fredly »

I've only ever used the spray and had good results with it.
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Re: PERMETHRIN - Spray or Soak?

Post by hooky »

I've done both from concentrate. Soaking lasts a little longer, but seems to be wasteful unless you put whats left in a sprayer and use it for something else. I'll dunk a couple of shirts and hiking pants,then put the remainder in the sprayer. Then i'll spray my boots, hammock bug net, underside of my tarp, screens on the south side of my house, mulch next to the foundation, trunks of my fruit trees, etc...
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Re: PERMETHRIN - Spray or Soak?

Post by Stephen »

i got the concentrate from Tractor supply and mix up about a quart at a time. Whats left I put back into a empty bottle and then retreat my clothes in a month or so. I tend to go out in the wooded areas enough that I use the stuff up that way. I have noticed it works very well.
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