From an older post. This make 2 turkey seasons that I have yet to get a tick on my skin. I also use it hiking/backpacking.
OK, this post if for your information and is only to help you make a choice between the available options. I don't promise that my recipe will not cause skin cancer or turn you into a zombie after prolonged use. Do the research for yourself, or use a commercial mix. Always follow the manufacture's instructions and precautions.
Permethrin is a popular and well known treatment for ticks, chiggers, mites and other biting insects. It is often marketed as a mosquito repellent, but it doesn't actually repel any insect. What it does do is kill insects that come into contact with the treated fabric. IT IS NOT APPROVED TO PUT ON YOUR SKIN! This is intended to be applied to your clothes or gear prior to use and allowed to fully dry before contacting your skin.
There are several commercially available options that are directly marketed towards outdoor sportsmen. Here are the most popular options:
REPEL brand sold "Permanone Tick Repellent" aerosol for year in an orange and blue can. Now they sell it as "Mosquito Stop", but it is basically the same stuff.
Coulston's Duranon Tick Repellent is a similar aerosol spray with the same percentage of permethrin. This can often be found at your local Co-Op or hunting supply store.
Sawyer's Tick Repellent is a newer popular option. It is available at some Wal-Marts and some Richard's and other big box stores. It is supposed to be FDA approved for use on clothing for human.
The first "Homemade Permethrin" recipe I tried was using DurationTM 10% Permethrin mixed with water to make a .5% concentration which I poured into spray bottles. This was a much cheaper option than the 3 listed above. However, Duration got more expensive and harder to find so I moved to my current brand. It used to claim to be the "ONLY" FDA approved 10% concentrate approved for use on clothing for humans.
Currently, and for the past 2 years I have used Martin's 10% Permethrin to mix with water and make a spray treatment for my hunting and hiking clothes.
I buy mine here:
http://pestcontrolou...icks-fleas-16oz
Martin's is not FDA approved for a clothing treatment for humans. DID YOU READ THAT STATEMENT?
With that said, I have done quite a bit of research into the various permethrin mixtures available. Most are marketed toward treatment of ticks and mites on Cattle, Dogs and other Livestock. Many of these are not suitable for clothing treatments because they contain a percentage of petroleum to aid in the sticking on cattle and other livestock. This is the same for the permethrin lawn treatment products that are available at Home Depot and Lowes. Lot's of people have used these, but from what I have read it's safer to avoid the products that list petroleum in the ingredients.
I buy the 8oz bottle of Martin's 10% Permethrin and mix it with 1.25 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket. The mix to get to .5% is 6.4 ounces per gallon of water or 1oz to 20 oz of water. Lots of folks use 1oz to 15oz of water, that gives you .625% and is stronger than needed, but fits nicely in a 16oz spray bottle. My mix makes it just less than .5%, but I can tell you from experience that it is completely effective at killing ticks. I have found many dead ticks on my treated clothing. After I mix up a bucket, I dip my clothes in, wearing gloves, I wring out the clothes back into the bucket. I dipped 5 pairs of pants, 5 shirts and a couple sets of base layers this years. I still had enough left in the bucket to fill 3 16oz spray bottles for reapplications. In the past 3 years I have had ZERO tick bites. I have found a few on me, both dead and alive. No seed tick attacks, no chigger attacks, and it does kill mosquitoes if they stay in contact with the fabric.
I also use Martin's to mix up a tick dip for my dogs. I follow the instructions provided with the bottle to make the dog dip. I used it on both my dogs and have not seen any sign of skin irritation. I left a tick on my dog and sprayed it with the dog dip and the next day the tick had fallen off. I assume it died. There are no fleas or ticks on my dogs so I am a believer that the dip works. BTW, the dog dip mix is many times weaker than the .5% that I use for clothing. Don't use the .5% mix on your dogs and don't use it in any mixture on cats.
Please remember this is a poison. Do not use the mix bucket for any other purpose. Do not use the spray bottles for any other purpose. Make sure you take care to prevent contamination to unintended areas. Do a little research and you will find that Permethrin is a very versatile insecticide and has lots of useful applications around the house and farm.
