What is your experience with it? I'm literally a "tick magnet",is it safe? How do you use it? I bought a can this afternoon, but the warning label is a little scary sounding, LOL. Any help is appreciated.

I use Sawyer's permethrin. I spray it on hunting clothes or outdoor work clothing and let it dry. It's very effective at keeping ticks off me.

What Lugnut said.

We have it at work in Baxter state park.

There was a thread about it not long ago:

Permethrin Thread

…. Repels mosquitos too

Take all outdoors clothes and hang them outside and spray the entire outside down.
Let dry.
I’ll take my pants and turn them inside out and spray from the knees down.
Let dry.
Fold all clothes or hang when done. I hit mine before turkey season and before archery season. They last a whole heap of washings.

I’m afraid of it. Highly toxic to small dogs and cats. Causes seizures

Maybe but there's a mixing ration on the label for animals. Dogs and poultry is the same ratio which is much lighter than what you use on clothing.

Quite useful product but use with care around pollinators, particularly honey bees.

In the pyrethroid class of synthetic pyrethrum, pyrethrum being a botanical extract of pyrethrum daisy.

Permethrin is formulated as a long lasting and durable residual insecticide, hence the name from permanent.

I'm more afraid of all the bad things ticks can do to you. I have been using it for many years without any bad things happening to me. It works better than anything on the market. i mix my own up from what I buy at Rural King. It is much cheaper than the premix in cans.

I use it as a ground drench in the beeyard for small hive beetle. It does double duty for ant control as well.

Apply it at night with a sprinkler can to avoid drift onto the bees or as a pretreatment before moving bees onto a yard. Best results if grass is cut short and raked to get good soil contact.

The labeled product for SHB is guardstar but I use the generic permethrin.

When I was young I sprayed it on my skin. Sprained my turkey hunting cloths this year and they were still damp when I put them in. Probably not smart but I walked miles and zero ticks .

So using it not how it's labeled has not hurt me. Using it as labeled letting it dry you should be extra supper safe and tick free

I made a living working in the woods and brush for 40 years. It is the most effective tick remedy I have ever used. 99.9% effective. Although I don't think its advertised or recommended for "red bugs"/"chiggers", I have found it to be nearly 100% on those evil little critters as well.

I have never taken any special precautions when using it. Usually, I spray the exterior of my clothes and boots while I am wearing them. NEVER had a symptom or indication of a reaction. I can't say the same for DEET either in effectiveness or my body's response to an application.

If it's bad for bees will it contaminate other clothing in the wash. I was not going to wear hunting clothing to work bees but sure don't want my other pants I didn't treet to kill bees when I'm working them and not realize it's because of the wash.

I buy the concentrate for cattle. I mix it according to the label for dogs and poultry. I spray my dogs, their kennels and my clothes. Also I spray it around the yard and trees all the way up to the tops with a Stihl back pack sprayer. No ticks or bugs for me.

I don't spray my clothes so I can't say specifically but my understanding is once dry it's pretty stable. Never noticed an issue using it in the beetard.

yes once dry it is safe

it binds to the fibers

when it is liquid it is a fish killer , but once dried to clothing isn't even if you take a swim

if is a neuro toxin but not one human skin absorbs and in it's dry state not likely absorbed


mix up the label directions for use on a dog or cow , common use of veterinary permethrin

13.3% is 1 ounce per gallon for this use typically

you hang your outside cloths on a fence or line and soak them down with a pump up garden sprayer , you can soak them in a bucket wearing gloves then hang to dry

I don't do under garments

pants , loose fitting long sleeve shirts , hats and spray your boots

you can also use the same spray to spray your dog kennel , around the house , around your shooting bench

It is supposed to survive intact through several washings so I assume it doesn't wash off or transfer.

Yes, the pyrethroids are nuerotoxins disrupting the chemical transfer channels.

Apistan, tau-fluvalinate, was the first available miticide for treating varroa mite in bee colonies. The specific chemical it targeted is lacking in honey and bumble bees making it safe for bees. Unfortunately varroa developed resistance to it.

Pyrethroid resistance is a common issue in many species of pests.