Permethrin and fancy hunting clothes

[Waldgänger]

Hello forum, new poster here.

I recently upgraded and bought a Sitka "system" which I can't wait to wear out to the woods come Saturday when bow season opens. This being eastern Virginia, our woods swarm with ticks so I'd like to treat the Sitka clothes with Permethrin which works a charm against ticks and some other bugs too. Permethrin is supposed to be clothing safe and it's never been a problem with my other camo but Sitka is made out of space age fibers and what not and given the expense, I thought I'd ask if any of you have done this and if so, did it cause any issues.

FWIW I emailed the company and the sales rep didn't know but he said I'VE HEARD HORROR STORIES ABOUT PERMETHRIN BEFORE SO BE CAREFUL - which sounded crazy to me so maybe he thought I meant DEET which will melt stuff. He had no experience with Permethrin so maybe Montana doesn't have ticks or they don't have ticks like we have ticks.

Anyway, thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[SWMontana1]

Montana doesn't have ticks like you do... spring is big tick time here, otherwise it's not much of a problem.... I have never used nor heard of any guys here in Montana using bug spray during bow hunting, it's hard enough not to get winded without a pesticide all over your outerlayer!

I personally wouldn't want to be out in the woods all day hunting smelling like bug spray. Plus Permethrin is nasty, nasty stuff and a carcinogen. I would steer clear of it, at all costs, if I were you. But then again, I know nothing about Virginia hunting.

 

[kansasdad]

The way I use the stuff is as the label indicates. Apply a good (soaking) layer on the intended outerwear, allow to dry. Effects last for 4-6 weeks, and according to the label, is now "invisible" to critters trying to detect humans. Not to be applied to clothing adjacent to skin.....socks, underwear, hats, scarves, etc.

The army surplus 100 % DEET used when I was a kid on the other hand..........ruined finish of every fishing reel I have ever owned, extreme sunburn potential, and it certainly yelled "human" to every furry beast on the fruited plane.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Waldganger,
I've used Permithrin products on all my clothes without hurting them or having residual odors once it dries. That being said, I haven't used it on Sitka gear (don't own any) but I wouldn't expect it to hurt that either.

 

[HowaHunter]

Never used it on Sitka but works like a charm on my hunting clothes- Hunt irrigated river bottoms where ticks are horrible...Definitely apply like label says.

 

[Waldgänger]

Thanks for the replies, all. I'm gonna go ahead and do it and will report back progress.

Sitka should make me an ambassador or something for voluntary product testing.

A few weeks ago I was scouting some of our leases and was so concentrated on scent control I completely overlooked tick protection. As a result, I had 70 (that's seven zero) ticks on me when I got home. The little tiny ones. My dear wife spent over an hour de-ticking me!

kansasdad - "The army surplus 100 % DEET used when I was a kid on the other hand..........ruined finish of every fishing reel I have ever owned, extreme sunburn potential, and it certainly yelled "human" to every furry beast on the fruited plane."

Yeah DEET is bad news, when I got my new X-bolt Browning warned that contact with DEET will ruin the Dura-Touch coating. Fortunately rifle season is post-tick season.

 

[Waldgänger]

Just FYI, I applied the Permethrin to sitka clothes, no problems and no ticks.

 

[kansasdad]

Yes....die ticks, DIE!!