New tick disease a concern in NC PA.

5alp said:
What brand of permethrin do you use? Is is safe on waders, do you use it on waders?

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Before you douse your waders, consider that Permethrin is highly toxic to fish and there is a potential concern for direct effects to a variety of aquatic organisms.

I don't know if this is an issue at the concentrations fish would be exposed to, but treating what you wear UNDER your waders is probably a better idea.

 
Does anyone have any insight on Piccardin. My buddy swears by it for flies, but he had no insight on piccardin and ticks.
 
Picardin is an effective repellent that works on ticks, but it is typically applied to the skin like DEET, not clothing and it doesn't last as long as a result.

Permethrin should ONLY be applied to clothing.
 
Thanks for all of the above posts, and information. Ticks have always scared me more than snakes. I know that a tick is not scientifically an insect since it has 8 legs instead of 6. I spend a lot of time in the woods and have to constantly pay attention to what is on my clothes and body.

Thankfully, I have yet to see any poison ivy at my Pocono R&G club.
 
I've been using Sawyer for 25+ years. First bought at Granger when I worked behind a drill rig in NJ - I was he ONLY one on the crew that not only didn't get one tick on me, I was the only one without a horrible case of chiggers. I spray my backpacking and fishing gear down every early spring, or before a trip if I can't remember when the last time was.
 
Balt Co Wanderer said:
Does anyone have any insight on Piccardin. My buddy swears by it for flies, but he had no insight on piccardin and ticks.
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I've used a cream from Sawyer with Picardin and it works well. And it's far less toxic to my skin and any fabric or part that is petroleum based than DEET is (I once melted a hole in a raincoat from DEET). Seems like synthetic compounds that mimic those in peppers is better than however the military stumbled on the DEET compound.

And permethrin does work well - it has some nasty side effects for some species, though. It's toxic to fish. And cats. So don't do a streamside treatment of your clothes. And make sure your cat isn't huffing any at home.
 
salmonoid said:
I've used a cream from Sawyer with Picardin and it works well. And it's far less toxic to my skin and any fabric or part that is petroleum based than DEET is (I once melted a hole in a raincoat from DEET). Seems like synthetic compounds that mimic those in peppers is better than however the military stumbled on the DEET compound.

And permethrin does work well - it has some nasty side effects for some species, though. It's toxic to fish. And cats. So don't do a streamside treatment of your clothes. And make sure your cat isn't huffing any at home.
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My cats get into everything, so I guess that’s off the table for me.
 
Balt Co Wanderer said:
My cats get into everything, so I guess that’s off the table for me.
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Maybe treat your fishing clothing and store the treated items in a small zipper duffel.

You could even put a small luggage lock on the zipper if you have cats that can open zippers.

If your cats can pick locks AND work zippers, I would move out of the house... ;)
 
Thanks Bam. I needed a chuckle...
 
I've been using Sawyer's Permethrin for several years. Only once did I have a tick on me, and it was in the hair on my hand and was probably dead.

It states on the bottle that Permethrin lasts a minimum of 42 days. It also says "clothing should be re-treated after 42 days or after the sixth laundering to maintain adequate protection."
 
I also have several pairs of camouflage pants and camouflage shirts, plus a sweatshirt, that are permanently treated with Permethrin. If you are interested they were bought at Gamehide.com. Their clothing is very high quality, too.
 
For those who might be interested, the Insect Shield company has a service whereby you send them your clothes, socks, hats, etc., and for a fee they will apply their proprietary tick/bug repellant. Various clothing makers such as LL Bean and Orvis sell items with Insect Shield already applied, and supposedly it remains effective for up to 70 washings.

It's a good way to have your favorite clothes treated, and the repellant should last much longer than the D-I-Y spray products. I have used this service in the past and have no complaints.

Here is a link to their website:

Insect Shield
 
The Insect Shield option was mentioned in a previous reply, but it is worth posting again.

I always treated my fishing pants & shirt with the Sawyer stuff, but that was when they offered a soaking kit that included the concentrated Permethrin, a huge Ziploc "soaking" bag, plastic gloves and even a piece of string to tie up & extract the rolled up soaked garments from the Ziploc bag.

That kit made it easy to treat several garments at one time for half the cost of a couple of the spray bottles they offer now with way less hassle and NO chance of inadvertently breathing in any of the product as an aerosol.

This year, I'm sending my stuff to Insect Shield.

Thanks for the reminder!
 
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Bamboozle said:
The Insect Shield option was mentioned in a previous reply, but it is worth posting again.

I always treated my fishing pants & shirt with the Sawyer stuff, but that was when they offered a soaking kit that included the concentrated Permethrin, a huge Ziploc "soaking" bag and even a piece of string to tie up & extract the rolled up soaked garments from the Ziploc bag.

That kit made it easy to treat several garments at one time for half the cost of a couple of the spray bottles they offer now with way less hassle and NO chance of inadvertently breathing in any of the product as an aerosol.

This year, I'm sending my stuff to Insect Shield.

Thanks for the reminder!
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Just an FYI - maybe already mentioned- you can get permethrin concentrate at the farm/tractor stores and dilute in a bucket to the same concentration as Sawyers spray, then soak clothes. there are youtube videos about this.
Also I got some very large, heavy ziplock bags that I store feathers and fur in - these are big enough to hold some clothing.
 
Thanks Bob!!

I bought some of the stuff they sell at Tractor Supply a while back, but what I liked about the Sawyer kit was I could throw away the bag, plastic gloves and other stuff and not worry about washing stuff off to reuse it and WHERE I was going to wash it off.

Besides, the Insect Shield lasts longer, isn't ridiculously expensive for the two garments I would want treated and sending off a package is way less hassle than what I was going through with the DYI option.

Besides, IF you can believe the 70 washings claim made by Insect Shield, my fishing shirt and pants get washed once a year (on a good year) so I wouldn't even have to do it every year if I didn't want to like I was doing with the Sawyer stuff.

I definitely appreciate the FYI, but to me shipping my stuff out and having it treated by Insect Shield this year and going forward is a no-brainer!!
 
Insect shield hides what chemical they use and what application methods. I am highly suspicious of the 70 wash claims.

Also I have heard from multiple sources that the chemical composition of permethrin concentrate available to the public at TSC is different than what sawyers use and may not adhere very well to some materials used in clothing.
 
Don't sweat it, it happens all the time. It was a good mention to be repeated.
 
pcray1231 said:
I use Sawyer permethrin. No, I do not use it on waders, but yes on clothes that go under waders. Ticks that jump on a wader have to get up to my chest and touch my shirt before making their way to my skin, and there they shall die, lol.

Permethrin is not a repellant like DEET. Permethrin is an insecticide. It kills them. It's the same stuff they spray in swamps to kill mosquito larva. Also the same stuff that's in flea and tick collars, the shampoo for lice, and the like.

I spray all my outdoor pants and shirts each spring. It says it lasts 6 washings or whatever. By the end of the summer it is likely wearing off and I should re-apply it, but I usually slack on that. Need to do better. But it's definitely one of those late winter/early spring rituals when you have severe cabin fever and you restock and re-organize the fly box, clean fly lines, patch waders, tie new leaders, etc. Taking a clothes rack out to the driveway and going to town with a bunch of permethrin spray bottles, and having your neighbors think you're nuts, is one of them.
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This is the way. I have even asked my pediatrician about using permethrin for my kids who are little and they recommend it. The chemicals don't actually touch your skin so spray away.
 
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