Permethrin Treatment – Send it in or DIY?

Send it in. DIY lasts <5 washes.  You cannot replicate the process at home.

Not so fast.  Read an extensive thread here on this issue. it discusses the chemistry of how to make the DIY last longer.

At home works fine with me. So inexpensive and easy. Instructions and more found here,

http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcphc/Documents/nepmu-6/Entomology/Technical-Guides/AFPMB-TG36-PERSONAL-PROTECTION.pdf

Here’s one short permethrin thread, citing a study on permethrin-treated uniforms:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/91472/

The results of this study suggest that longevity of control is more related to time; all the [commercially] treated clothes used in this study lost their punch after one year, but didn’t always get laundered 70 times.

No statistically significant differences in number of tick bites were detected between commercial permethrin treatment (19.33%) and the do-at-home permethrin application method (24.67%).

— Rex

So…for those of you going the DIY route, the treatment lasts 70 washings?

I retreat every year, based on the research quoted above – far less than 70 washings.

Haven’t seen any independent research backing the claim of 70 washings for Insect Shield.

— Rex

I stand by my original response based on longevity of effectiveness.  The Insect Shield treatment is EPA registered to last, and remain effective, through 70 washings.  You can trust the EPA, or not, at your discretion. The reports provided on this board and elsewhere indicate a DIY treatment lasts 4-5 washings.  Sawyer claims their DIY treatment will last 6 washings.  I have 3 year old IS treated clothing that has been washed at least 40-50 times that still performs as advertised.

DIY vs factory applied Permethrin treatment has been discussed ad-nauseum on this board, so there is no doubt that a DIY treatment is “effective”.  That is not the question posed by the OP, which was “whats the best way to replicate their process at home?…can we achieve the same level of treatment?

Since Permethrin is toxic to fish and feline, I see no sense in washing it down the drain and into the environment over the course of 5 washings all for want of spending a few dollars.  I doubt anyone would pour a bottle of it into a stream, why would you do the same only a little more slowly?  If we are promoting DIY out of a desire to save money, I would argue that the cost of the Permethrin needed to treat clothing 14 times plus your time and labor to do so is a false savings.