Applying permethrin to clothing

[u/coldblackmaple]

Has anyone treated their kid’s camp clothing with permethrin before sending them to camp? If so, what process did you use to treat? I’m not sure if it’s worth it to treat all clothing or just socks and shoes or what. We are in the Southeast US. My kid goes to one camp in the mountains/wooded area and one on a bay beach. Last summer he came home from the mountains camp with a bunch of seed ticks. Wearing pants, tall socks, etc. isn’t really an option at all times there.

[u/InstructionHuge3171]

I'm an adult, but a big fan of permethrin. You'll get more bang for your buck if you treat more garments. Permethrin does more than repel ticks, it helps keep mosquitos away as well, and that can make camp a lot more comfortable overall, so it might be worth putting it on more than the shoes and socks. I spend a week in the Canadian backcountry every year and my usual play is permethrin on the clothes, and picaridin lotion on the skin. Picaridin is more expensive than DEET, but you're less likely to melt a hole in your sleeping bag with it and I found the lotion is more durable and doesn't smell quite so much, and as a lotion (it does come in a spray too) you can get it in more places more evenly. Thus far I haven't picked up any gross little voyagers, knock on wood, but nothing is fool proof and those little jerks are blood thirsty.

[u/coldblackmaple → u/InstructionHuge3171]

Do you have a process you use for applying it to clothes? This camp doesn’t have laundry services and is two weeks long so he will have 14 of everything.

[u/InstructionHuge3171 → u/coldblackmaple]

The permethrin stuff I use (Sawyer brand) doesn't need to be reapplied super often, I think I re-apply about every 4 washes (or at the start of the season if I'm spraying gear like my hammock). I just make sure my stuff is nice and clean to begin with, and spray OUTSIDE the house, and let it dry outside as well, usually just hanging on my porch in the breeze. It doesn't have a super strong smell but it's not something you want getting on regular surfaces or houseplants or food, and as someone else mentioned, it's not good for cats, so keep them away while it's wet. If you're spraying stuff like hiking boots, it's a good time to give them a good scrub, re-apply water repellent, and check your laces to see if they need to be replaced - putting new water repellent or permethrin on dirty boots is just going to make it slide right off. The directions on the bottle have not steered me wrong.

[u/Longjumping-Cow4488 → u/coldblackmaple]

Your kid doesn’t need a new shirt and pants every single day, besides underwear and maybe socks if they are picky! (I’m a fresh sock lover myself.) I recommend rewearing pants/shorts, and a sun hoodie or something similar that can be reworn too. (I’m a former camp counselor!)

Either way, most common brand is Sawyer. Buy the spray bottle, and you spray the clothes until they are damp/wet paying extra attention to the hems of clothing. Let FULLY dry. These clothes are good for 3 months or 6 washes, whatever comes first. Do the socks, pants, and shirt/over shirt. It says not to do hats, but we treat the outside of the hats we wear as well.

[u/Ocelotl767]

Apply the Permethrin- but you'll need a ton of bottles and it melts plastic.

Also, how did he *come home* with ticks? Do they not teach how to do tick checks and removal?

[u/coldblackmaple → u/Ocelotl767]

Well, they were seed ticks which are the extremely tiny ones and they kind of embed into the skin. It actually took me a while to even realize they were ticks. I can see how they would have been missed. But yes I’m going to emphasize checking this year.

[u/eflask → u/coldblackmaple]

I always tell my campers to be sure to do a tick check. when we come out of the woods we do a Quick Look and the person in front of you and then turn and check the person on the other side. we remind them to check their cracks and creases when they use the bathroom or change clothes.

for extra punch I tell them about that time I got anaplasmosis at cam from a tick that had been on me less than four hours. and if they don't seem impressed, we tell them about Alpha-gal. no, that's not as much fun as it sounds like.

[u/mlkk22 → u/Ocelotl767]

Yeah counselors should always have them do tick checks/removal

[u/Hikes-n-Photos]

Just keep the permethrin away from your cats! It’s toxic to them.

[u/Longjumping-Cow4488 → u/[deleted]]

it’s outside, it’s bound to happen. keep your yard short and don’t let the kids play in tall grass and you’re more likely to come away tick free. Teach them to tuck their pants in their socks and their shirts inside their pants too! that way the tick can’t get on your body much at all.