Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Insect Repellent for Clothing, Gear & Tents

We received the Sawyer Premium Permethrin Insect Repellent Spray to test and were impressed with how easy it is to use. I sprayed it on my hiking boots and outdoor gear—it goes on wet but dries clear and completely odorless. It didn’t stain or leave any residue. Looking forward to it repelling ticks, mosquitoes, and other insects, on my next hike.

The spray helps to keep insects and especially ticks away from your body. Simply spray a coating over your pants, legs and any other area you want to protect. The directions state this product can last through several washings still be effective. We’ve had a large amount of ticks in the yard this year and I’m very concerned about contracting Lyme disease. I’ve used this product in the past and I haven’t had any trouble. After spraying on my clothes, I don’t notice any unpleasant odor.

I'm an avid outdoorsman and don't like using too much insect repellent. I frequent tall grasses and often get ticks and chiggers, along with mosquitoes if I go unprotected. Permethrin to the rescue. I've been using it for over two decades applied to my clothes to keep the little varmints at bay. Sawyers blend has very little odor once dried. I've tried the agricultural variety of 10% and it also works, but it has a distinct petroleum odor that Sawyers doesn't have.Sawyers recommends applying 4.5 ounces to each whole garment, including shoes and socks, and reapplying every 6 weeks or 6 washings whichever occurs first. Instead of applying it to the whole garment, I apply it around all the openings where ticks and chiggers (red bugs) can gain access just to make it go further. That includes the pants waist, zipper and cuffs, and the shirt neck, waist, and sleeves. I also apply it along the back shoulder areas to keep mosquitoes from biting. Overall, this stuff is great and I rarely get any bites from aforementioned bugs.

> Dry, treated, clothing has only a slight unobjectionable odor -- even though the (liquid) spray smells like kerosene. Based on 10 days of use, I noticed NO difference between my treated and untreated clothing -- no smell, no stiffness (or other difference in texture), no discoloration> It is hard to find meaningful directions among the caveats and warnings. Do NOT overlook the warning that you MUST pretreat the clothes and let them COMPLETELY dry before use. Completely dry means different things in different climates. I strongly suggest leaving the clothes to dry in your garage or patio, maybe for at least 4 full days in the summer in Arizona, or for at least two weeks in the winter in Chicago. Do NOT spray on human skin, nor to clothing while wearing the clothing.> The sprayer head is not installed on the 24oz bottle. The sprayer tube is coiled , and hard to straighten. But it is important to straighten it in order for it to reach the bottom of the bottle.> According to the instructions (if you can find them), you should use at least 3oz garment or 6oz/outfit; to spray until lightly soaked enough that there is the small color change when the fabric has been wetted. In my experience, thin fabrics wetted very easily; while heavy fabrics (such as pants) required much more spray to become wetted. So, in reality, thin fabrics should be "soaked", while heavier fabrics require only enough to "dampened". It is impossible to tell if dark socks have been treated, so you just need to use your best judgment for those. Be sensible -- you don't need to treat the interior surfaces of your tent or sleeping bag; you don't need to treat the portion of your socks which will be in your shoes; you don't need to treat in inside crown of your hat, etc.> According to the instructions a 24oz bottle can theoretically treat 4 outfits. However, spraying fairly lightly (in my opinion, just enough to cover all of the surface), it took me about 9–10 oz per outfit (shirt, pants, socks, and hat). Since I had only 4 or 5 ounces left, I finished the bottle off on thinner spots (mostly underarm and crotch). So, it took me the full 24oz spray bottle to treat 2 outfits.> The yellow plastic bottle is opaque, so the instructions to use at least “3oz/garment”, is rather useless anyway. Plan on using a 24oz bottle to treat no more than 2--3 adult outfits.> The instructions imply that the sprayed fabric functions largely as an “emitter” surface for evaporating or sublimating molecules of the mosquito repellant. That is, that the total area of fabric surface is important. In that case, you should also treat the rims and tops of hats, backpacks, etc. That also implies that it makes sense to store clean, fully dry, treated outfits in ziplock bags – especially for travel, so that you don’t contaminate your other clothing.> Take the “safe for humans" claim with a large grain of salt. Note that the liquid spray is TOXIC to cats. The liquid spray is not healthy for humans either. I suggest wearing a long-sleeve shirt, long pants, a hat, eye protection, gloves, and a face mask when applying the spray. Spray OUTSIDE, from the upwind side, best in a very light breeze. Even using these precautions, my eyes were lightly stinging and my throat felt constricted a half-hour after treating 2 outfits. Note that although a paper mask will not stop gaseous chemicals, it will stop most particulates, including liquid droplets -- so a simple paper mask should greatly reduce inhaling the spray. If you have a more advanced respirator -- use it instead of a simple paper mask.> The liquid chemical is nasty and incredibly persistent. I made the mistake of rinsing out the used bottle in my kitchen sink -- after which it took days and 3 or 4 very vigorous and thorough scrubbings with harsh detergents to clear it out of my sink. So, keep the liquid (including any treated clothing which is not absolutely COMPLETELY dry) out of your living space. Discard the bottle immediately when you are finished (even if you've got a little leftover).> HOW WELL IT WORKS - I prepared a set of clothing for a trip to the Amazon (Brazil) in December-January, and wore the treated outfit for about 10 days (including one washing). To the best of my knowledge, I suffered no mosquito bites -- but there were actually few mosquitos. Subsequently, at home, after just two washings, mosquitos seem to be biting through treated clothing. So, while this may be the best option for treating clothing -- I wouldn't rely on it. You also need to choose appropriate clothing (loose, covering as much skin area as possible), and use a Deet-containing repellant on all exposed skin.