I'm a huge insect lover.

Fascinating creatures in every way.

BUT I'm not a fan of them inserting ANY portion of their bodies, stingers, or chompers into my skin.

Unfortunately when camping, your body becomes a free, 24hr, fast food drive-thru for an array of disease carrying critters. 

It is wise to take action shielding yourself before ever even leaving the house.

In this blog I will give you everything you need to know as well as the step-by-step procedure for treating your clothes and camping gear with Permethrin.

*If you're a fancy pantsy know-it-all about Permethrin already and just looking for the recommended treatment procedure, scroll on down to the bottom for the simple treatment steps!

What is Permethrin?

Permethrin is a powerful insecticide that bonds to the fabrics on your camping gear and clothes when treated.  It fights off harmful or pesky insects in the wild before they ever get a chance to bite you. It is much more effective and long-lasting than regular deet insect sprays and considered externally non-toxic to humans.

Let's Play Repel, Incapacitate, or Kill!

Typical body or fabric insect sprays are designed to simply repel bugs, or even just annoy them.

Ineffectively in some cases.

However, Permethrin don't play.

It repels, incapacitates, or kills harmful insects on the spot. 

Permethrin is effective against:

🦟 Mosquitoes

🐞 Ticks (.. limited emoji bank..)

🦀 Chiggers

🦗 Fleas

🦟 Flies

🐜 Ants

🦗 Bed bugs

🕷 Spiders (a black widow or brown recluse for example EEK)

🦗 Lice

🦟 Mites

🦗 Even cockroaches

(to name a few) 

( Fun Fact* Not effective on scorpions unless using at least 36% Permethrin concentrated solution, which you would not want to use on your fabrics.)

Treat Your Whole Camp Site!

You can pretty much treat every single thing you plan to take with you on your camping trip. (Excluding anything related to food or water, and probably want to skip soaking your TP)

Permethrin Can Be Used to Treat:

⛺️ Tents

👍 Hammocks

🌳 Hammock Shelters

🔰 Tarps

🚿 Rainflys

🕸 Bug Nets

👝 Sleeping Bags

👝 Under Quilts & Top Quilts

👝 Camping Blankets 

🛏 Camping Pads

🎒 Hiking Packs

💺 Camp Chairs

🧢 Hats

👕 Hiking/Camping Clothes

🧦 Socks

🥾🥾 Hiking Boots

🐕 Your Dog (For real! It's considered safe to spray on Scruffy. However, I wouldn't personally choose to treat my pup, because he licks himself so much. But treating a doggie bandana is a fun and effective idea!)

Who's Got The Goods?

You can purchase sprays and economically sized jugs of Permethrin solutions from: 

🏪 Local feed and hardware stores

🏪 Walmart

🏪 Outdoor Recreation Stores

📦 Amazon

📦 Direct From Vendor Online

(see below for links)

What Goods to Get?

There are several solutions available for purchase that all contain varying concentrations of Permethrin.  If you choose a solution with any more than 0.5% Permethrin contents you will need to measure, mix, and dilute it down yourself before use.

Three great choices are:

 1. Pre-mixed 0.5% Permethrin Solution sold by Sawyer.  This is a popular 24oz  spray bottle choice if you want an easy, ready-made mix with no need to mess with math, measurements, or diluting the solution yourself. 

2. JT Eaton also sells a gallon-size of pre-mixed 0.5% Permethrin, in a jug that comes with an attachable spray nozzle. This is much more economical if you have a large amount of clothing/gear to treat.

3. Martins 10% Permethrin is a highly concentrated 32oz Permethrin solution that you must dilute down to the recommended 0.5% strength solution* before use. This is a popular economical choice for longevity of use, financially cheaper in the long-run, and based on personal accounts- a highly concentrated solution that you dilute yourself works more effectively.

 

(*Sidenotes for accurate dilution* If you use a 10% Permethrin concentrate, you want to dilute it with 19 parts water and 1 part of 10% permethrin concentrate to produce a 0.5% Permethrin solution. For example, if you wanted to make a gallon (128 ounces) of a 0.5% Permethrin solution using water and a 10% Permethrin solution, you’d mix 6.4 ounces of 10% Permethrin solution with 121.6 ounces of water. If you do this using a 1-gallon plastic water bottle, you’d pour off 6.4 ounces of water and replace it with 6.4 ounces of the 10% Permethrin concentrate.

Shake well to mix it up.)

Get it?

Easy Peasy. 

Pros and Cons

The upside of treating with Permethrin:

😷 Aids in your protection from Zika, Lyme's Disease, West Nile Virus, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, dengue (the list of gross diseases goes on) by repelling, incapacitating, or killing the virus/bacteria carrying insects before they have a chance to bite and transmit the disease to you.

🙌 It has a very low absorption rate into your skin. Less than 1% of the amount of Permethrin that contacts your skin is actually absorbed into your body vs 10%-20% of applied Deet.

🙋 Considered an externally non-toxic or moderately-toxic chemical for humans and other mammals.

⚖️ Considered more effective and safer to use than Deet.

👍 You really can treat just about anything! (excluding anything that goes in your mouth)

 

The Downside:

☝Not a one-time deal. Each treatment lasts approximately 6 washes for clothing and 42 days for non-washable items (such as packs, tents, camp chairs) before needing to treat again. 

🚿 It does not bond as well to waterproof or water resistant materials. Rightfully so, it can't sink into the fibers as well. In my experience, waterproof items specifically could use a quick spray down every other trip.

🐝 Permethrin is a broad spectrum chemical that kills indiscriminately.  While it does kill the insects considered "bad bugs", it also kills beneficial insects like honey bees and non-venomous spiders, or harmless insects such as butterflies and dragonflies, also toxic to the critters who eat them.

🐸 Toxic to frogs and tadpoles if introduced to water sources.

🐱 Deadly to cats and Fish 🐠

😩 Some people have a negative reaction. Including eye, nose, and throat irritation, breathing problems, skin irritation, itching, swelling, and redness, mild burning or stinging. (If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor or pharmacist promptly.)

🚩 Permethrin is neurotoxic in mammals at very high doses. Though studies show the absorption amount through the skin is very low, some people still  believe it has adverse effects on your nervous system even at low doses and that long term affects have just not been thoroughly researched enough yet. It is always a good idea to research chemical absorption and affects when weighing options. 

There are 4 main ways to apply Permethrin to your camping gear and clothing.

1. Soak

Soaking your gear and clothing is a popular choice when:

• you have a lot of clothing to treat
• you have gear with excess fabric such as hammocks, tarps, and tents
• when you want to make extra sure no area is left untreated
• to deeply impregnate the Permethrin into the fabric. (I do not recommend completely soaking your insultion, boots, or your back pack since it is harder for them to dry out. I recommend spraying those items for treatment to avoid ruining them.)
• and based on personal accounts- soaking works more effectively.

 

Soaking Supply Checklist:

• protective waterproof gloves
• protective mask
• 1 gallon ziplock bags (1 per article of clothing you plan to treat)
• 5 gallon bucket
• long stir stick
• Your Choice of 0.5% Permethrin Sollution jug or bottle

The Soaking Procedure:

1. Put on protective gloves and find a well ventilated shaded spot away from kids, animals, food and water supplies.

2. Prepare each article of clean, dry clothing individually in 1 gallon ziplock bags

3. Prepare a 5 gallon plastic bucket for soaking gear. 

4. Measure 3 ounces of your 0.5% Permethrin solution per garment and carefully pour into each of your gallon bags.

5. Tightly seal each bag.

6. Massage the solution into your clothing until it is completely saturated.

7. You can add more of your 0.5% solution to each bag as needed.

8. Start out with 8oz of your 0.5% solution to pour into your 5 gallon bucket with your piece of camping gear inside. You can choose to stir and saturate with a stick or just stir and massage it inside the bucket with gloves on.

9. Make sure the gear is completely saturated. Add slightly more of your 0.5% solution if needed. (you want to avoid excess solution afterwards if possible)

10. Leave each piece to soak in the buckets and ziplock bags for at least 2-3 hours.

11. Pull each item out and squeeze off excess solution into bucket

12. Hang to dry in a shaded, ventilated area. You do not want to hang dry in the sun for the sun breaks down the Permethrin fabric bond.

13. Once everything is completely dry it is ready for use! No need to wash or dry the items directly after the treatment. 

14. Repeat treatment in 6 weeks or after 6 washings. 

Pro Tips:

• If you're lazy like me, you can always just stuff as much as you can into the 5 gallon bucket and fill 'er up! (not the full 5 gallons... just enough to saturate the contents) I've added pants, a tank, a longsleeve, a hammock, a fly and insect shield all in one bucket and poured in the solution on top, adding a little more at a time, stirring and massaging until everything is saturated. I then save any excess in my "Used 0.5% Permethrin" jug. Because for real, massaging individual gallon bags? Ain't nobody got time for that!
• If you're treating everything in a bucket and massaging the items in the bucket with your hands, just make sure your protective gloves cover your full forearm too.

• Your treatment will break down quicker in the machine washer and dryer with regular strength detergents. If you need to wash your clothes after a trip in the woods, it's best to hand wash your items with a small amount of baby Dreft detergent or sensitive/gentle laundry detergent and hang to dry in a shaded area.
• Oxygen and sunlight also break down the Permethrin treatment quickly. To extend the life of your treatment, store everything in airtight bags/storage in a closet or dark room in between uses. 
• When it comes to camping gear, remember to also treat anything that will make direct contact with the ground or trees. Lines and webbing suspension are great roadways for little critters.
• Take the Plunge! One creative technique from our dear friend Cajun is to create a DIY splash guard and mixer with just a bucket, lid, and a plunger (that's right... a toilet plunger).

-Cut a hole in the center of the lid of your 5 gallon bucket

-Insert your items for treatment into the bucket

-pour in your solution mix

-put a CLEAN/NEVER USED plunger on top (wish I could say that's a no-brainer, but you just never know with some people...🚽🤦🏻‍♀️😂)

-Slide the hole in the lid down the plunger handle and secure the lid onto the bucket.

-Plunge away! Churn that Permethrin treatment like butter, baby!

2. Spray

Spray treating your gear and clothing is a popular choice for a quick and easy application when:

• you are only treating a few things
• treating very bulky things that do not fit in a bucket to soak

• you want an easy, no-mess process.
• you desire less exposure to the chemical. (ie. only lightly spraying the outside portion that will not sit directly against your skin.)

• or treating your backpack, down insulation, boots or other items that do not dry well/or could ruin if fully saturated

You can buy a pre-mixed spray bottle with the correct concentration so you can apply it to clothing without any preparation (see links above in "What Goods to Get" section). 

Or you can purchase an empty plastic spray bottle and fill it with your own Permethrin mixture as long as you’ve diluted it to the recommended 0.5%.

Just be sure to mark the bottle clearly so to not use it for other purposes in the future.

Spraying Supply Checklist:

• protective waterproof gloves
• protective mask
• hangers or clips to hang gear/clothes while spraying
• Your Choice of 0.5% Permethrin Sollution spray bottle

The Spraying Procedure:

1. Find a well ventilated shady spot away from kids, animals, food and water supplies.

2. I recommend wearing protective gloves any time you’re handling chemicals and a mask is understood as optional, but I recommend wearing one especially while spraying. When you can avoid breathing in chemicals, you should. 

3. Hang all of your items inside out (or with camping gear, spray the inside first) Hold the bottle 6-8 inches away and spray the entire surface area paying close attention to cuffs and seams and areas that fit tighter against your skin (the buggos favorite spot.)

4. Flip right side out and spray the entire surface area again paying close attention to cuffs and seams. (or with camping gear, spray the outside paying close attention to any portion that will make contact with the ground or a tree)

5. Leave to dry in a shaded area.

6. Once everything is completely dry it is ready for use! No need to wash or dry the items directly after the treatment. 

7. Repeat in 6 weeks or after 6 washings.

Pro Tips:

• Your treatment will break down quicker in the machine washer and dryer with regular strength detergents. If you need to wash your clothes it's best to hand wash your items with a small amount of baby Dreft detergent or sensitive/gentle laundry detergent and hang to dry.
• Oxygen and sunlight also break down the Permethrin treatment quickly. To extend the life of your treatment, store everything in airtight bags/storage in a dark room or closet in between uses. 
• When it comes to camping gear, remember to treat anything that will make direct contact with the ground or trees. Lines and suspension are great roadways for little critters.

3. Send Away

Insect Shield is a company that will treat your clothing for you. Insect Shield developed a proprietary Permethrin treatment process that will last up to 70 washings vs. 6 washings if you treat your items yourself.

This is a popular choice if you want a hands off approach and do not mind spending the money and waiting the extra time the send away process takes. No mess, no hassle, no measuring or mixing or taking your own time. 

If you choose this route, you can get started with this Insect Shield order form. The prices are listed on the form.

Pro Tips:

• Insect Shield will not typically treat any clothing that reads “dry clean only”, “do not tumble dry”, “hang to dry”, or “water resistant”.
• The send away treatment forms are for clothing only. (You may be able to work out something with them for treating your gear. But that would be handled in correspondence between you and them)
• They sell spray bottles as well.

4. Purchase

There are many companies that sell Permethrin treated clothing. You can find them on Amazon, outdoor recreation stores, and InsectShield.com. This is a great option if you are already in the market for new hiking/camping clothes. Just keep in mind that eventually these will need to be re-treated.

How to Dispose of Permethrin After Treatment

🚫 Never pour Permethrin down the drain. It is harmful to the environment and deadly to fish.

🚫 Don't pour it back into the original solution, better to keep that pure.

👍 You can pour excess solution into a clean, empty plastic jug or bottle to save for next time.  Just make sure the jug or bottle is properly labeled, tightly sealed, and stored in a safe, cool, dry place.

👍 If you must dispose of it, it is best to leave it open/uncovered in a safe, ventilated, or sunny spot to evaporate on its own before throwing away. This also goes for the bags and buckets you’ve used. It is best to let them air dry after use rather than rising the left over Permethrin with water.

🚫 Never leave evaporating Permethrin in an area accessible to children or animals. 

We Love the Wild

The whole idea behind Sierra Madre is elevating your outdoor experience. It starts with adapting your gear carry out to each adventure. Car Camping trips look different from Backpacking trips, make sure you have the gear you need to make the most of every adventure. 

The Adventurous Richard Branson loves Sierra Madre gear too!

Sierra Madre is the sound of a revolution in the outdoor world. Whereas other corporate conglomerates are figuring out which colors to push next year, Sierra Madre creates real innovations that empower you in the wild.

That's why Sir Richard Branson (possibly one of the most adventurous people on the planet) backed Sierra Madre. He believes in disrupting the status quo with the best product and service and was thrilled to partner with Sierra Madre. 

Sierra Madre gear is built to last a lifetime and only available on our website.

Sierra Madre gear was created to maximize your time in the wild, we've carefully developed a line up of accessories that help you adapt to every adventurous situation you find yourself in.

No two adventures look the same, No matter where adventure takes you, we've got your back.

Our founder, Richard Rhett, created Sierra Madre because of two epic gear failures he experienced in the wild. Both left him stranded and completely ruined his adventures. As a Mechanical Engineer turned Entrepreneur. After over 10 years of building gear, Richard has held fast to our two pillars of our gear design, 1) solve problems, and look good doing it 2) over build it with hyper quality. 

“Sleeping in the wild should be restful and enjoyable, when you're not worried about getting wet or cold - it's so much easier to feel at peace in the wild”. Being comfortable, protected, and warm in the wild helps you feel at peace... Feels like home. "That's what it's all about."

We'd love to share one of our favorite stories with you. This came from a (now) customer. 

"Hello,

My name is Jim Aexfor and I am from Minnesota. I recently returned from a trip with a friend to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota.

I have a Kammok hammock setup while my friend has your Nubé setup he purchased early this year.

During our trip we encountered a bad storm with 50+ mph winds. During the storm my Glider hammock shelter ripped in half. This happened on day 2 of our weeklong adventure. My friend's Nubé shelter withstood the winds and we ended up adding my hammock above his in the shelter so I had a place to sleep out of the rain. We had another night of rain later on in the trip and had to do the same.

I had to let you know how awesome your product is and what a trip-saver is was for us. Otherwise, the trip would have been pretty miserable for me.

I will be shouting from the mountaintops about the quality of your product and will be advising my relatives and friends to check into your products. Ever since I started hammock camping many of my relatives and friends have become interested in this great outdoor experience.

I will be selling my hammock and investing the money into one of your setups. I am a teacher and a volunteer EMT so during the upcoming winter months I will be saving up to purchase the entire Nubé system.

Thank you so much for your incredible products that saved our trip!

Jim

What an REI employee said about us...

“I work for REI in the camping department and I also teach wilderness skills for the outdoor school. I have had plenty of experience with other camping gear but not until I tried sierra madre I was never satisfied. Sierra madre has worked the kinks out with their incredible innovation!” — Robert

All Sierra Madre products are created with sustainability at the fore front.

We strive for sustainability in our product design and excellent working conditions in every factory we partner with. We believe that every human has value and if people are taken care of, then they will take care of our planet.

We also believe that quality drinking water shouldn’t be a luxury. As part of our 1 for Clean Water Promise each piece of gear contributes one year of clean water to a person who desperately needs it. Together, we can end the water crisis.