How To Mix Permethrin 10 For Clothing

How to Mix Permethrin 10 for Clothing – Kill Pesky Insects Quickly

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Permethrin being an excellent insect repellant, can be expensive at times. That’s due to its limited number of runtimes from permethrin ready-to-use premix bottles.

But this limitation is easily averted once making a mix of your own. This literally gives you a much higher supply for gallons after gallons than the premix.

So how to mix Permethrin 10 for clothing? 

To mix permethrin, 6.75 ounces of Permethrin 10% is to be mixed with 1 gallon of water. This will give a permethrin concentration of .5% which is the industry standard for permethrin on clothes.

Well, this was an overview of the method you need to follow. There’re many measures and important things that you need to consider before making the mix.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s dig a little deep!

Does Permethrin Clothing Work? 

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/

Yes. Permethrin can be applied to clothes and worn after drying out. It is a popular insecticide used to kill biting insects. But this method of putting it on clothes has been proved to work and used widely. 

But the user has to be careful handling permethrin because it’s poisonous. It’s in fact, not approved to be used on human skin. That’s cause it can cause serious irritation and rashes there. 

So for that reason, it’s put on fabric and worn after it has completely dried out. This is a personal protective measure to spray permethrin over clothes. It’s usually done before hiking or field trips that are exposed to insects.

If you are confused in choosing between outdoor clothing gears to use permethrin, don’t worry. That’s because permethrin can be used on both sleeping bags and woolen blankets.

Does Permethrin Ruin Clothing?

No. Permethrin doesn’t ruin clothes. You can safely use them over fabrics. They work fine on shirts, jackets, pants, shoes, tents, sleeping bags, and others. 

Permethrin is an extremely handy substance while hiking or sleeping in the open. There’s a huge fear of bugs or insects there. Permethrin will kill any insect that comes in contact with it. The clothes being soaked with it will kill them. 

When using it on clothes, the concentration needs to be .5% which is the industrial standard. You cannot go beyond this concentration otherwise it can ruin them for you.

So, to be on the safe side you use a concentration meter to measure the concentration of your mix. Here are some reliable recommendations for you.

Should you Make Permethrin Mix at Home? 

Now that we know all about the benefits of Permethrin, the next question that comes naturally is: Can we make this stuff at home?

So here’s the deal. Permethrin premix bottles can be bought for about $20 (.5%). But this will run out after a few runs on your clothes.

You would need to buy it again pretty soon. But this can be avoided by mixing permethrin on your own with water. This is known as dilution. For 1 part water, you need to add 19-20 parts of water to get a 0.5% concentration.

You can literally use your own mix of permethrin for gallons after gallon. For this, you would need to buy permethrin concentrate from your nearby store or the internet. This can be either a 10% or a 36.8% permethrin concentration bottle. It will cost around $15-$20 and will run much much longer than the premix. Each gallon will cost even less than $2. 

To see how it’s done, keep on reading. 

DIY Permethrin Clothing Treatment: The Whole Process

Source: https://www.uneaqoutdoor.com/

Okay, let’s now get into how to make a permethrin solution of your own. We’ve divided the whole process into 3 stages. Those are the decision-making stage, the mixing stage, and the application process. Let’s see them a bit more elaborately.

Phase 1: Decision Making 

This phase comprises everything needed to be considered before mixing the solution. The quantity of permethrin needed, water, and effectiveness are among those things. Let’s see.

Quick Peek: Dilution Chart 

For making the mix, you would need to put a certain ratio of permethrin to a specific quantity of water. We’ve put the ratios into a table of permethrin mixing charts for your convenience. 

Permethrin: Water RatioAmount of Permethrin In Solution 
1:200.50%
1:390.25%
1:990.10%
1:1990.05%
1:3990.025%

For the usage of permethrin into clothes, you shouldn’t go above .5% concentration. It’ll create serious health hazards if you do.

These concentrations are the reading of the entire solution after you mix everything.

The main question that concerns you is how much permethrin 10 do you mix with water?

For making a .5% concentration, mix 1 part of permethrin with 19-20 parts water. For example, if you take 1 gallon of water (128 ounces), you should mix it with 6.75 ounces of permethrin. That’ll give a .5% concentration of 134.75 ounces permethrin.

This first ratio is proven to work and you can do it without any doubts. The later ratios can be used if you feel too much exposed to permethrin or have rashes. But, there are some things to consider beforehand. This is even after knowing the application method.

Things you Need to Consider

Permethrin is an insecticide that lasts for a long time in clothes. So the question is- How long does permethrin-treated clothing last? 

If you are using permethrin on the usual fabric/clothing, it’ll last for 6 weeks. This is considering you are giving 6 weekly washes to your clothes.

You can use it not only on fabrics but also on tents and tarps too. After picking the right size tarp for your trip, you can apply .5% permethrin on it. If you are using it on tents or body bags, it’ll last longer than on fabrics. For instance, a typical tent with permethrin applied to it would last for about 6 months.

Phase 2: The Mixing Phase

Now that you have made a decision regarding permethrin, it’s time to know how the mixing works. We’re talking about the permethrin 10 mix ratio for clothing. This is a tricky process so follow our guidelines carefully.

For permethrin clothing, the concentration of the final solution needs to be .5%. So if you are using Permethrin 10% concentrate, you need to make it .5% in the final solution before applying.

Take a permethrin 10% concentrate and prepare a bucket of 1 gallon. Fill up the bucket with half gallons of water first. After that, add 6.75 ounces of the 10% permethrin to the water. After that, add the remaining half gallons of water to the mixture and stir properly. 

You’ll wind up with 1 gallon .5% permethrin solution.

The Math Behind the Solution

1 gallon is equal to 4 Litres or 128 ounces.

So when you’re mixing 1-gallon water with 6.75 ounces of 10% permethrin, you get a .5% concentration. This is in 134.75 ounces of solution. This concentration is accurate for spraying it on fabric.

Necessary Ingredients

If you’ve decided to make a mix considering all the mentioned factors, you’ll need a couple of things. Here’s a list of the things you’re gonna need-

1 gallon water + 6.75 oz 10% Permethrin = 134.75 oz at .5% concentration

Cost for Value

The cost of permethrin mix made at home is a lucrative factor for making it. So the real question is, How much does permethrin 10 Mix Cost?

Considering that you’ll get a 10% concentrate for around $20, 1 ounce of it’ll cost about $.75. So, 6.75 ounces used will cost about $5.06 and it’s used to make a gallon of spray. So you get less than $2 for each Litre of spray.

Phase 3: Application Phase

The application process is where you have to be super careful in handling permethrin. There Are mainly 2 ways by which you can apply permethrin. Let’s see-

Soaking Method

The soaking method is the most effective application process. That’s because both the inner and outer portions of the clothes are treated equally. 

You can use a bucket filled with 1 gallon of the permethrin mix you made to soak clothes. You can either do this or use 1-gallon freezer bags to soak clothes. Just make sure to let it soak for 3-4 hours and then take them out. 

After taking them out, hang them up using clips until they are dried off. And you are good to go!

Spraying Method

Another thing you can do is fill up the solution in spraying bottles and spray your clothes. Although easier,  keep in mind that this is not as effective as the soaking method. That’s because it’s hard to get all the portions of the clothes covered via spraying. 

Now the question arises, How to spray permethrin 10 on clothes?

In order to do this, hang your clothes via hangers on a rope. They are to be hanged outdoors rather than indoors. After that, spray them accordingly. Make sure to turn them inside out to cover the insides of the garments.

Oh, you know what! You can actually watch this guy in this video spraying permethrin on his clothes for a visual experience.

Take a look below!

Safety Measures

So we’ve mentioned before how permethrin isn’t exactly skin-friendly. So, the most important thing to keep in mind is to wear protective gear while handling it. Make sure you are not spraying or soaking the garments with your bare hands.

Also, make sure you are 1-2 feet away while spraying so that it doesn’t go into your eyes or skin. And while soaking, always dispose of the remaining permethrin safely in sealed bags.

Here’s our recommendation for safety gear-

Another common query among people is- Can permethrin harm pregnant women?

There’s not enough data to prove if permethrin is harmful to pregnant women or not. However, it’s not advisable to use permethrin on pregnant women. That’s because prevention is always better than cure. There can be issues with the health of the baby if permethrin is used. It’s not advisable to use it on an infant’s clothing aged lower than 2 months either.

What if you are Using the 36.8% Permethrin Concentration?

Now there can be cases where you are not finding the 10% permethrin concentrate. In that case, you can use the 36.8% safely too by turning it into a .5% concentration.

Don’t worry, we’ve worked this out for you too. Here’s our recommendation of the things you’re gonna need-

Calculation

The calculation here’s a little bit different for permethrin SFR 36.8 mixing instructions. Since the concentration here is higher than 10% mentioned previously, the ounce requirement is less here.

So the question arises, How much permethrin SFR per gallon?

Here you’ll need to mix 1 Gallon of water with 2 ounces of permethrin 36.8% instead of 6.75. And you’ll wind up with 130 ounces of .5% concentration. The mixing process is similar to mixing the 10% concentration mentioned before. 

1 gallon = 4 L = 128 ounces

1 gallon water + 2 ounces 36.8% permethrin = 130 ounces of .51% concentration

Cost For Value

The cost of each ounce of permethrin 36.8% is around $.85. So 2 ounces used will cost about $1.70. So you’re getting an entire gallon of spray mix for around $1.70 only. This must be less than using the 10% permethrin since only 2 ounces is needed here.

Is Permethrin Safe for Kids’ Clothes? 

Yes. Permethrin is safe to use in kids’ clothes. They knock down mosquitos and even ticks once exposed. There are no harmful effects found after wearing clothes that have been treated with it. But it is to make sure that these clothes are worn after drying out.

It’s safe to use it on clothes of infants above 2 months of age. And it’s absolutely fine for kids too. But it’s to be kept in mind that they are of .5% concentration.

Here’s our recommendation for Permethrin .5% premix-

Is it Safe for Animals?

Source: https://www.sawyer.com/

Yes. It’s safe for most animals but highly toxic to cats. It’s used to treat external parasites on animals such as fleas, ice, etc. In Fact, you can use permethrin on dogs, chickens, swine, horses, goats, cattle, turkeys, sheep, and others. You need to use the right amount of permethrin to treat certain animals. But this is a hassle and you can find premixes widely available.

Here’s our recommendation for permethrin premixes for certain animals-

FAQs

Now we’ll discuss some common questions regarding permethrin-

Can you wear clothes after applying permethrin?

Yes. You can wear clothes after applying permethrin. But they must be dried out before you wear them. Make sure to spray the clothes till they are a little damp but not drenched. After that, you need to hang them up in the open for a couple of hours. That is until they are dried out. 

How long does it take permethrin to kill bed bugs?

It takes less than 1 minute for permethrin to kill bed bugs. They are very small in size so it’s really fast for permethrin to get into their nervous system.

Conclusion

This was all from us about how to mix permethrin 10 for clothing. We hope we’ve been able to solve your problem. Make sure to have a .5% concentration of permethrin at any cost before applying.

Thank you for staying with us till the end. Do let us know if you have any queries.