Permethrin Clothing Treatment for Ticks and Mosquitoes

Target Pests

Ticks (kills on contact in 30-60 seconds - the gold standard for Lyme prevention), mosquitoes (kills and repels), chiggers, mites, biting flies, fleas. The US military has treated uniforms with permethrin since the 1990s for protection against disease-vectoring arthropods in the field.

Products and Brand Names

Sawyer Permethrin Spray (0.5% - the most popular DIY product), Repel Permanone, Ben permethrin spray, Insect Shield (factory-treated clothing - lasts 70 washes), ExOfficio BugsAway clothing line, LL Bean No Fly Zone clothing, REI Co-op permethrin-treated gear. US military ACUs are factory-treated.

📋 Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

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Permethrin Clothing Treatment for Ticks and Mosquitoes — Safety Data Sheet

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📄 Permethrin Clothing Treatment for Ticks and Mosquitoes — Safety Data Sheet · View the complete SDS document above or download below

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Safety and Precautions

Permethrin is safe on clothing but should NOT be applied to skin (unlike DEET). Once dried on fabric (2-4 hours), it is not absorbed through skin in any meaningful amount. The EPA has concluded that wearing permethrin-treated clothing poses negligible risk to human health.

The CDC-recommended combo: DEET or picaridin on exposed skin + permethrin on clothing = the maximum protection strategy for tick-borne disease prevention. This combination is recommended by the CDC, US Army, and every major tick research institution.

Cats: Wet permethrin is toxic to cats. Treat clothing outdoors and allow to dry completely (2-4 hours minimum) before bringing inside. Once dry and bonded to fabric, treated clothing is safe around cats. Do NOT spray permethrin near cats or allow cats to contact wet-treated items.

Pro Tips

How to treat clothing: Lay garments flat outdoors on a surface you do not mind getting sprayed. Spray Sawyer Permethrin evenly on both sides until lightly damp (not soaking). Treat: pants, socks, shoes, shirt, hat, and backpack. Let dry completely (2-4 hours). Wear normally. Effective through 6 washes or 42 days of sun exposure.

What to treat: Focus on the items ticks contact first: socks, shoes/boots, pant legs, and gaiters. These are the front line of defense. Also treat shirts, hats, and backpacks for mosquito protection.

Factory-treated vs DIY spray: Factory-treated clothing (Insect Shield, ExOfficio BugsAway) lasts 70+ washes and is more evenly distributed. DIY spray (Sawyer) lasts 6 washes but costs less and lets you treat any garment. Both are highly effective.

The 30-second tick kill: In lab studies, ticks placed on permethrin-treated fabric become disoriented within seconds and die within 30-60 seconds. They literally cannot survive contact with properly treated clothing. This is why the military has mandated permethrin treatment for decades.

Did you know? The US military treats over 2 million uniforms with permethrin annually. During field testing in the 1990s, soldiers wearing treated uniforms reported 99.9% fewer tick bites compared to untreated uniforms. This led to the Department of Defense mandating permethrin treatment for all combat uniforms.

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Reviewed by Derek GiordanoContent reviewed by a licensed pest management professional. Last reviewed: April 2026.