BEST Way to Avoid Ticks! | Camping Hack for Bugs

I’m often asked, “What is the best way to avoid ticks?” Sometimes, it’s chiggers or mosquitoes, but people really want to avoid those nasty, disease-ridden critters from crawling their way to your nether regions to burrow in and live for a few days.

Fortunately, I have the answer for all the nasty, outdoor critters that you want to keep off your body.

Best Way to Avoid Ticks, Chiggers, and Mosquitoes

Quick and to the point: Permethrin. Other than a peppermint oil natural bug repellant, nothing works like Permethrin to keep all the bugs away.

Now, you may say, “Tim, Permethrin is SO EXPENSIVE!” Yes, it is. Especially, if you buy the pre-mixed spray bottles from Amazon, Walmart, or REI.

So, here is what I have found that will save you a TON of money and still keep the bugs away. I buy Permethrin concentrate from Amazon. You will need to mix the concentrate with water to get the right dilution for treating your clothes, but the bottle of concentrate will come with instructions on how to dilute it.

You will find the concentrate in varying percentages of Permethrin. I used 36.8%, the one I linked, above is 10%. This will change your dilution ratios, but they’re all effective.

Once I’ve diluted the concentrate, I do one of two things with the resulting mixture. First, I always treat all my clothes for a backpacking or camping trip. Yes, even your underwear…..especially your underwear. Next, I’ll either pour the diluted mixture into a spray bottle or I’ll fill a small tub with the diluted mixture. Either way works fine and each way has positives and negatives. Regardless, you need to fully soak your clothes for maximum effectiveness.

If I sprayed my clothes, I let them air dry. If I dunk them, they come out much wetter, so I’ll air dry a bit and then put them in the dryer. This is perfectly OK to do, as the heat will help the Permethrin bind better to the fabric.

Is Permethrin Safe?

Short answer: Yes and no. As Permethrin dries, it binds to the fabric and the treatment lasts 6-8 wash cycles. Once dried and bound to the fabric, Permethrin is perfectly safe.

When the Permethrin is wet (while mixing, spraying, or dunking), it’s a powerful neurotoxin. I always use gloves, eye protection, and a face mask while mixing the dilution and treating my clothes. You don’t want the wet version on your bare skin or in your eyes and mouth.

Some people experience a bit of skin irritation from Permethrin treated clothing when in a heavy downpour. I have never experienced this side effect, but it’s something to be aware of. All manufacturers claim that the product is still safe to use when dry, even in the rain.

I treat my clothes and all my kids clothes when we go camping or backpacking. I rarely find a tick on myself or the kids when we’re using Permethrin treated clothes in the backcountry. Occasionally, one or two will show up, but we’re good about checking even with the treated clothes. I’ve found it really is the best way to avoid ticks.

Best Way to Avoid Chiggers and Mosquitoes

Permethrin also works on chiggers and mosquitoes. I live and camp in Florida, mainly. This means I ALWAYS bring bug spray with me in the outdoors. However, since I started treating my clothes with Permethrin, I never use my bug spray. I’ve carried the same bottle along with me on camping trips for a few years and never use it.

The mosquitoes don’t bother me. I haven’t had a chigger attack. The no-see-ums avoid me. The stuff works for all the bugs!

The best part? I don’t feel all sticky and nasty from bug spray residue on my skin.

Best Way to Avoid Ticks: Cost Benefits

I can get about 350 32 oz bottles of Permethrin spray out of my 1 quart bottle of concentrate. That’s about $5,250 worth of the pre-mixed stuff from Sawyer!! My concentrate cost me about $30. I think a $5,200 savings is worth the effort required to dilute concentrate, don’t you?

Now, as I mentioned, my bottle is a 36.8% concentrate. I can’t currently find that percentage on Amazon. I can only find 10%. This means you will only get about 1/3 of the number of spray bottles out of the 10% concentrate versus the 36.8% concentrate. But, the 10% solution only costs $15. So, you’ll only save about $1,725. :)

With lyme disease cases on the rise, it becomes increasingly important to avoid the critters that carry the disease. For me, the best way to avoid ticks that carry lyme is to use Permethrin concentrate to treat your clothes.