Looking to reduce the skeeter/tick factor on a supported tour in lower MI next month. Yes I googled this topic but am looking for BF'ers that have used chemicals to kill/repel the little suckers. I am thinking of treating the portion of the tent around the doors with something like Permethrin (nastier synthetic) or Pyrethrin (natural).
Have you had success with these or other tent treatments?

I used Sawyer Permethrin on my tent, sleeping bag and clothes on a Central America tour last fall. I really can't say if it helped or not. I got eaten alive a couple of times, but that was from noseeums getting my exposed skin before I had applied repellent. Did Sawyer's keep them away from my clothes and tent? I didn't notice any bugs on or in my tent, and as long as I kept repellent on my skin in infested areas I was fine. It's probably worth a try, especially if you're going to be in an area known for lots of mozzys.

I have sprayed DEET on the mesh before, seemed to help keep the skeeters away. As a general rule I don't like using chemicals on my synthetics.

Aaron

Offhand I'd be reluctant to spray something right on the tent fabric. It could be harmless, but it could also negatively affect the seals, materials and/or other compounds.

A couple of options include mosquito coils and citronella candles, there's also that weird Off Clip-On thing. Also get in and out of the tent as fast and infrequently as possible. I'm pretty sure something along those lines will be sufficient to drive off MI bugs.

It's a bit of a crap shoot. Some campsites (high schools) are very woodsy and therefore buggy. I wouldn't apply anything to seams. Mosquitoes love me so I figured I'd try something different. Thanks for the input everyone! I was wondering if something applied to the tent would repel pests if I were sitting nearby just chatting with friends but I suppose that's asking a bit much. Might have to go with applying something like permethrin to a long-sleeved shirt and wear that over something else to prevent skin contact. That'd be one way to avoid spraying stuff (OFF or other DEET stuff) directly onto the skin...especially after having showered.

I wouldn't apply deet to snythetics. My work hardhat has some of the paint missing from insect repellent overspray. We also used it to loosen a "frozen" lugnut while trying to fix a flat tire! I agree with Baciagalupe about the possibility of damaging coated nylon and silicone.

DEET is horrible stuff. The only thing is has counting for it is that it repels bugs.
plastics reacts badly (most of them anyway) with it.
I have seen it's effects on the frames of glasses, synthetic clothing etc.
I wouldn't dream (except in nightmares) of putting DEET on my tent.
I don't know the other two (Permethrin and Pyrethrin) mentioned, so can't comment on them,
but unless I'd tested them on a piece of tent fabric I would not use them on my tent either.

Maybe it's just me, but I simply hate the smell of various repellent candles or other burning repellents. On some occasions I've had them burning outside the cabin door, but it seems the smell finds its way in. And as others have stated, applying chemicals on your tent without testing first on actual tent fabric is a bad idea.

The netting in my old tent door stops pretty much all flying insects we have around, no chemicals required. A few will get in with me, but it's easy enough to find and kill them in the small closed space. I doubt the netting would stop ticks, but my understanding is ticks don't actively close in on you from distance like mosquitoes do. I actually prefer sleeping in a tent if the area has lots of mosquitoes. Sitting around the campfire, that's another story.

--J

I use a Thermacell for repelling insects. It will keep an area of about 10'x10' clear, and does not smell bad. It takes a few minutes to clear out the area, but works great. Do a search on it, gets great reviews.

IIRC spraying insect repellent on my tent will void the warranty. Not sure how the manufacturer would know if you did, but surely they know that it damages tent fabrics....

Just wanted to add - my tent and clothes have suffered zero ill effects from application of Sawyer's.

I used permetherin for years when in the army on clothes and tents, sleeping bags, bivy bags, etc. No harmful effects and it works okay I guess. By no means use DEET on that stuff, it eats away an nearly anything, especially plastic.

Thermacell works great. Set it up outside your tent door and you will have no skeeters in the tent.

Never heard of Thermacell until now. Thanks for the tip. I'll give that a try before the tent treatment. I have a month to test and right now is perfect. The bloodsuckers are in full force in my back yard.

I would think that the best way to avoid ticks would be long pants and socks, plus regular tick checks. We found burning a mosquito coil helped keep the biting bugs away. I'd also be reluctant to spray chemicals on my tent.

Used mine this past 4th of July weekend, kept the skeeters away from our fireworks viewing group.

I know this is going to sound funny but,Avon Skin-So-Soft body lotion is the best skeeter/deer tick repellent on the market and I'm not sure they know it.I've been using it for longer than I want to admit.

If you don't believe me,google it.It used to be the best kept secret in the backpacking/mountain climbing world.

Smells good,not greasy,lasts about 8 hours and makes your skin OH-SO-SOFT!

If the skeeters don't like you,the tent will take care of itself.

^ Thanks and yes, I heard of it but never tried it. It seems to be a YMMV thing. It's worth a shot. I'd rather put that on than any of the oily DEET-containing products.

+100 on the Avon Skin so soft. I have used it and swear by it. It doesnt stink like Off or other repellants, and I will put it on in the truck before we get out into the skeeters. Just say no to DEET. Off does have a non aerosol repellant that doesnt stink quite so bad, but it burn when I put it on.

I learned of Skin So Soft while wind surfing along Central Florida's east coast well over 20 years ago. I works very well. I don't know why Avon doesn't market it as such, however they do not. I'm fairly sure they must know by now that it works better than anything else at keeping bugs off as others have said.

Congratulations on winning the Newbie Trifecta - you've managed to resurrect three old threads (8 YEARS!) with your first three posts.

Citronella candle in your candle lantern?

The smell of Skin-so-Soft is the worse part. To apply enough, you need to use more than you normally would. The smell turns rancid, and starts building up layers and then creeps its way into everything that you wear, and you smell gross all the time. Just thinking about getting slathered in that crap when I was a kid makes me gag right now.