Post by LowKey on Jan 8, 2016 15:14:01 GMT
...or how to make the creepy-crawlies stay away.
I was temped to put this in Contingency Planning and Preparation, but overall I suppose it belongs here.
I'm sure any of you can come up with a list of at least a half dozen nasty diseases that can be spread by insects in your area, not to mention the joys of mosquito bites, chigger's, ticks, and biting flies feeding off you.
Some of you may remember the military permethrin kits to treat your clothing, bedding, ect to keep bugs away.
The military uses 9ml of %40 concentrated permethrin mixed with 450ml of water to treat one uniform. In my off the cuff manner I'd say rounding up to 10ml mixed with half a liter of water should work nicely.
Well, I've found a commercially availble form of it that's very affordable. link
For under $24 you get the material needed to make over 50 liters of the dip to treat your clothes, of which each treatment should last through a half dozen or so washings.
This stuff kills or drives off mosquitoes, ticks, chigger mites, fleas, and lice as well as a host of others. Apparently it may work against bedbugs as well.
I even ran across where it's used to kill disease carrying fleas on rodents by treating cotton balls, then leaving the cotton balls in locations that get rodent traffic (the rodents take the cotton balls to use as nest material). Hantavirus and Plague, I'm looking at you...
In higher concentrations it's also used to deter termites from entering the wooden structure of your home.
Now there are some things to be aware of. It is very bad for aquatic life, birds, and cats. Keep it away from them when it's still wet. Exposure to treated items and areas after it dries should be safe. It can kill beneficial insects (like bees) if you're not careful. Don't spray it on places or things that those beneficial insects will come in contact with. That means don't spray your flower bed, don't spray your beekeeping suit, ect.
Under no circumstances dispose of any extra solution by pouring down the drain, flushing down the toilet, or pouring in the gutter. Just don't do it.
If you need to get rid of any excess; spray around the bottom portion of your homes exterior walls, spray your lawn, dribble some down your dogs spine (this is that spendy flea treatment you've been buying), spray any livestock pens, treat your carpets and drapes, spray down the floors in your food storage areas. Heck, go spray your neighbors stuff (with their approval).
Better yet, use a 5 gallon plastic bucket to treat your cloths and whatnot, and simply put the lid on the bucket and SAVE the mix for the next time you need to treat something. Store it in the usual "cool, dark place".
This may not be high speed tactical stuff and it may not be exciting, but if I'm dealing with a disaster I'd rather not have to contend with bugs that bite me or transmit diseases if it can be avoided..
