Best Permethrin Spray for Clothing and Gear (2026)

Permethrin is the one bug product you never put on your body. You spray it on clothes, boots, tents and packs, where it keeps working through several washes, and it pairs with a skin repellent rather than replacing one. Hikers, hunters and anyone working in brush have two ways in: a spray you re-apply every few weeks, or clothing treated at the factory.

How we chose: we did not test these products; we compared each maker's stated concentration, wash life and coverage against CDC and EPA guidance, and kept only listings sold by Amazon.com or the brand's own store and in stock on September 29, 2026.

What the CDC says about permethrin

The CDC's guidance on permethrin-treated clothing and gear is short:

• "Use 0.5% permethrin to treat clothing and gear."
• "Do not use permethrin products directly on skin."
• Treated items "provide protection after multiple washings," and you should check the product label for how long.

You can buy clothing that is already treated or treat your own. The CDC lists boots, pants, socks, shirts, tents and backpacks as things worth treating.

Its tick prevention page makes the same point for ticks: treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin, or buy it pre-treated. Keep using an EPA-registered skin repellent on exposed skin.

Sprays and treated clothing side by side

Prices are Amazon's, as of the time shown, and subject to change. Details

The Sawyer outfit count comes from Sawyer's product page; the rest are from the Amazon listings.

How many garments a bottle treats

This is the repeat cost, so it is worth doing the sums before you buy.

Sawyer says to use about 4.5 oz of permethrin per complete outfit, meaning one shirt, one pair of pants and one pair of socks, and its listing says that is the amount the EPA now recommends. At that rate a 24 oz bottle treats about five outfits. Sawyer's 18 oz aerosol is rated for four.

Ranger Ready says its 24 oz bottle treats seven outfits and its 8 oz bottle three. That is closer to 3.4 oz per outfit. Whichever you buy, follow its label's amount rather than stretching the bottle; an under-sprayed shirt is an under-treated shirt.

Then multiply by the re-treat interval. Sawyer rates its treatment at 6 weeks or 6 washes, whichever comes first. Ranger Ready says 5 washes or 40 days of sun. If you wash hiking pants after every weekend, one treatment covers about six weekends. Two people each treating two outfits twice in a summer need eight outfits' worth, close to two 24 oz bottles at Sawyer's rate.

What to treat first

Ticks start low. The CDC lists boots, pants and socks among the things to treat, and they are where a tick climbing off grass meets you first. If a bottle only stretches so far, do the footwear and legs before the shirt.

Sawyer's listing goes further, citing a 2017 University of Rhode Island study that it says found treating shoes and socks with permethrin made a tick bite 73.6 times less likely. That figure is Sawyer's summary of the study, not ours, but it points the same way as the CDC's list.

After that, treat the things you sit and sleep in: a tent, a camp chair, a hammock or a pack. Sawyer lists all of them on its label.

How to treat clothes at home

Sawyer's permethrin FAQ and label set out the method:

1. Work outdoors or somewhere well ventilated, with the clothes hung up or laid flat.
2. Spray both sides of each item, using the label's amount per outfit.
3. "Allow items to fully air dry for at least 2 hours or longer, until fully dry." Sawyer suggests a pre-heated, switched-off dryer to speed it up.
4. Re-treat after 6 weeks or 6 washings.

Sawyer's listing adds that permethrin stays effective through sweat and rain, but breaks down with UV exposure and washing-machine agitation. Gear left in the sun, such as a tent fly or a hat, needs re-treating sooner than a shirt in a drawer.

The EPA's page on repellent-treated clothing says the label tells you to wash treated clothing separately from untreated clothing, because small amounts of permethrin come off in the wash.

If you have a cat

Permethrin and cats do not mix while it is wet. Sawyer says permethrin "should not be applied near cats or aquatic animals," because "cats have a very unique and sensitive central nervous system." Keep cats out of the room or yard while you spray, and away from the items until they are dry.

Once treated items are fully dry, Sawyer says they are "completely safe to wear/use around cats."

Sawyer puts aquatic animals under the same warning, so do not spray near a pond or a fish tank either.

Key point: a few permethrin products are sold for dogs, including one by Sawyer. None of the sprays on this page is labeled for pets, and none should go on a cat.

Spray it yourself, or buy it treated?

Spray if you already own the clothes you hike in, or want to treat a tent, a pack or boots. Sawyer's spray covers all of those, and one bottle does several people. The downside is the schedule: every 6 weeks or 6 washes, and sooner in strong sun.

Buy treated if you want to forget about it. Insect Shield's listings say its permethrin is bonded to the fabric fibers and "expected to last the lifetime of the garment, up to 70 launderings for apparel and 25 for gear." Insect Shield says its treatment has been EPA-registered since 2003. You pay per garment, and only for what is treated.

For many hikers the answer is both: treated socks, which get washed every trip, and a sprayed pair of pants and a sprayed tent.

Treated clothing covers only the skin under it. Put a picaridin or DEET repellent on exposed skin, a head net on when black flies are bad, and keep a tick removal tool in the first-aid kit.

Related: Sawyer vs Ranger Ready compares the two permethrin sprays' wash life and coverage, Insect Shield clothing covers factory-treated garments from socks to shirts, and area repellers cover a campsite.

Which one we would buy

Buy the Sawyer 24 oz trigger spray for a household that treats its own clothes through a season.

Buy the Sawyer 4.5 oz six-pack if you want each bottle to be exactly one outfit, which is useful for a group trip.

Buy Ranger Ready if you like its fine mist on a tent or pack, and give each garment the amount on its label.

Buy Insect Shield socks as an easy first step into treated clothing that lasts 70 washes, and the Field Shirt Pro if you work or fish outside all day and want UPF and bug protection in one shirt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I spray permethrin on my dog?

Only with a product labeled for dogs, used as its label says. Sawyer's permethrin FAQ covers its dog product and says not to use it on puppies under 12 weeks. Never use a dog or clothing permethrin on a cat.

Is permethrin-treated clothing safe for children to wear?

The EPA looked at toddlers wearing or mouthing treated clothing and concluded that factory-treated clothing "is unlikely to pose any significant immediate or long-term hazard to people wearing the clothing." It also says permethrin is poorly absorbed through the skin.

Does permethrin stay on through rain and sweat?

Yes, per Sawyer's listing: it stays effective despite sweat or water, and what breaks it down is UV exposure and the agitation of a washing machine.

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