I love being outside in the warm months—with one small caveat. While I genuinely appreciate each species’ role in the beautiful dance of ecosystem balance, I admit that I’ve grown to hate mosquitoes and ticks. It isn’t that I don’t think they should exist—after all, even mosquitoes pollinate certain plants. But every year seems worse than the last in terms of tick and mosquito-borne outbreaks and illness, and I am sick of it.
I want to enjoy a camping trip with my family without the stress of thinking about mosquitoes and West Nile. I want to hike with my dogs without worrying about Lyme disease, which is carried by infected blacklegged (deer) ticks. That’s not too much to ask, right? The thing is, there’s a simple solution to warding off ticks and mosquitoes, and it’s basically been hiding in plain sight since 1973. Or maybe it hasn’t been hiding, but I certainly didn’t know it could be this easy.
I talked to Mississippi State Extension professor and medical entomologist Jerome Goddard, PhD, to learn more about this wildly effective bug-fighter. Read on to discover how to stay itch-free all summer long.
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Which chemical should you spray on your shoes?
It’s permethrin, which is sold under a variety of brand names, and it’s widely available and hugely effective. It’s an insecticide, and you can spray it on your shoes, clothing and other outdoor items this summer.
Why is it so effective?
Permethrin is a man-made compound derived from a surprising source: the chrysanthemum flower. Chrysanthemums contain what are called pyrethrins, naturally occurring insecticides that can kill bugs like mosquitoes and ticks.
They work by affecting the nervous systems of insects, leading to muscle spasms, paralysis and death, according to the National Pesticide Information Center. The catch is that in their natural form, pyrethrins don’t stay effective for very long. They last only for a “few hours or so,” according to Goddard, but synthetic permethrin can kill bugs while lasting for weeks to even months.
The CDC recommends treating clothing and shoes with permethrin. And you don’t have to worry about your pup getting exposed under normal conditions: Dogs tolerate permethrin well, and it’s often an active ingredient in canine flea and tick treatments. However, cats’ nervous systems are highly sensitive to it, so they should not be treated directly.
Should you also spray it on your skin for extra protection?
The short answer? A big old nope.
Goddard says these chemicals have low mammalian toxicity, which means that they don’t carry much risk for humans, but you still should not spray permethrin directly on your skin. Its intended use is in the treatment of clothing and gear.
Under a doctor’s care, permethrin is used to treat scabies and lice. But in general, direct exposure can irritate skin, cause breathing problems and abdominal issues like vomiting, and lead to headaches, dizziness and other neurological symptoms.
What are the best products with permethrin?
There are tons of permethrin products out there, and while Goddard doesn’t endorse specific brands, he does offer a useful tip: “You’re looking for permethrin [at] 0.5%,” he says, so make sure to look for the active chemical ingredient before grabbing a product off the shelf. The label will also tell you if a particular permethrin product is most suitable for human clothing use vs. other applications, like treating livestock or structures.
If you really want a specific brand recommendation, the outdoorsy folks over on Reddit’s r/backpacking sub do name some specific products they like to use. The brand Sawyer gets regularly mentioned, as does InsectGuard. Redditors also frequently recommend buying Martin’s, which is designed for farm use, and diluting it. And if you don’t want to treat your clothes and gear yourself, some brands allow you to mail in your items for treatment or offer pretreated options for sale.
Sawyer Premium Insect Repellent
How often do you need to apply it to your shoes and clothes?
Surprisingly, this stuff lasts on your clothes for a while! Some products recommend washing every six weeks; others every six uses. Of course, there’s no single wash schedule for permethrin-treated clothing, so make sure to read your product label and follow the instructions. To maintain maximum effectiveness, you need to re-treat clothing and gear on the recommended schedule.
Importantly, you should also wash clothing treated with permethrin separately from everyday clothes that aren’t actively being used to ward off pests.
Is this alone sufficient to protect you against summer bugs?
Not quite. “Permethrin is an extremely effective tool for personal protection from ticks and mosquitoes,” Goddard says. “There’s no question about that.” But he also says it’s just one tool.
You should also wear long sleeves and long pants if you’re going to be somewhere with a known tick or mosquito problem, and you should consider treating your skin with a DEET-containing product or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Simple adjustments like tucking your pants into your boots can also be highly effective because they block easy skin access for the bloodsuckers. Putting your pants over your boots, Goddard says, is like creating “an interstate highway to your private parts.” Why do that?!
And if you’re out on your porch and want to keep the mosquitoes at bay? Skip the citronella, which research suggests isn’t particularly effective, and opt for an oscillating fan instead. It turns out that mosquitoes are poor fliers, and in the words of Goddard: “The fan is a good idea.”
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Sources:
- Jerome Goddard, PhD, medical entomologist and extension professor at Mississippi State University; video interview, May 20, 2026
- Insect Shield: “A Brief History of Permethrin: Where it comes from and how it works”
- CDC: “CDC Data Show Weekly ER Visits for Tick Bites Higher Than Usual”
- Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery: “Clinical effects and outcome of feline permethrin spot-on poisonings reported to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS), London”
- Reddit: “Where to purchase Permethrin”
- Journal of Medical Entomology: “Impact of Wearing and Washing/Drying of Permethrin-Treated Clothing on Their Contact Irritancy and Toxicity for Nymphal Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks”
- Consumer Reports: “How to Use Permethrin on Clothing, Safely”
- Science: “Want to repel mosquitoes? Don’t use citronella candles”
- National Pesticide Information Center: “Permethrin General Fact Sheet”
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