Comparison between Permethrin and Deet

As you know in the market, there are many types of insect repellents available for use. Some of the repellents use natural ingredients from plants that create a scent to block of the receptors of insects (mosquitoes, sandflies, chiggers etc) from finding us. But this is temporary and once this evaporates off, they will be back for you.

There are quite a handful of repellents that use Deet as their main active ingredient. However, there are some side effects when using Deet as compared to Permethrin products.

Here are some quick facts taken from Sawyer, one of the leading brands in insect repellents. They did a comparison about Permethrin vs. Deet.


Quick Facts :
1. Permethrin is over 2,250 times more toxic to ticks than humans; so just a little bit provides
    great protection safely.
2. The EPA states "...There is reasonable certainty that Permethrin-treated clothing poses no
    harm to infants or children".
3. Put directly on the skin, typically less than 1% of active ingredient is absorbed into the body;
    DEET can be absorbed at over 20 times that rate.
4. Exposure risk of Permethrin-treated clothing to toddlers is 27 times below the EPA's Level of
    Concern (LOC).
5. A 140-pound person would have no adverse health effects if exposed to 32 gms of
    permethrin/day. There is less than 1 gram of permethrin in an entire bottle of clothing treatment.
6. A 5% cream (10 times the dose) is recommended to treat children and infants with mites called
    scabies.

Permethrin is also one of our active ingredients in our products. So you can rest assured about its safety.