Do you guys spray or soak your hammocks?
It's been said there is no benefit to soaking, even by in depth studies - I've read that.
But soaking seems better?
I'm torn.

I sprayed until wet, left it hanging until fully dry. Same with the tarp spraying underside then turning it over, spray again and let dry. Clothing got a dip in the bucket.

I spray my hammock and bug net. Don't forget to do the suspension, too.

I also spray everything.

I'm with bhouse. Spray the hammock, soak the clothes. I don't do anything to the tarp.

disclaimer - I'm not a hanger (yet), but I do use permethrin.

I like to dilute my own from the 36% stuff you can find on Amazon. I do so in a sprayer, and then lay my gear on a flat surface (in the garage), and 'spray until soaked'. Then let it dry inside the garage. For tents/Fly this can take a couple days.

I do soak our clothes in a 5 gal bucket. After they COMPLETELY line dry in the garage, I put them in the dryer on low heat for about half hour....this supposedly helps the permethrin bond with the fibers.

Since I'm treating about everything, I really don't know if the soak/spray has any inherent advantages...but I don't care either....since mixing one's own permethrin is very, very cheap.

We've been at sawbill in June, when the blackflies are literally carpeting the earth, and quite happily hung out with them outside.....using no DEET. Also, have never had a tic on either of us.

EVERY.SINGLE.TIME we get home and start unpacking the car, we get murdered by mosquitoes in the driveway though!

I spray around my doorways and decking and I treat the clothing I wear when working in the yard, not just the things I wear into the woods.

Do you spray just the outside of the hammock, or both inside and outside?

I spray it until saturated, so it almost doesn't matter, but spraying inside and out gets me there faster and more thoroughly.

I spray but may start soaking clothes.

I have dipped them in a bucket with good results. Whole thing: hammock, bugnet, straps. It’s a refuge from the bugs when they get real bad.

Never. Chemicals on my sleeping quarters? Nope.

Hoaf: "Never. Chemicals on my sleeping quarters? Nope."

Except for Hexamethylenediamine mixed with a dicarboxylic acid. That chemistry is fairly ubiquitous and important to most camp sleeping gear.

Pyrethroids like permethrin are pretty safe for human contact. The dry molecule bonds to the textile fabric itself, which is how the bug-off shirts work. Permethrin Shampoos At 5% strength is prescribed for adults and children and even infants to treat lice and scabies. So I’m pretty comfortable applying it to gear at 0.5%.

i have never put anything on my hammock and have never had a bug or tick issue.

I just spray with the Sawyer brand. I’ve never had a problem with bugs. I spray my bug net too.

I used it on my hammock and the shock cord on the hammock and under quilt died. I have replaced all of the shock cord on my hammock and under quilt. I think my permethrin was the petroleum based stuff.

AmarilloJim: "I spray but may start soaking clothes."

Yeah. "soaking" seems... like a lot, but I suppose it should cover a set of clothes for the entire season.

pilot: "

AmarilloJim: "I spray but may start soaking clothes."

Yeah. "soaking" seems... like a lot, but I suppose it should cover a set of clothes for the entire season."

supposedly the home soak method, followed up by line drying (out of direct sunlight), followed up by a short tumble in the dryer over low heat, will last about 6 washes.

buzz off brand clothing supposedly lasts 50 washes...but I'm pretty skeptical.

I treat mine. Mostly because I had left over spray.

Not recommending anyone do this, and some may argue against it, but here’s what I do...

I now get a bottle of the mixture meant for horses and dogs. I add water to the right strength of permethrin in my garden sprayer, and thoroughly coat my clothes. Hang them to dry.

Does it work? Don’t know. I changed my entire bug routine at the same time. I know picadarin works. I know long sleeves work. But I never go without those since also coating my clothes in permethrin.

The best innovation has been the garden sprayer. It does the job faster and better than a spray or a soak.