Treating clothes with Permethrin

sfkucker

We are going to K&T on October 1st trip. Wondering, if besides using insect repellent like Ben's on your skin, if people felt they needed to treat their clothes with a spray as well?

AlanS

Yes. There are plenty of threads the various Africa forum(s) including this recent one: https://www.tauck.com/yaf/default.aspx?g=posts&m=33663#post33663

Nancilyn

SFK wrote:

We are going to K&T on October 1st trip. Wondering, if besides using insect repellent like Ben's on your skin, if people felt they needed to treat their clothes with a spray as well?

I did not treat my clothes and there was no need to. We rarely saw or felt a mosquito. In fact I rarely used my Deet except for a dinner out one night in the bush.

British

I am not sure people understand the nature and behavior of the Mosquitoes in Africa. They do not fly around in swarms, are smaller than their American counterparts, do not make a sound and wait silently at night for the attraction of the breathe of people and the carbon dioxide they expire. It only takes one single Mosquito. These are the type that cause Malaria. Then there are the other types that can bite during the day and can cause Dengue Fever. Yellow fever, etc etc. while everyone should do what is best for their health and safety, I know what I will be doing. I've seen people who have returned from countries that have contracted Malaria, it is not pleasant. Malaria kill more people in Africa than any other 'animal'. Millions of dollars are spent every year to try to find a way of overcoming Malaria. It has to be taken seriously.

Leo M

For several years I wrote regularly on this Forum. For a number of reasons, including travel, I have been absent for over a year and a half. I returned tonight to see if I recognized any of the "still-contributing" names. I did - one. British!

British has probably helped more people traveling to Africa than anyone over the last few years. That is not to say British is diplomatic. She cuts to the chase. She is factual to the point of being abrupt. BUT, if you follow her advice relative to the value of inoculations prior to your trip, and, being prepared for the flying pests you may (or may not) encounter on safari in Africa, your chances of a trouble-free trip are excellent. However, if you propose to take short-cuts and risk your health, do not expect any sympathy from her.

Hi British...glad to see you are still disseminating words of wisdom.

My wife and I have now completed five African safaris and are planning a sixth. Our first safari was with Tauck in 2012. I wrote a blog on that trip which has been read by nearly 16,000 people.

I grew up in North and West Africa but my introduction to East Africa came from Tauck. We will continue to return as long as age allows us to do so.

Best regards to all....Leo Cyr

British

Hello Leo, you get me! I am at Heathrow on my way to our Fourth Safari.

AlanS

British wrote:

Hello Leo, you get me! I am at Heathrow on my way to our Fourth Safari.

So what activities are you doing once you get to Livingstone- powered hang glider or riding a zipline above the falls? I'm eagerly waiting for the after action report from the night on the pans

British

Still awaiting to get on our plane, this sure is a long layover but we managed to upgrade to business class when we got to Heathrow for a great price. There was nothing available when we booked the flights along time ago
No hang gliding but my husband did the Zipline last time we were in Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwee side, while I did the helicopter ride. We have booked a 3 hour spa treatment each for the day before the tour begins. Then we will have a whole day to do what we want on the day the tour begins. I was speaking to someone who has stayed at this hotel before and she says there are monkeys everywhere that love to steal anything from you, if you leave your shoes out, the next time you see them they will be on a monkey! So as well as dangerous giraffes in the grounds, we have to watch for that. Action on the pans? None of your business Alan!

AlanS

British wrote:

Still awaiting to get on our plane, this sure is a long layover but we managed to upgrade to business class when we got to Heathrow for a great price. There was nothing available when we booked the flights along time ago
No hang gliding but my husband did the Zipline last time we were in Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwee side, while I did the helicopter ride. We have booked a 3 hour spa treatment each for the day before the tour begins. Then we will have a whole day to do what we want on the day the tour begins. I was speaking to someone who has stayed at this hotel before and she says there are monkeys everywhere that love to steal anything from you, if you leave your shoes out, the next time you see them they will be on a monkey! So as well as dangerous giraffes in the grounds, we have to watch for that. Action on the pans? None of your business Alan!

Don't forget about the Zebras- I believe not all that long ago, a guest at the Royal Livingstone was coming back from the pool and got a little too close to the hindquarters of a Zebra- guess what happened? Or did the zebra nip the guest's hindquarters? I don't remember. Have a great trip.

Photo from the hotel's website:

lampme

We were told to use Permethrin and didn't take a chance. We followed the directions on the bottle and while spraying, my husband got some on his clothes. Later, he mowed the lawn and no bugs bothered him, which they normally do. Be sure to spray your clothing ahead of time. We put it on almost everything - including hats, jackets and socks. There were a couple of people on the K&T trip that did not use permethrin but wore DEET everyday. Saying all of that, we also did not have a mosquito/fly problem on our particular trip. The director suggested only once to wear bug repellent one morning.

mel0849

I used Permethrin on my clothes for India.... did not need it after all... no mosq. and it ruin the colors of all my cotton shirts. Good luck.
M.

British

As Alan mentioned, Premethrin is supposed to not stain clothing. We have never had that happen. We have just bought some for our upcoming tour and will be organizing and spraying our clothing over the next few days.
As far as seeing Mosquitoes, they are not easy to see, hang out on their own and attack at night when you are asleep, so you won't necessarily see them. We have encountered mosquitoes on every African trip we have taken, sometimes few, but they are there. Being married to someone who has an Entomology background and studied parasitic diseases, we are cautious of all the bugs we may encounter.