Ok, I am back, lol.
So… I did some more reading and went and bought the 20-dollar bottle at Peavy Mart that you spray directly on dogs and cats. The active ingredient in it is pyrethrins, which is the mix of natural chemicals extracted from chrysanthemum flowers. Apparently, this is what permethrin is based on. In other words, the smart people looked at pyrethrins and made a synthetic, more stable version of it and called it permethrin. An interesting aspect, however, according to technical data, pyrethrins have more cautions on the data sheet, including more potential allergic reactions, skin irritation, etc. At least I thought it was interesting. Another interesting thing to note, while permethrin, while wet, can be deadly to cats (apparently their bodies can’t “process” it fast enough, so higher concentrations can actually kill them), the “natural” ish I bought can be sprayed directly on them. Go figure. Both impact aquatic life in very negative ways. From my brief overview of the subject, I understand it affects the nervous system of fish (same is true for cats).
Also, permethrin is pretty much insoluble in water, which I suspect is why all that horse and cattle stuff is all oil based. This also made me think about “diluting” the higher concentration stuff in water. Hmm…
Anyway, I also looked at the reviews of Zodiac Flee and Tick Spray for Dogs and Cats (which is the one I bought) and they seem to be pretty good. There were even some left by hunters saying they spray their dogs and themselves and almost never get ticks as opposed to their hunting buddies who do all the time, etc. I very much doubt, however, that many or any of them ran into what some of us experienced though, lol. Also, all this “evidence” is anecdotal, if you like. BUT! I mentioned earlier, I still have some ticks crawling around.
(Insert maniacal laughter)
So on we go to experiments! Hahaha (more maniacal laughter).
I caught four of the little buggers with a paper towel. I sprayed three of them directly and placed the forth on the wet spot (cardboard I sprayed the paper towel on). Some time later all four died. The ones I sprayed directly slowed down noticeably and almost immediately. They were also first to expire. The one crawling around on the wet spot died too, but it took some time, maybe 20-30 minutes. It didn’t cover much distance though, maybe three quarters of an inch, an inch tops.
Up next, placing them on the previously sprayed paper towel that air dried and, hopefully, finding them dead some (not long) time later.
Sometimes, it is quite handy to have ticks readily available at your disposal. Laughing maniacally, again, lol.
Can’t say I am satisfied with the speed they expire, to be honest. I have a feeling, the next part of the experiment won’t produce good results. I guess, we will see.
Thinking of buying the other spray from Peavey Mart, the upholstery one with 0.8% permethrin concentration for $30, and performing the same set of experiments. I think that’s what I will do if the next stage with the current spray fails.
Edit: another thing to note, all these sprays have methoprene which is a hormone that regulates growth (it doesn’t let the egg or larvae develop further). Would be nice to do without.