Tick Gaiters - PullOn Permethrin Treated, Ticks, Mosquitoes, Flies & More Insect Repellent, Unisex

Wore these gaitors on a week long research trip to East Texas mid summer. My colleagues got multiple tick, chigger and spider bites but I didnt get a single one on my legs. Since I was the only one without a bite, I'd say these gaitors definitely work! I'm 5'9 and have medium framed legs. The gaitors fit comfortably and have good length and stretch. Will edit later with my calf measurements.

These work well, as intended--it's satisfying to see dead ticks on them after a walk. But, as others have noted, the sizing is off. We ordered both the 7", supposedly "One Size Fits All Up To Adult Large," and the 12" Extra-wide XL. I am a thin woman and can wear the "one size," but they are work to put on and take off; really best for kids. So I wear the XL. I'm sure these would not fit my 200-pound husband, at least not w/ pants tucked in, which is the whole point. (He likes the Lymeez 3d Mesh gaiters (also on Amazon), which have a wrap-style velcro closure. Those also have the advantage that you can put them on after your shoes are on, and they are extremely adjustable, down to small adult. Disadvantage of that style is that they can come undone if the flap snags on anything, but that doesn't happen often.) So, these are a good product, but beware the sizing.

This pair of InsectGuard Insect Repellent gaiters are sold by ThndrMntn (www dot thndrmntn dot com) in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania and fulfilled by Amazon. I received them from Amazon as part of a multi-item shipment. They were packed in a clear plastic bag that, in turn, contained a dark red tinted (UV blocking?) zip-lock bag containing the gaiters. I didn't find any labeling that indicated where these gaiters are manufactured. Anyway, in my opinion, they really don't fit the definition of gaiters which I always considered to be protective leggings that covered from the boot in-step to just under the knee. These are more like cuffs and, in fact, are advertised for use on either your wrists or lower calves. The InsectGuard cuff has the appearance of the top of a white tube sock that has been cut off and hemmed on both ends. They are not 7" as advertised. I measured the cuff to be 6 1/4" long by 3 1/4" wide. But they do have some pretty impressive insect repellent technology integrated into the cuffs. A company, Pulcra Chemicals LLC (www dot pulcra-chemicals dot com) in Rock Hill, South Carolina has taken Permethrin, a widely-used synthetic broad-spectrum chemical insecticide, and microencapsulated it into the material. Pulcra has branded this insect repellent apparel as "Skintex MR III" and has received EPA registration numbers 86110-2 and 53263-31 for the product. The labeling lists the active ingredient as Permethrin at a concentration of 0.52% w/w. As advertised, the cuffs had very little odor and no residue rubbed off on my fingers. It is claimed that the insecticide will be effective for 25 washings. The cuffs are supposed to be washed separately from other clothing and thrown away after 25 washings. They should not be dry cleaned, re-treated with Permethrin, or used for any other purpose than as an insect repellent. In my opinion, the purpose of the InsectGuard is two-fold. First, it protects the opening between your pants and your socks and, second, it keeps ticks from crawling up the outside of your pants. To use InsectGuard as a leg gaiter, just tuck your pants into your socks and then pull the cuffs over the area where the sock top covers your pants legs. I have worn these for a short time in some tall grass and have not found a tick on me. Of course, I really can't judge the effectiveness in such a short time and that is where the problem arises. ThndrMntn claims "One Size Fits All - Ages 12 to Adult!". Unfortunately, the InsectGuard cuffs are too small for me to wear comfortably over a long period, such as a day hike, so I am giving it four stars instead of five. ThndrMntn needs to offer a larger size for large legs and bulky clothing. Oh, one other thing, the InsectGuard is not to be confused with the TickGuard which is also sold by ThndrMntn. The TickGuard is simply the untreated cuffs...you have to spray them with Permethrin yourself when you use them.

I wore these on a trip down the Missouri River in Montana. It was tick-city in the tall grass where we sometimes camped. I wore them also for ankle protection from the abundant mosquitoes. On that trip, I didn’t get bitten in the ankles by either either ticks or mosquitoes, however I developed the opinion that these are merely cloth tubes that fit too tightly around the ankles, leaving large open areas near the boot tops where ticks and mosquitoes could easily get in. Permethrin kills on contact, but the open areas allow room for ticks to drop into the boots or mosquitoes to bite without coming into contact with the permethrin. Your ankles widen in diameter as they gradually become the instep and heel of the foot, causing a kind of upwards wedging action that causes these to ride up, increasingly exposing the ankles at the boot top. They’re not designed like a gaiter that accounts for this widening with extra material and under-foot straps to keep them from riding up. I had the extra large size and I found them difficult to get on over the heel. Even the extra large size seemed too small for me. I’m saying these are not very useful as is, and they need to be redesigned more like a short gaiter to be useful. There isn’t enough room to tuck pants cuffs into the tops of these without straining and stretching the stitching. I was disappointed in the design, though they may have served their purpose this time, as is. I personally didn’t trust them for the reasons stated and wouldn’t carry them again or recommend them in their current form. It would be better to just spray a large, cut-off sock top with permethrin and DEET to achieve the same result without carrying these as a separate accessory.

They work and fit as expected. I'm glad I bought them. Gives me peace of mind knowing that no ticks are following me indoors.

I do so much outdoor work in wooded areas that I thought these would be great to compliment some insect repellent socks I also bought. Well, the stitching at the bottom started unraveling after less than 10 washes. I would not buy these again for that reason. Seems like typical cheap factory stitching - “make ‘em fast & “cheap”, not durable” - keep in mind, these already only have a useful life of 50 washes (which I was fine with !), but when they start coming apart at less than 20% of that useful life, I do have a problem with that. Don’t waste your money.