Permethrin was first synthesized in 1973 and marketed in 1977 as a photostable pyrethroid. Approximately 600 tonnes per year of permethrin is at present used world-wide, mostly for agricultural purposes. It has a potential application in the protection of stored grain and it has been used in aerial application for forest protection and vector control, for the control of noxious insects in the household and on cattle, for the control of body lice, and in mosquito nets. Permethrin is formulated as emulsifiable concentrate, ultra-lowvolume concentrate, wettable powder, and dustable powder.