About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

ThermaCELL products are easy to use and repel bugs without having to spray anything on you or your horse. If mosquitoes drive you and your horse nuts, this is a solution. They are very small, light weight and the patio lantern is quite attractive.



Pros

• Easy to assemble and use
• Reasonable price
• Lightweight
• Effective

Cons

• Slight fire hazard around stables.
• Need to keep buying butane cartridges and repellent pads.

Description

• Cartridges last about 12 hours and pads last about 4 hours.
• Comes in a variety of colors including camouflage.
• Variety of styles.
• Repels mosquitoes in a 15ft X 15ft area (4.6m X 4.6m).
• Effective against mosquitoes, blackflies and no-see-ums according to US Army tests.
• No smoke, odor or large flame like citronella lamps or candles.

Guide Review - ThermaCELL Mosquito Control Products

I was able to try the ThermaCELL patio lantern and the compact device that you could clip on a belt loop or set on a surface. I really liked the lantern. It was easy to put together, and I had it working--and repelling mosquitoes in about 5 minutes. The product works as a very small flame from a butane cartridge heats a repellent pad that contains the synthetic equivalent of pyrethrin, a product used in many stable and horse sprays. The company claims there is no odor, however I thought I picked up a very faint smell from the unit. My horses didn't seem to notice anything. What we did notice was that the mosquitoes were quelled.

The lantern style has 4 LED lights. It didn't give off enough light to read by, but there's enough light to make a nice glow at your campsite.

These would be great on overnight outings with the horses or at horse shows where the bugs might be bad. Grooming in the barn is easier when horses don't twitch and stomp because they're being bit. Even my son thought this product was great when the bugs were pestering him while he tried to work on his dirtbike.

My one small caveat is that there is a very small flame in these units. Anything with a flame should be used with extreme caution around flammable materials and stables. But if you are looking to control the mosquitoes around your yard or stable while working with your horse, these are a great alternative to sticky, greasy and potentially harmful sprays and wipes.