Thermacells-

Striper69 · Sep 19, 2017

Deer bow-hunting season started last Thursday here in Nebraska. I went out a couple of times since I spotted a buck with a nice rack last week.

The mosquitoes were swarming around me both nights I went. I had Deep Woods Off on but it didn't keep them off me enough. They were biting me through my sweatshirt on the elbows.

I had a Thermacell in storage that I have never used so I got it out and will use it tomorrow night.

How do they work and do you use one?

Minuteman · Sep 19, 2017

Sorry, dunno.

But, there is a fabric, some synthetic stuff, that's probably too hot for half the year, but it can block mosquito bites. I might have created a thread about it, certainly posted about it, but can't recall at the moment what it's called.

Otherwise, picardian is better than deet and.... ah, nevermind, just read this:

If mosquitoes love to slurp your blood—and yes, some people are more prone to a bite than others—you'll likely stop at nothing to keep them away, harsh chemicals and all. A Consumer Reports survey of 2,011 U.S. adults found that almost 75% are more concerned with the many diseases transported by mosquitoes and ticks, like Lyme disease, West Nile Virus and chikungunya, than with potentially dangerous chemicals in their bug spray. But a new investigation by the product-testing group Consumer Reports finds that you have more natural options that are even more effective.
In Consumer Reports’ entire history of testing bug sprays, harsh chemicals like N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, commonly known as deet, have always come out on top. But for the first time, safer, gentler products were more effective.
The winning products used picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus as the active ingredients. Both are chemically synthesized ingredients but more similar to natural compounds than deet; they also come with fewer side effects. Best in show were Sawyer Fisherman’s Formula, which held mosquitoes and ticks at bay for eight hours, and Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, which protected against ticks for eight hours and mosquitoes for seven hours.
MORE: You Asked: Why Do Mosquitos Always Bite Me?
To test the effectiveness of the sprays, researchers enlisted the help of some brave testers—the “swat team,” they called them—who were spritzed with different repellents, left to sit for 30 minutes, and then told to reach into a cage with 200 mosquitoes hungry for blood (but free of diseases). Researchers watched the feast and recorded the number of bites; two or more bites in a five-minute session meant the repellent failed. They tested for ticks, too—and even braver testers had repellent applied to parts of their arms and disease-free deer ticks released on their arms to crawl. If two ticks crossed into the sprayed areas, the repellent failed.
Products starring plant oils like citronella, lemongrass and rosemary didn’t work. Candles and wristbands didn’t work, either.
“Look first for products with 20 percent picaridin or 30 percent oil of lemon eucalyptus,” the report said. “We think they’re safer than those with deet.” If deet is your only option, aim for a concentration of about 15 percent, which even outperformed the product with 25 percent. In concentrations more than 30 percent, deet might be dangerous, the authors conclude.

j_h_smith · Sep 19, 2017

I have 2 Thermocells. They work great. I am an official mosquito magnet. I can walk outside on a warm day in December and get bit. I haven't been out hunting in the last 4 years due to my bad knee, but I would have no problem using them in a tree stand but maybe not so much in a ground blind. Of course they will give off some type of odor, so you'll have to try them and see how the deer react.

Good Luck!

MikeTF · Sep 19, 2017

They work great. Developed for our military. Essential for hunting and enjoying the out of doors during this time of year.

Sticky · Sep 19, 2017

I don't hunt early season without one running, I have two. We also use them in Canada fishing in the early season when the skeeters will carry you off. They work great and I have never really had an issue with them spooking deer.

tallen702 · Sep 19, 2017

Love them. You can get damp-earth scented pads for them to help cover your scent as well. I don't go out in the yard or woods without one this time of year. I've seen enough dead crows this past summer to know that West Nile Virus is alive and well here.

km04 · Sep 19, 2017

GET IT!!!!!! You will not regret it.

67temp · Sep 19, 2017

My only complaint is the refill kits. They give you 2x more pads then the fluid yet the fluid only lasts for half the length of the pad life. So you end up with a stock pile of spare pads. There are a couple tutorials out there that show how to refill the little bottles with butane.

markgrutz · Sep 19, 2017

67temp said:
My only complaint is the refill kits. They give you 2x more pads then the fluid yet the fluid only lasts for half the length of the pad life. So you end up with a stock pile of spare pads. There are a couple tutorials out there that show how to refill the little bottles with butane.

I have done the refills many times. I have a stash of bottles that have been modified to take the refilling. It's cake. It's also a boat load cheaper. My only wish is they sold just the pads, but I get why they don't.

Mark

MikeTF · Sep 19, 2017

Squaregrouper · Sep 19, 2017

I swear by Thermacell when stationary. They don't work too well if you're walking.

Blaster229 · Sep 19, 2017

My SEAL buddy lives and swears by his thermacell. Says all the guys use them.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

outrider58 · Sep 19, 2017

They work but I don't use them while hunting.

Minuteman · Sep 19, 2017

Consumer Reports results:

j_h_smith · Sep 19, 2017

Back in the day, Avons used to sell the best mosquito repellant. They haven't sold it in years. But it was great stuff.

Jerry M · Sep 19, 2017

First used one on a bear hunt in Northern Quebec some years ago. Best hunting equipment I ever purchased.

Sewer Rat · Sep 19, 2017

Been using them for over 10 yrs, even worked on stink bugs LOL

All of us have 'em back in FL, hunting swamps and edges. When we moved up here, used them. Never was able to tell if it scared deer or pigs.

FYI - bought one of the lanterns from thermacell, used it camping on Assandcheak (Asseteaque, I can't spell); wife is a mosquito magnet, she wasn't bothered the evenings I had it out.

Mark75H · Sep 19, 2017

We keep a Thermocell by the back door and use it anytime we work in the back yard. They work and that's all you have to know. We first heard about them from a friend who had just returned from a hunting trip in Canada in an area where black flies will eat you alive.

MunkMaster · Sep 19, 2017

I use one every time I go out. This year has been insane with mosquito. I just clip it to my tree strap above my head and its good to go. You won't regret using it.

j_h_smith · Sep 19, 2017

Keep an eye for them to go on sale now the Summer is winding down. Even the refill kits can be sold for a lot less than they usually are.

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