Thermacell Outdoor Mosquito Repellent Lantern; 15-Foot Zone of Protection Repels Mosquitoes; Provides Ambient LED Lighting; Designed for the Outdoor Mosquito Control

I had a rebate for this from a Scouting magazine, so I thought I would take a chance. At worst I was out about 3 bucks. At most, the initial purchase after the rebate would be 3 bucks. Sounds fair. I am beyond glad that I took the chance. First off, not every single bug is going to be repelled by this. In our experience from using it in our backyard to eat out in our patio in the evening to a 7 day camping trip at a state park, we found that gnats and midges were 50/50 whether they would actually be repelled. We also found that the range is probably between 5-10 feet and not near 15.That was mostly on the patio. This past week, we put it to it's hardest test. We bought a 4 pack refill to ensure that we'd at least have quite a bit of coverage over the week. I have to say, I'm never going camping without this, and the twenty bucks it cost us for the refills was hands down worth it to not needing to cover ourselves with repellant while around camp or be able to sit with the tent door open, with this sitting in our tent and not worry that there were mosquito's sitting in corners when we eventually close the doors.Pro's:* It works. 98% of the time. Some more bold bugs will not care, but it honest to god worked.* The lamp - AA batteries - runs a long time. After a run in with raccoons, I left it on all night since it seemed to deter them and I had spare batteries but didn't need them. They're still going strong so I was impressed with that.* It's really easy to light, turn off, move, etc etc. It looks like a lantern and not at all like a bug repeller.* The butane cartridge is easy to swap out, as well as the repellant pads. Just use the next pad to push out the old one. Old one will be a little hot but not so much that you can't quickly toss it into a garbage bag.Cons:* Yes, the refills are a little costly, but I found them commensurate with the use. After 7 days, I used 3.5 butane cartridges and honestly, I wasn't that's skimpy with their use. Between meals and meal prep and just having it in my tent, occasionally leaving it running while tearing down camp, I put it through a lot. I used about 8 or 9 pads, some I didn't let get down to total white sometimes, so I wasn't very skimpy on those either.* There gets to be a film of liquid - somewhat oily - after prolonged multiple pad use on the grill that separates your hand from the pad. Not too and but something to be aware of.* There //is// a scent, in close quarters. I can't quite describe it, but there was. Normally just when I was up close from dipping into the tent and was really face in it. It wasn't bad, but it was there. But so long as you weren't nose to nose with it, there wasn't or it was fairly neutral.* Sometimes, for whatever reason, it would turn off. The butane part. I would notice this because insects would start encroaching and I'd take a peek and sure enough, I'd have to relight. Happened maybe.. two or three times. Not enough to make me ding it a star, but enough to be annoyed.* It takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes to start working and you need to keep an eye on where it's placed as wind WILL disperse it a bit, so you do need to be aware of that, so you can place it around you accordingly. For the most part I let it hang off the lantern pole on my camp kitchen setup and it kept pretty steady but on a windy time, I had to bring it down to the counter or the table.All in all, worth the investment and the laying out for the refills if you are having a party or doing come camping and you have an issue with the bugs. There were some major flies hanging around my camp kitchen one day and after I lit it, they took off after a few minutes. But BUT... once you step outside it's 'radius' do expect after a few seconds, to start getting prey'd upon. I do have a few bites because of that.

When these arrived I was super excited, as my wife and I enjoy being outdoors but do not appreciate being a meal for the mosquitoes. Before using the Thermacell unit, I read the instructions and followed them to a "T."Day 1/Saturday: I lit the Thermacell lantern and let it stand for 10-30 minutes before going out to my garage where I was planning to do some work. After about 30/40 minutes I went out, check the lantern and saw that it was lit and vaporizing, and for the next 3-4 hours experienced a mosquito free work zone before needing to refill the lantern. All-in-all, a great day.Day 2/Sunday: I did the same thing as the day before, and after about 30 minutes went out to the garage to do some more work. Once again checked the lantern and saw that it was lit, so I proceeded about my business. About 30 minutes in, I realized that 4 mosquitoes had starting swarming me and taking their shots. I shooed them off, check the lantern, and saw that it had gone out.I lit it back up, check to see that it was indeed lit, and then checked again after about 5 minutes. This time, maybe an 45 minutes to an hour later, I saw and felt a mosquito stuck to my leg engoring itself. I swatted at it, but it got away. I then checked the lantern and once again it had gone out. Again, I lit the lantern, checked it - yes it was lit, and checked it again after about 5 minutes and saw that it was still lit.This time now more than 15 minutes later more mosquitoes had come back to try to make a meal of me. And once again, upon checking, the lantern had gone out.So waht can I say? It worked brilliantly when it stayed lit. And mosquitoes will suck if you get stuck with it constantly going out.

This seem very effective. It takes time to work, ~ 10 minutes of being still. It is not effective in a breeze. It makes sense to only use this outdoors away from food; not in a tent or camper/home. Very easy to light and see/check burner; has a built-in starter and creates a very small flame/glow; much less than a match. Very light-weight and portable. It has two light level settings. I highly recommend this device, and the seperate flashlight; get some refills, too. Those that say they forgot to turn off the butane were not thinking; it is easy; switch it off like any device when you are done. The lantern light is not left on so when you are done just flip the butane switch off; it is very simple to use and to start and stop. No learning curve, really. No odor, but as with all pesticides use it out of doors. I do not think any of these devices are good for moving about, belt use, as it takes about 10 minutes to create a dome of effectiveness; I'd say a ThermaCELL is good for a table or blanket but not to carry or wear, so the lantern is great for a deck or picnic. I don't think the belt models would work unless a person wearing it is stationary for a while, like sitting still fishing from a bank (if there is no air movement) or sitting still in a deer stand.