Review: ThermaCELL Mosquito Repelling Lantern

*** Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review. ***

With the onset of warmer, wet weather, mosquitoes are hatching in many regions limiting outdoor enjoyment. The solution: ThermaCELL is the most effective area repellent that is undetectable to humans yet up to 93% effective at keeping biting bugs at bay. 

 

ThermaCELL currently has three lanterns in its product collection; the lanterns are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency.  Plus, they are lightweight, making them easy to transport whether you are dining on your patio, camping, hunting, fishing, or watching outdoor sporting events.  These lanterns provide mosquito protection in just minutes that lasts for hours. With appealing aesthetics, it compliments any outdoor setting and can be used as a lantern year-round.

 

 

ThermaCELL lanterns use patented technology to vaporize a repellent that is a copy of the natural repellent found in chrysanthemums.  ThermaCELL technology has been used for over a decade and can now be found in decorative, functional table top lanterns that can also be hung on Sheppard hooks to light walkways and create an ambiance for outdoor entertaining. They effectively clear a 15ft x 15ft area in minutes in tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense and they are now available internationally. 

How it Works

ThermaCELL^® Mosquito Repellent Lanterns and Appliances are powered by a single butane cartridge. Butane provides the cordless, portable heat that activates the patented devices.

The heat generated by the butane cartridge is directed to a metal grill that is part of the design of the Lantern or Appliance. A small mat, saturated with repellent, sits on top of the metal grill. Heat vaporizes the repellent, allowing it to rise into the air.

The repellent is allethrin, a copy of a repellent that naturally occurs in chrysanthemum flowers. It repels mosquitoes, black flies, and no-see-ums, and will not harm humans or pets.

Within minutes after turning on the Lantern or Appliance, the repellent creates a 15 by 15-foot (225 square-foot) area of repellency, the size of an average deck, patio, or campsite. All ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent products use the same refills, which contain both repellent mats and butane cartridges.

 

Visit online at ThermaCELL, on Facebook, and on Twitter.  ThermaCELL products can be purchased online and at mass merchants, hardware stores, and outdoor and sporting goods stores. 

 

Our Thoughts

We spend a lot of time at our cabin, and the bugs can be awful!  Some years aren't as bad, but this summer was particularly bad.  At one boat landing, the air was absolutely thick with bugs - to set foot outside the vehicle was to put a big flashing neon sign for the bugs that said "EAT HERE!" 

 

Now, I refuse to coat myself and my child in DEET; I prefer natural solutions.  Some work well, some don't.  I don't know if their effectiveness depends on the year or the bugs or what.  ThermaCELL uses allethrin, which is a synthetic copy of the natural repellent found in chrysanthemum flowers, so I was more than happy to give one of their lanterns a test run!

 

So, this last trip . . . we get to the cabin and what happens? NO bugs!  The weather had cooled and even at that same boat landing where the bugs had been so awful earlier in the year . . . hardly a single bug to be found.  We still found a great way to test the lantern out, though!  The mosquitoes come out at twilight, when we're ready to hit the hay.  One night, my husband commented on how bad the bugs were that night, so we turned on the lantern out in our screened in porch.  The house lights were attracting the mosquitoes and we could see tons of them on the window screens.  Within a few minutes of turning on the lantern, most of the bugs had vacated the area! 

 

I'm really glad to have one of these lanterns for use up at our cabin!  The lanterns are quite nice-looking, and would make for lovely ambient lighting at any outdoor event while keeping the bugs at bay.  Big thumbs up from me!

 

***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. The opinions expressed in the review are my own and were not influenced in any way.***