Send mosquitos packing with ThermaCell

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to technology that claims to scare bloodsuckers away. "Give me garlic for vampires!" I say, not some sort of Star Trekian ray gun. So when we saw the rollout of a new bit of technology that claimed to scare off mosquitoes and other undesirable winged bugs, I had a feeling I'd just run into 21st century snake oil. The folks at Therma Cell were confident enough of their product to send me, the official contrivance curmudgeon, a copy of their 'better mousetrap,' and I had to give it a try.

First, a bit about ThermaCell. It's a line of pest repelling products that utilize (of all things) allethrin--a synthetic compound that mimics the repellent produced by chrysanthemums. The allethrin is contained in a small absorbent pad that, when heated, wafts through the air, sending out a smelly signal to mosquitoes, black flies, no-see-ums, and other unwanted intruders to steer clear of the area. As far as smell goes, I couldn't detect any in my field tests. Combine this bug-disgusting emanation with a clever, low-power consumptive light source, and you may have something that RVers can really put to use.

My first trip into the field with ThermaCell fed my cantankerous ego: Instructions say to slide a repellent mat into a grid atop the lantern, push a couple of buttons to fire off a small butane flame to heat the thing, and watch the bugs make a mass exodus. I slide, pushed, sat back, and laughed. The nine, clear, bright LED lights were like ringing the dinner bell. Bugs flew in to investigate the light, practically coating the lamp with moths and other little winged night-dwellers. But then, the numbers decreased. I beamed a flashlight aloft and saw that the clouds of winged ones were diminishing--and then suddenly, they were gone.

OK, it takes a few minutes for the heat to warm the repellent pad up enough to spread the message. Once it happens, the bugs evidently decide there are better pickings elsewhere. We staged our test along side a backwater along the Colorado River. Here, mosquitoes--not as large as those in Alaska--lurk, waiting for foolish fishermen and RV reporters to show up. The nasty little Colorado blood suckers must have read the memo: I was troubled not a bit (or a bite) by a mosquito.

The company says their de-bugger will clear an area of about 15 x 15 feet. On our test there was a slight breeze and I found it best to sit downwind from the lamp. You may actually see a bit of smoke ascending from the repellent pad--that's normal, and a pad will shake off invaders for three or four hours. If you run the repellent function for less than three or four hours, you'll know the pad is still "good" until it turns white. Fresh out of the pack, it's green.

It's a clever, compact design. Batteries for the lantern go in the base; the butane cartridge to heat up the repellent pad slips into the center of the lantern, above a circle of LEDs. And of course, the repellent pad sits outside the lantern on the very top. A hidden burner in the top of the lamp assembly has a handy peep hole to inspect to make sure the flame is lit.

Both repellent pads and the butane cartridge (good for 12 hours of use) are proprietary. Allow the curmudgeon to come out of me again: It seems a bit like buying a nice printer for your computer for a great price--and then having to buy ink cartridges. A "shopping trip" on Amazon reveals you can get a "value pack" of a dozen ThermaCell pads and four butane cartridges for less than $17. Breaking that down to a guestimated use of three and a half hours per pad, it works out to about 40 cents per hour of protection, assuming you get free shipping.

What about the lamp function? The ThermaCell lantern runs on four AA batteries; a "low" setting produces a "night light" effect on two of its LEDs; on high all nine LEDs produce enough light for folks sitting at a picnic table to play a few hands of cards without straining.

Plan on using ThermaCell out of doors; not in a tent, and not in your RV. Although the allercin repellent is said to be safe for humans and pets when following directions, the directions limit you to outdoor use. And if you're keeping a hive of bees on your motorhome's back bumper, don't get too near either, allercin is anathema to bees.

Find out more about the ThermaCell line on their web site.