Does anyone here use the ThermaCell bug repeller? If so, how do you like it?

If you have a preferred repellent spray, please comment.

Thanks

Thermacell works great for me. However, I use it only when I am stationary. I have/wear a boonie hat I spray with deet when I'm on the move.

Like Wild Bill, I use the Thermacell while stationary, you wont have a bug problem once you turn it on.

I love the Thermacell. I have used it while bear hunting and hog hunting. It absolutely works. I was sort of skeptical about it at first but decided to try it. It does work as advertised. I really don't like spraying chemicals on my body so seldom ever use sprays. When I do I do as Wild Bill does and spray it on clothing, hat, etc.

Nothing better I use 2 of them cliped on belt front and back. In the blind at front opening you see them try to fly in then hit zone and vacate. In Canada without them yu will get eaten alive. In NJ in swap area one in tree with me they fly around you but not into you and bite you. They work every should have a couple they really should.

I use my all summer on 3-D shoots. I have a basket back quiver and I just strap the Thermacell around it and forget about it. The only time I'm aware that I have it on me is if I run out of butane or the pad gets used up. Then the skeeters let me know post haste!

I haven't sprayed bug spray on myself now since I got my Thermacell 8 years ago. They work!

I have one, but seldom use it. I'm concerned about what breathing in those bug-killing gases is going to do to me.

I think about getting one, just never did, plus the refills are expensive , once I get up 15 ft or higher don't need it. There where ten times last yr I could have used a flame thrower to clear a path though them skeeters. I may sill yet get one this yr.

The Thermacell is the greatest hunting invention (or invention that can be used for hunting) in the last 40 years!

Just avoid breathing the fumes from it. Don't think it is harmless to humans as it uses allethrin, a synthetic copy of a natural repellent found in chrysanthemum plants. The jury is still out on any side effects it may have, so a little common sense is in order when using it.

If you aren't breathing it, it probably isn't working :) it only works in a few square feet and if there's wind it doesn't work very well.

I put high percentage deet on my hat, back of jacket etc. don't really put it on my skin much

Thermacells work on mosquitoes but not on black flies. The key to sprays and liquids is DEET Percentage. 25% would not be real effective. I recently bought a small Deep Woods Off with 98.25% at W WMart ...small spray liquid bottle. If you need this stuff, you really need it....but thumbs up on Thermacells.

If the wind isn't blowing over 5 to 7 mph they work great while stand hunting. But if you are worried about an odor you may think twice on using them. I even used the earth scent bottle of butane & it still has a smell to my nose. So you can imagine what the deer think. That being said, if the light breeze is going the correct direction I do use them. light one of them & lay it on the ground between your feet with the sun shining on your face & make your own decision. You can see the smoke & smell it.

works for 15ft area but you have to play the wind with it. don't re use the mats after you've had it open for a few days. they don't keep well.

i've had mine sitting 10 yards from me on a windy day and bugs disappeared.

When I got mine I set it on a round table in the middle of four people. It did NOT work for that large of an area. You had to have it right in front of you (my yard had a serious mosquito problem).

Thermacells work great. I use Deet and Thermacells if they're too bad, probably not healthy but I don't use them often. They also make a small lantern size Thermacell that works well if you're stationary. Plenty of ways to save money on the butane and pads if you do a little research.

Thermacells work great. I wished I had bought one years ago.

Even with a good spray the noise can be very annoying...the Thermacell pushes them back far enough to alleviate that

DDave

I use it and like it. I have for many years.

Wouldn't hunt without the thermcel.

Till you hunt the Eastern shore of MD for sika deer. I have had multiple skeeters on the burning mat of the thermacell with the rest trying to work there way into me. Those pests must be amped up on Mt Dew or something. where I do most of my hunting in southern maryland thermacell works great. Watkins is a great lotion that keeps everything off.

One sure has to think about the wisdom of breathing in vapour from a bug deterant..I remember back in the 50s my mother using a hand pump to spray flys in the house..and yes, she did develop cancer late in life. There also used to be (vapona) pest strips that people woupld hang up..don't see them anymore ..Deet is probably the most effective repellant, but you also have to think about smearing a liquid on your bare skin that can melt the finish on your bow. As someone said put it on your hat or clothing if forced to. Long sleeves and bug nets are much safer. Of course bug nets make shooting your bow tricky. Sandy

My Thermacell lets me hunt the early season without any of the nasty bug sprays. It doesn't work well with any significant wind, but then the mosquitos are not bad with a wind anyway.

Works great for fishing too.

Thermacell work and they also keep the bugs from flying around your eyes and ears. There is a Youtube on how to refill the bottles from Magtorch fluid.

Started using them this past year. Here in Minnesota, those first few September hunts can be buggy and less than enjoyable. The thermacell worked. As to the breeze. Like someone said, I place it upwind. If the breeze is strong enough, then the bugs aren't much of a problem anyway. This spring we used it a few times in the turkey blind. I agree, I don't feel like breathing too much of the stuff it did give my hunting partner a headache. We ran it for the first hour or so each morning and then shut it off. Took care of the bug problem. I'll be using mine again this fall.

If the bugs are out, so is my Thermacell.

Thermacell, love it!

Deet makes me sick to my stomach, I can't use it. I use a mosquito net on my head. I got it at Menards in their seasonal camping aisle.

100% DEET MUSKOL. It is skeeter season here and I bath myself in that stuff the few times I get in them thick. Skeeters are not an issue at all, and since I'm active and not sitting a thermacell is out. I...I...I'm totally unconcerned about the puh puh puh possible side effects of DEET. lol

I sprayed my legs with 40% deet once and it turned them red. Looked like a bad sunburn. I now try to avoid using bug spray but sometimes it is unavoidable, so when i do i use a lower percentage of deet

Well, tough choice eh? Deet on the clothing, or even on the back of your neck is bad(?)...but breathing in mist from burning synthetic chemicals is not(?). I would like to know the relevance of such mist-makers to incidents of COPD in later life. You guys go ahead and sit in that cloud of whatever it is, and preach how dangerous DEET is.

I'm with Bow Rowlands in this one; if I need protection it will be with the DEET. I can wash that residue off my skin when I get out of the insect invasion.

If you want something natural that actually works and just smells like plants AND supports a great cause..... http://thistlefarms.org/products/bug-free-insect-repellent-two-for-27-99

My friend's organization...a rehab for women. Product has been lab tested and proven effective. And you'll smell nice :)

I use DEET on a daily basis, as I need it for both work and leisure. Haven't seen any harmful effects with probably 50 years using it, but who knows what's in the future. My skin hasn't melted like plastic/vinyl/finish materials do. Until something as effective appears, I'll keep using it. I do regret that our Canadian government forbids anything over 30% DEET strength. However, as careless as I usually am on such matters, I'm not breathing in any Thermacell fumes.

I lost my sense of smell for about 3 years by reading down wind of mine for an hour or so at a picnic table. Just getting my smell back. It was so bad I couldn't smell skunk or gasoline (for example) right in front of me. The therma cell definitely works to keep Mosquitos away, just don't breath the stuff please!

Thermacell always!

Started using thermacells in 2004. No telling how much less nuts I would be if I hadn't.

And as much as I depend on them for skitters they do not work at all for ticks and chiggers. For them it's deet. For me everyday during the summer.

Permathrin on my clothing therma cell when not moving.i also think the thermacell is one of the greatest things to happen to an outdoorsman .

Thermacell works great for me. Still use some deet, depends on what I'm doing.

Works great for me.

If they are bad, I use spray. If they are really bad I use both.

i use the Thermacell and spray with Deet. Sometimes I spray clothing with permethrin. We have a huge tick problem here. Jawge

I bought my first from an infomercial, many, many years ago. Haven't been without it since. I primarily hunt swamps and I'd sooner leave my bow at home than my ThermoCell.

There are Youtube videos on DIY Butane refills are easy to find/do. Just have to buy a cylinder now and again for the pads, they give ya plenty.

Funny how some guys still think that bug spray or a thermacell will spook a deer. Cracks me up every time. The smell you DUMB ASS! The flipping bug spray they could care less about. Geez.

I use a Thermacell now.Use to use No Stinking Bugs Earth Scent when I was in the GA swamps before I got the Thermacell. The spray worked good and had that nice earthy odor.

I live in South Ga. I can`t remember how I hunted without one. I forgot mine a couple of years ago on a day hunt. I went back home.

An extra one is not a bad idea either.

Thermacell when I have to have it. Otherwise, nothing. I'd never use a spray while bowhunting, but I've killed at least 4 deer now with my thermacell going.

Thermacell is a great invention and works well for the pesky flying critters that can make the early part of deer season miserable for me. In recent years I've tried to simplify and reduce the amount of stuff I take into the woods. Sawyer products makes a permethrin spray product that works well for the insects that usually interrupt my peace and quiet. It is only for use on clothing. In the early season I use a lightweight ghille coat. One spray application on the coat seems to last a good month. Since it's an outer garment I don't wash it very often. Works as well on mosquitos and gnats as Thermacell without having to carry anything else.

Sawyer has a new product called "Fisherman Formula" containing 20% Picaridin. Have used it the past couple years and it seems as effective as DEET sprays, but easier on the skin and less harmful to the finish on tackle and gear. However, depending on the situation I also use the Thermacell device and Permithrin clothing treatment which are effective.

Works great for me in south Louisiana and worked again for me in Manitoba for spring bear hunting.

One of the few products I can think of, that actually works as advertised.

Thermacel

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