I am now back from the 3rd annual 5 Dad’s Go Wild camping trip. And you may or may not know, this year we went on our trip much earlier than previous years and we went to a different location than we normally do.
Rather than going to Manning Park in late September, this year we went to the motherland of all mosquitoes Ross Lake campground in the Skagit Valley Provincial Park.
Yes it was a beautiful location. And yes, nobody’s tent collapsed from snow load. However, the Ross Lake Campground is also unofficially the motherland of all mosquitoes.
Thankfully we had the partnered with the folks who make the Thermacell Patio Shield and they sponsored our trip. Seriously, we were all very grateful for the this sponsorship.
The device works (honestly, it really works!) by silently emitting an odourless repellent that keeps the mosquitoes away.
So how does it work? First of all you flip the little device upside down and thread one of the little butane canisters into the unit. Super easy and straightforward.
Then you put the device back on its feet and slide one of the little blue mats underneath the grate on the top of the device.
Next you lift up the device, give the base a little twist from the “off” position to the “start” position and then retreat back to “on”. If you look really carefully at the top of the device you can see a tiny little orange flame inside of it.
Within a couple minutes, of us starting the Thermacell, the mosquitoes around the campsite disappeared. As soon as we stepped out of the campsite, the mosquitoes were on us like thousands of uncontrolled bloodthirsty monsters.
We had four of the Thermacell Patio Shields with us so we set one on each end of the two picnic tables and that was our safe zone.
To me, it was extraordinary. The Thermacell Patio Shield was the most effective mosquito repellent I’ve ever worked with. Granted it only provides a zone of protection that is 4.5 metres by 4.5 metres – but honestly, when there are so many bugs, I’ll take that zone of protection.
To verify my experience I loaned the Thermacell to a friend who was going to a cabin on a lake where the black flies and mosquitoes are also a real nuisance.
My friend and her travel companion reported that the Thermacell “worked perfectly for mosquitoes and black flies”. However, another couple on the same trip, one of whom develops massive red welts from mosquito bites said they “saw no difference”. Hmmm…what can I say? It definitely worked for us!
To me, the TL/DR – the Thermacell Patio Shield is definitely worth the small investment.
The Thermacell Patio Shield, extra butane cartridges, and insect repellent mats can be purchased at Canadian Tire.
Disclosure: the 5 Dads Go Wild crew partnered with Thermacell for this trip. We were provided the Thermacell Patio Shields free of charge to use, test, and write about. As always, my opinions are my own and editorial control of what I write remains with me.