Bug control in the boat

[Mudcutter]

down here in Iowa the city comes by and "sprays" each street with something that really does a number on the skeets. a guy wouldn't belive the diff unless you experienced it yourelf.

One night I can barely walk to the back fence without getting eating alive, the next night (after a spray) i can sit on the deck with no shirt and have no problems at all. and this with nearly 11" of rain this June. I think this must be on the same deal as the themacell, just bigger.

[Daze Off]

Mud -

I hope what they are spraying is safe - when I was a kid they used to spray DDT or some such which worked great but it turns out it was nearly as effective on people as skeeters....

Made me question if I wanted to get one of these Thermacells but went for it anyway - also bought a Thermacell lantern for the deck.

[harvey lee]

DDT was a great bug killer and a very dangerous chemical. I do believe that the chemicals are somewhat safer today but we won't know all the side effects until 10 or better years from now.

I will continue to use it and try not to breathe any of the smoke as I'm sure its not good for you.

[Iambjm]

I will continue to use it and try not to breathe any of the smoke as I'm sure its not good for you.

Does it give off a lot of smoke, and is it a strong smelling smoke? I was going to get one of these, but I have COPD and should avoid strong chemical odors and smoke.

[MuleShack]

I didn't notice any smoke at all.

There is a very mild, and i stress very mild odor and unless the wind is still and it is right underneath you, you wouldn't even smell it. at least taht was my experience with it.

[eyepatrol]

We just bought 2 thermacells and refills for our Canada vacation. Should be a good test for us on how well these things work. Maybe we'll actually get to sit out at night and roast a few marshmallows!?!?!?

[Sifty]

Well I put it to a test this weekend.

Friday night at the bun-fire it seem to work well the real test was on Sat. I needed to move some brush so I set it out in the area that needed to be cleaned up and waited a half hour the skeeters where there when I put it out when I went back they seem to be alot less noticable.

My two cents is the thermacell work.

Sifty

[Shack]

As far as fumes and smell, I would say a citronella candle puts out more fumes, smoke and smell the Thermocell does, with much less effectiveness.

You see a little smoke just above the unit and that is about it. I run mine until it does not smoke anymore. I burned threw my first fuel cell this weekend and I might try to refill like a cig. lighter. Still have one waffer left from my first pack yet.

[Hotspotter]

It's pretty much standard issue for late season turkey bowhunts in the blind. Yes, it works that well. Lots of times I forget the thing, then I'm dealing with spraying 100% DEET in my eyes/mouth. Not cool. Ask Deitz.

I've owned one now for two years, and esp. for late night fishing for eyes or cats, just turn it on and put it underneath your seat. Works great. With a light breeze, or you're fishing on a bigger boat, it's nice to have two of them; one halfway to the bow, the other halfway to the stern.

Joel

[DTro]

I bought one recently after seeing the results. It's amazing in that you know when the pad runs out, because the bugs start showing up again.

What I like best is not having to use any bug spray.

Now I just need to find good pricing on bulk refils.

[harvey lee]

I use 1 in my 16.5 ft boat and set it on the counsel and it controls the bugs pretty good in the entire boat. Its suppose to cover 225 sq ft.

[Grant]

picked up a ThermaCell last week for cattin. All I can say is awesome. just awesome.

[hitthebricks]

Sounds like they work great for the mosquitos but does it work on black flies, gnats and no-see-ems? We will be on Kab/Nam over the 4th and really have a problem with the meat eating type of insects during the day. how does it work in that area?

Thanks, HTB

[Iambjm]

I am definitely going to have to get one! I went fishing on the dock tonight, dead calm, so I sprayed down with some spray. I got a big whiff of it down my lungs and almost passed out choking.

[harvey lee]

Cannot tell if they work on no-see-um as I haven't seen any.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Bought one for a trip to Kab and really does work

[Daze Off]

As I stated in earlier post I bought one based upon the great results that everyone is reporting. Could not wait to try it. So this morning in preparation for using it this weekend I grab it and start to read the directions and materials that came with it. All was great until I read the warnings....

THIS PESTICIDE IS EXTREMELY TOXIC TO FISH. DRIFT SPRAY FROM USE MAY BE HARMFUL TO AQUATIC ORGANISMS. (not exact quote but you get the idea).

Now I am definately not a tree hugger but this makes me very uncomfortable so I am bringing mine back un-used and will rely on the old Deet spray on my clothes to get me through.

Anyone else read the warning and going to return theirs?

[Grant]

not going to return mine... the levels of pesticide in the unit are well below what presents a risk to aquatic organisms. in order to make the risk a clear and pleasant danger, one would need to introduce a large amount of pesticides into the water. The manufacturer is required by federal regulation to label it as such if there is _any_ risk, no matter how remote.

to put it perspective, if you unwrapped a case of the pads and dumped them into a stagnanant water coulum, you could put the fish at risk of sickness or death.

the drift mist presents no practical threat... label in this case sounds worse than it is.

Almost all non-deet mosquito repellents offer some threat to fish... in very high quantities. years ago, I worked for the Metro Mosquito Control district, and we had rigid prohibitions for the uses of the barrier and quick kill sprays.. however the concentrations were 50 to several hundred times higher than consumer products.

[Scott K]

I dont know how people fished before Thermocell!

[DTro]

I guess it can't be much worse than DEET

[harvey lee]

Yes, I looked at the warnings and am still going to use it. No matter what one uses to control these pests, its going to have some less then desirable side effects. Spraying my skin with a chemical seems a little more likely to harm me than the chances with the Thermo cell.

One just needs to pay attention to how one uses it and this should really lower than percentage of any side effects. One also has to realize that the Fed. Gov. makes these companies show it at its worse.

[Ed Carlson]

100% DEET is not exactly good for a guy either. DEET builds up in your system.

I use the 3M Ultrathon lotion mostly (Great Stuff!), the Ultrathon spray occasionally. Works well and is low in DEET.

This may just be me..but I'll share my experience with the Therma Cells. We have a large display of them at our GM in Fargo. If I spend 5 minutes or less near it I'll taste it all day long, and everything I eat tastes like bug spray that day. I may be oversensitive to it or something?

[TCon17]

I put it on my window sill last night so I could leave my screen-less window open (wonderfull landlord). I didnt notice a single bug all night, or in the morning. Can't wait to try it out this weekend in the boat!

[Grant]

last time I used mine i was actually "car fishing"... had the Outback parked at the water's edge, and the rod handle jammed in the alloy wheel spoke. had the ThermaCELL placed next to the open driver's door, later on next to the open tailgate.. found I had the taste of the stuff in the air during use and for maybe 15 mins after I killed it and started moving around in fresh air.

not really any worse than other aerosol or spray products, but perhaps I'm a bit numbed to them after my years in MMCD.

[Sandmannd]

I just picked one up. It says that it lasts up to twelve hours. If you turn it off after a couple of hours, can you turn it back on in a day or two with the same pad in it or is it a one time use pad? Does the cartridge it comes with last for all three pads?