The Best Mosquito Repellents for Your Yard, Tested and Reviewed

The main downfall? In addition to our safety concerns listed above, it takes a lot of stuff to run this thing. The repellent pads only last for four hours. The butane tanks last closer to eight (although the packaging says 12). Depending on the product it also requires batteries, or charging via USB. Buying all of these replacement parts and refills gets expensive quickly and if you don’t have all of the right refills ready to go when it’s time for use, you’re out of luck. Plus, it’s easy to forget to turn it off (the light has a separate switch, so we switched that off, but not the mosquito stuff), which will drain it that much faster. Some of the newer models connect to your phone via bluetooth, which is helpful when you’re in bed and forgot to turn your machine off.

Thermacell also offers a travel-sized option, which has a rechargeable battery (charged by USB). It has no fuel cartridge so it’s easy to throw in a bag and bring it with you anywhere. It covers a smaller area for repelling bugs, but certainly does the trick.

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It’s hard to pick a nearly identical buggy day to test all of these so we made sure to test each contraption twice on different days. We also evaluated how easy they were to set up—for instance some needed to be put out in advance, others required cartridges or fuel tanks, others had to be positioned certain ways. We also varied where we located the repellent from directly on my table to more of a distance (within the range it claimed) and finally evaluated whether or not it was a nuisance while we were dining.

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We were looking for the holy grail of bug repellers, but to be honest, unfortunately it seems there really is no perfect solution out there to keep mosquitoes away. Many of these products claim to cover a wide range of territory, when in reality they only truly cover their immediate surroundings. For any average-sized deck or patio, you’d likely need to double up to get the coverage you were looking for with any of these products, even the winning Thermacell lantern.

Another unfortunate reality is that the products that seem to work the best overall are not always the best for the environment (or inhaling—especially with young kids and pets). None of these products contained DEET, but many contained other synthetic pesticides and petroleum-based substances. Changing cartridges, charging the devices, or adding batteries can also be daunting if you aren’t an advanced planner. And some of the products out there have very strong odors that would ruin a meal in an instant. For the overall most effective repeller, choose the Thermacell lantern, or one of the brand’s many other effective machines. But if you want our advice? Stick with the festive citronella candles, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and citronella coils. Even if they’re only moderately effective, at least you know they’re safe—and your backyard looks and smells chic.

Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Outdoor