Thermacell E-Series Rechargeable Mosquito Repeller with 20’ Mosquito Protection Zone; Bug Spray Alternative; Scent Free

Finally, a product that works! I'm one of those people that gets bitten by mosquitos everywhere I go, even outside of the summer months). I used natural spray repellent (I love Repel), but it's not 100% effective. Once its effectiveness wears off after 6 hours, I just get bitten (I once got bitten 63 times in one night on an overnight to Maine!). So, I was thrilled that I got this product to try and test. I was first surprised at how small it is. It just fits in the palm of my hand! It takes about 2 hours to fully charge, and about 15 minutes for it to warm up to full effectiveness. I took it outside and set it on my porch so I could do some watering and gardening at dusk. I did not get bitten once during the whole hour I was out. In my backyard, I only got bitten once on my thigh, but I was carrying the little Thermacell around with me. So, I'm not sure how far it reached. Regardless, I'm so thrilled how it well it worked for me. I'm already going to order new refill cartridges, so I an enjoy my outdoor time this summer and beyond! Whew.

Wow. I had my doubts that this would work at keeping away mosquitos. Even with all the reviews. But I just took it on a camping trip where we were getting eaten up by mosquitos. Turned this on and within minutes all the mosquitos magically vanished. This has been the best thing I've seen at deterring mosquitos. Size was small enough to easily pack. Super easy to use. Charge it up. Put in the refill canister and turn it on.The only thing I'm not sure about is it says it has a 32 hour duration of keeping mosquitoes away. I used it for only about 4-5 hours and while there's still some juice left it's not much. Still recommended

Update (5/12/22):I tried using the product on a breezy evening and as I suspected, the wind impacted the effectiveness. While I think there were fewer mosquitoes (just a guess), I was getting bitten and decided to go back inside. I do think it’s effective if it is not too windy. Will buy some more repellent and continue using it.(Original Post). Let's start with the most important question...does it work? It does work (or at least has worked for me and my specific set up)...more about that shortly. And I will continue to use it (and purchase more repellant refills). Why only 4 stars? Instructions need to be improved and not quite sure about the value proposition (cost) for the repellents. But the product has worked for me so far (several hours of use) and I really hate mosquitos. And I did not have to put on bug repellent to keep them from pestering me.After reading several reviews and wanting to gain access to my patio without being attacked by mosquitos, I decided to buy this and give it a try. I decided on the battery operated version for my patio. The setup instructions were not clearly written (I will provide the information I wish they had provided shortly as well).I am not a entomologist or an aerosol vapor flow expert...that said, here are my observations and recommendations.1.) I don't believe the graphic that shows a 20" protective bubble is reasonable representation of what to expect from the product. The unit emits a vaporized repellent into the air (visualize the smoke from a candle) which is highly influenced by wind or, a ceiling fan. As the repellent is diluted to into the air, the effect dissipates, meaning less protection from mosquitos. The graphic shows a group of people sitting outdoors with a bubble shield, exactly 20 feet around them. If there is no wind, maybe that depiction is a somewhat reasonable representation. But when you set an expectation that there is a protective bubble, people will take it literally. Hence the 1 star reviews that says it does not work.In my situation, I am on covered porch where there is a wall behind me and to the left of me but the front and right side are completely open to the wind. So there is a "pocket" where the repellent is protected from from being completely dissipated or blown downwind. This would seem to me to be the ideal set up for this device. Haven't tried turning on the ceiling fan on the porch. If the results are significantly different, I will update this review.2. Confusing instructions included in the box at best. Here is a suggestion...how about a QR code that takes you to a video called first use. Let me summarize the information I believe needs to clearly provided:a) Plug the unit in before use (instructions said this). You will see 3 chasing dots (blinking on and off in a chasing pattern) until the unit is charged (instructions have some confusing series of gray and white dots that does not look anything like what the unit looks like while it's charging). When fully charged, the three dots above the charging port will be on. Also, no word on whether you can plug the unit into a wall socket and use it while it is recharging. And the instructions do not say it takes 5 hours to charge when the battery is completely depleted (that is what the support person told me). Also guessing the unit does not trickle charge when charging is complete...so you probably should not leave it plugged in for extended periods of time.b) The repellent is in a small plastic container with a lid. The instructions in the box don't really show you how to hold the lid to remove it (there is a confusing drawing with two diagonal arrows which wasn't useful at all). Hold the sides of the bottle with your thumb and forefinger. Hold the front and back center of the lid in the center with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand. Separate. Just like the picture on the Amazon website (which I just saw).c) How about a recommendation on turning it off after your use and whether to remove the repellent container and put the lid back on. Absolutely nothing said in the instructions. Also, maybe recommend charging the unit so it will be ready for your next use? What if you are not going to use it for a week or a month...should you not leave the unit plugged in to a charger for extended periods? Again, it would be useful to know if you can use the unit while it's plugged in and recharging.3. General thoughts about toxicity: Google mosquito deaths and the results say mosquitos kill over 1 million people a year. One of the prominently displayed 1 star reviews talks about the toxicity and that you can get headaches or dizziness. Everyone is different and I enjoy being outside without having to put insecticide on my skin. I have not gotten headaches or dizzy. Your results may vary.Now I want to compliment Thermacell on their customer support. They answered the call pretty quickly, were very helpful and pleasant to work with. Also, very generous warranty.I have written this whole review sitting on my porch and did not have a single mosquito come near me. Houston, Texas, in May on light breeze afternoon.Again, I would recommend it to friends and would buy it again.Now for some unsolicited advice to Thermacell. Seems to me you have way too many versions of this product which confuses the buyer. Also, it appears the repellents have changed over time with some of your later repellents that are "safer" than your earlier versions. Might be useful to make this information more explicit if correct. Hopefully you are reconciling what products to sell and which products to sunset. Also, on the box that is covered with pictures and graphics, the actual product version was in smaller print and greyed out (easily overlooked). So it took me a minute to find it when support asked me what device I was calling about.Very simple electronics upgrade...I would recommend resettable timers on the device indicating battery life and how much time remains before the repellent needs to be replaced. Either LED timer display (not 3 LED lights) on the device or bluetooth app on your phone. Seems obvious you are using the "razor and blade" method of pricing for product, where razors are cheap but the blades (refills) are where you generate your profits. The unit works well enough that a little upgrade to provide the user more information about battery life or how long until I need to replace the repellent cartridge would justify paying extra for the "razor". Just one opinion and you have been in the business for 20 years...so you know what your are doing.

I was a little skeptical at first, as there are plenty of these types of things on the market that don't work. But, we decided to take a chance and give it a try. It was impressive! There's no noise, no smell, nothing...it just sits there quietly working away. We sat out on our patio last evening at dusk. Usually, we'd get a handful of mosquitos flying around. With the Thermacell running, we got none. I didn't venture too far away from it, so I'm not sure how far it was effective, but sitting it on the table between my wife and I, it definitely worked. I'll probably add another one to our patio just to make sure the entire area is covered, but it definitely did it's job!

I love this mosquito repellent! It was very easy to setup and charge, then it was ready to use. I love that it is pretty friendly, because my bulldog and I like to go outside at night and I usually get bitten by mosquitoes. I would like to say that with this product I did not get bitten at all. It is so small and compact to move around to different places in my backyard. I also did not have to spray any of those additional repellents for it to work so that is a definite plus!