Fuel-ZoneGuard Extreme Fuel Powered Mosquito Repeller, Green

The Thermacell really works! (it's not 100%, but it pretty damn good and a life saver if the mosquitoes are out!) And for the most part, you do get about a 15 foot zone of protection against mosquitos. For whatever reason, I don't think it's quite as effective against the noseeums. It takes a few minutes after turning it on before you get the advertised 15 foot zone of protection. Wind does affect the size and shape of that zone of protection. There are different models of Thermacell, but I liked this one because its small. They do have a backpacking model that's even smaller, but it requires a separate gaz cartride to use; which imposes some logistic problems when using it for backpacking (i.e. if you only have one gaz cartridge remaining on a backpacking trip, you can't cook and use the backpacking model at the same time) For this model you need to use Themacell's small cartridge. The thermacell itself does not require batteries to use. Thermacell does have a model that includes a lantern; that model does require batteries if you intent to use the lantern. The Thermacell works by using a very small micro flame that heats a chemically treated pad. When the Thermacell is turn on, you don't really notice any smells. Thermacell claims that whatever chemical they are releasing into the air is safe for humans. When new, the treated pad's are a blue color. As you burn them, they turn white. When the pad looses it blue color, you need to replace the pad. The one drawback to the Thermacell is that the cartridge and pads replacements are a little more expensive than you would like them to be (i.e Amazon sells 48 hours refill kits for ~$20-$25). The Thermacell has a small peek hole with a lens that allow you to see if the flame is actually ignited. When you look through the peek hole you only have a small viewing angle to observe if the flame is on or not. Once the flame is on, you can move the device around; I've never had the flame go out by moving the device around. You need to move the switch to the off position to turn the flame off. To start the Thermacell you turn the devices switch on and push the igniter button. It may take a couple to clicks to start. You'll need to look through the peek hole to know for sure if it's turned on or not. When using the device, the area above the treated pad gets a little warm; I don't think there's any really fire safety concern in using the device.

Works better than I ever expected! Took it turkey hunting. Sitting in the woods- my partner 50' away was at war with insects- I did not have any around me at all thanks to this little unit. It's a must have

Works well, good value for the money and would get again. Keep the bugs at bay. Would get again. We use this regularly and have refilled it several times... would recommend.

It kept mosquitoes away exactly as advertised. Once it warmed up, the protection zone was obvious, mosquitoes stopped hovering around us completely. No smoke, no smell, and no spraying required. It works best on windless or low wind days. If the wind picks up, the protection becomes weaker because the repellent vapor disperses too quickly. On calm evenings, the performance is excellent.

Advice at bottom: I’ve been using thermacells my whole life for hunting and my friend mentioned how good they were and that he wanted his own. I took to Amazon to get him one as a gift and out of curiosity read the reviews first. It caught me off guard and made me hesitate to see such split star ratings. After reading them, though, I understood AND disregarded the bad reviews and bought it anyway. I would also be critical if I had never used a product and my first experience was with one that didn’t work at all. However, having used these, I know that they’re finicky and do, in fact, just stop working sometimes. Usually they’re just finicky and you can relight it and carry on, but sometimes they truly do just take a crap on you. When they work properly, though, BOY do they work! They’re fantastic at repelling mosquitos, even– and especially– when the mosquitos are dense, hungry, and the size of birds. Not only do you not have to wear any stinky sticky bug spray, but you also don’t have to deal with the mosquitos buzzing all up in your business looking for a spot of skin that you missed. If the thermacell is on, you and your nearby friends can be unbothered completely! In areas that are bad with bugs, you can tell immediately when the gas or flame went out because you’ll suddenly be eaten alive without the peaceful bug haven. Having gone from peace to feast multiple times in these situations, I’ve only come to like thermacells more for how insanely well they work when they work correctly. P.S. they stay lit best if they’re sideways. P.P.S. My dad taught me that the trick if it isn’t lighting is sometimes to not screw the butane cartridge in too tightly. Just until there’s resistance. Also, wait a moment after powering it on to attempt to light it, just like a gas grill. Another trick would be to flip the repellant pads over before tossing them to get more life out of them. Once they ARE toast, it’s easiest to use the new pad itself to push the old one out. Otherwise they’re difficult to fiddle with sometimes. My best advice for those who own or are buying one is— refills of the butane are expensive but you can YouTube how to refill them. Not hard at all, they still work, and it’s MUCH cheaper. Moving around with it isn’t as effective as using it when stationary, like camping, sitting on a porch, in a shed, or in a treestand/nature watching. It’s also not the best with wind or if you’re using a fan for somewhat obvious reasons. The fumes build a bubble of protection around you so that you don’t even get “buzzed”, if you’re stationary. I’ve known all of those things and forgot to mention them, but stand by my 5 stars. If you’ve ever truly been eaten alive (ex: Everglades or Alaska), anything is better than no protection. And this one works.

My wife loves her garden... and the bugs love to nibble on her. We've tried various things to keep them away. Some of the bug repellant sprays work well, but she is out there every day and for quite a while each time. We really don't like all those chemicals sprayed all over her. We got the table top model and it seemed to work well, so we thought we would try this one. It seems to work very well. The one caveat is that you can't expect it to work if you wander all over the place. It takes a couple of minutes to create the zone. Working in one area and slowly progressing has it working great. But it still works a bit if you are out picking your veggies. The only negative I have is that it doesn't come with a belt clip. I have no idea why, but it doesn't. The good thing is that they sell one. That also makes it easy to get another if you happen to break it.

It is a great mosquito repellent so you do t have to put bug spray on you. You can also buy a case for them so you can store extra supplies for replacement that eventually need but usually after 4-6 hours of use. When the blue pad turns white you have to change out. No batteries it is great

The previous version of these were amazing. This version has everything made cheaper, so it doesn't work as well and likely won't last as long. I guess this is happening with everything now, build it cheaply and charge more money for it, regardless how much the functionality and usefulness suffer for it. I should know, I have the previous version and it's twice as good as this one. The new version doesn't allow the flame to be seen inside of it through the top window as well, the belt clip broke off the first day of use due to being built cheaply, the case around it doesn't fit as well and the flint stricker sounds cheap when you go to start it. Maybe I'm just spoiled from having an actual good version previous to this cheap one.

This item does not work at all! In fact it seems to attract mosquitoes rather than repel them.