ThermaCELL Patio Lantern

The ThermaCELL Patio Lantern is an OK mosquito repellent for a 15-foot diameter area, but it is costly to operate. Refills (1 butane cartridge and 3 repellent mats) cost $6.49 each and need to be replaced every 12 hours. The LEDs are too dim to be used for anything, so don't waste your batteries, and there are cheaper mosquito solutions out there too.

Where I live, mosquitoes usually aren't much of a problem except after a rain. Well, we've been getting lots of rain this year, so I jumped at the offer to field test the ThermaCELL Patio Lantern. This lantern uses batteries to power the LED light, and a small butane cartridge to heat a mat saturated with allethrin, a highly effective (non-DEET) repellent against mosquitoes and other flying insects. The instructions for assembling the components are quite easy. The repellent covers a 15-foot diameter circle, enough to protect folks sitting at a picnic table. I tried it while smoking some ribs on my patio. It took 4 hours to cook the ribs, which was long enough to use up a mat of repellent. I didn't get bit, and yet I could see numerous mosquitoes flying nearby. When the mat ran out, I had to wait for the lantern to cool before I could insert another one, so there was a period of about 20-30 minutes where we were without repellent. The LED light uses 4 AA batteries, but it is not very bright. I could not read by it. Be sure to read the precautionary statements on the bottom of the box. MSRP: $29.99, butane and repellent refill kits $6.49.

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