My household and I like nothing greater than spending time within the nice open air. Whether or not it’s basketball within the driveway or an outside film night time within the yard, we goal to be alfresco every time doable — that’s, till nightfall units in, and the mosquitoes come out in droves. Actually nothing can damage a beautiful summer time meal with household and associates on the patio like swatting bugs away out of your meals and physique, all whereas making an attempt to take care of a dialog.

And whereas bug repellent sprays actually present a barrier of safety, the scent and residue require showering off on the finish of the night time — one thing that’s not a straightforward feat when you will have 4 youngsters. Therefore why I used to be completely intrigued by the Thermacell E55 Rechargeable Mosquito Repeller, which claims to offer a 20-foot zone of safety that’s invisible, scent-free and silent. Learn: No listening to “zzz” each time a bug will get zapped!

A small mosquito repeller that truly works

Excellent for many who hate bugs but additionally hate bug spray, the Thermacell E55 is a small and efficient repeller that may preserve you bite-free.

Half the dimensions of a conveyable speaker, the Thermacell E55 weighs simply 12 ounces and is powered by a chargeable lithium-ion battery with a 5.5-hour life (until you run it whereas charging) that works to warmth and diffuse mosquito repellent into the air. Extra about that repellent: Contained in a liquid answer cartridge, it contains an energetic ingredient of metofluthrin (5.5%) and incorporates petroleum distillate, however has zero DEET or citronella.

Which led me to my first large query — is it protected for adults and youngsters alike to sit down amidst this energetic ingredient for a number of hours whereas having fun with the open air? “You can be utilizing this product open air so precise publicity will probably be fairly low,” stated Elmer Grey, entomologist on the College of Georgia. “The EPA describes metofluthrin as ‘virtually non-toxic’ to people, so sure, I’d say it’s fully protected.” And for those who’re questioning about pets, we get it! Whereas metofluthrin might be neurotoxic to pets, Grey assures that the Thermacell is protected to make use of round your furry associates, when used appropriately and based on directions. “The truth that the [Thermacells] are authorised by the EPA just about tells you what you might want to know,” he says. “The entomological occupation sees the EPA as being very restrictive nowadays, so for them to approve one thing tells you that when used correctly, with a really extensive security margin, it’s OK.”

Subsequent up: Can DEET-free merchandise really, ya know, work? The reply was a powerful “sure” based on the consultants I spoke to. “The energetic ingredient, metofluthrin, is an efficient spatial repellent towards mosquitoes,” stated Dr. Eva Buckner, assistant professor and medical entomology extension specialist on the College of Florida. “[That said], spatial repellent emanators are best in conditions of little wind, which might enable the repellent to remain within the air round folks.”

Added Grey, “A light-weight breeze goes to maneuver the vapors towards the downwind facet, making the realm of safety extra oval than spherical. I discover [Thermacell’s] estimation of a 20-foot-wide space of safety fairly formidable — I’d nonetheless relatively be inside 5 – 6 ft of the gadget if the mosquito populations  had been in depth.”

With all that in thoughts, I examined the Thermacell E55 out in my residence’s always-buggy yard 4 instances over the course of two months, for lengths of time various between one and three hours and with teams starting from two to eight folks. Right here’s what I discovered.

Gone are the times of yore if you used to sit down exterior amidst the glow of a neon gentle and fixed “zzz” sounds emitted from your loved ones’s monumental bug zapper. Thermacell E55’s modern-day various is just about the alternative — diminutive in dimension, the gadget can also be actually silent, delivering an invisible and scent-free vapor into the air. To the purpose that I stated to myself a number of instances, “Is that this factor working?” (Fortunately 4 tiny lights point out that it’s on and working.)

I additionally examined the product inside for about 10 minutes (don’t do that at residence, youngsters!) to see if there actually was no scent or sound emitted, and alas, that declare fully holds up. I used to be, nonetheless, capable of see a slight plume of vapor popping out the duvet of the repeller, which was simpler to seize indoors with none breeze to dissipate it.

By way of setup, the method is straightforward breezy, and might be accomplished in seconds, not minutes. As soon as it’s charged, you merely deliver the gadget to your out of doors spot, insert the liquid cartridge, take away its cap, place the repeller prime again on and press the facility button. Subsequent you place the E55 within the spot you propose on hanging out in for roughly quarter-hour previous to getting into the bug-free zone, which is able to then be saturated with the repellent. Word: The repeller additionally takes a couple of minutes to warmth up, indicated by a chasing gentle sample across the energy button, which turns into static when it’s able to go.

Extremely-portable — there was one event the place my group switched out of doors areas and the Thermacell E55 got here with us — the gadget is sufficiently small that it could simply be tucked right into a backpack or purse, making it nice for touring (and tenting!) too. And aesthetically it’s modern and sufficiently small to not appear like an eyesore in your out of doors house.

I’m additionally not mad at that $40 price ticket. The E55 is reasonable sufficient that I’d contemplate shopping for two, both to create one bigger overlapping zone or to have two protected areas in separate areas of my yard. It additionally comes with a two-year guarantee that may be upgraded to a few years for those who decide to register the product, which brings me a boatload of peace of thoughts.

The largest promoting level for me, nonetheless, was the E55’s efficacy. I’ve to say it labored extremely nicely each single time we used it. Whereas a number of of us did hear buzzing (perhaps it was phantom buzzing on account of mosquito PTSD?!), and there have been a number of instances we needed to swat bugs away from uncovered meals, actually none of us had any ensuing bites once we had been inside roughly 10 to fifteen ft of the Thermacell E55.

What was tough about this gadget for me is that my youngsters are continuously on the transfer, and given the 20-foot safety zone, it meant they couldn’t go far with out as soon as once more being weak to mosquitoes. Which is to say, for those who actually need this factor to work, you might want to keep put!

Whereas I had additionally seen some complaints on-line in regards to the battery lifetime of earlier Thermacell iterations, I had zero points on this division. Whether or not I used to be utilizing it for one or three hours, my E55 was up and working your entire time. What did irk me, nonetheless, is that the E55 didn’t embody a plug-in adapter for the wall. I do know, I do know, this isn’t unusual amongst tech gadgets nowadays, however given the growing variety of merchandise in my home that must be repeatedly charged, I actually admire when a model contains an adapter, eliminating the necessity for me to go trying to find one.

One other draw back for me is that it is a product you need to preserve investing in — these refills aren’t going to magically arrive at your own home and pay for themselves! REI is at present promoting a two-pack of 36-hour refills for $24.93, which is able to absolutely final you a very long time, however can also be an extra price on prime of the $40 you already shelled out. The refills’ lasting instances are correct — my 12-hour cartridge lasted precisely that lengthy.

I’ve stated it earlier than and I’ll say it once more, bug sprays are the bane of my existence. The acute odor and stickiness they arrive with usually depart me feeling itchy and headache-bound.

By way of different well-liked repellents, candles and tiki torches can get the job accomplished, however their open flames are a relentless supply of stress, particularly when youngsters are working round. And as I discussed earlier than, this factor is light-years extra superior than your grandma’s ol’ bug zappers.

In the event you’re searching for a extra expansive repellent answer that may cowl a a lot bigger swath of house, contemplate Thermacell’s LIV Good Repellent System ($699 to $899), a DIY answer that  connects a number of repellers positioned in your out of doors space to an app that may set off the heat-activated repellents on demand.

The Thermacell E55 is nearly too good to be true. Certain, it’s received lots of shiny promoting factors. Transportable? Verify. Silent? Verify. Invisible and odor-free? Verify and verify. And it’s reasonably priced (-ish, when you think about the refills you’ll finally have to purchase) and modern sufficient that most individuals will assume it’s a Bluetooth speaker.

However in the end what makes it well worth the buy is that it really works at repelling mosquitos from the realm you’re sitting in, and from biting you — so long as you keep in that confined house all through the time. Summer time is perhaps ending in a number of weeks, however the temperatures aren’t going wherever this fall, so belief me, the E55 is value investing in.