What’s the best mosquito repellants for RVers and campers? Which ones work - and which don’t.

Mosquitos. If they’re anywhere in the county they’re going to seek me out and bring their friends and family for the buffet. How do you eliminate mosquitos while camping? We finally found a solution. 

I have tried citronella candles, Off spray, Skin So Soft and all sorts of other remedies with no luck. In fact there was one campout where all my friends were outside under our awning enjoying the experience and I had to sit inside the camper and talk through the screened window. One of the friends described me as the banker from the TV show Deal or No Deal. It’s really that bad. 

On one of these camping trips one of attendees brought a Thermacell and engaged that and, to my surprise, I wasn’t eaten alive. In fact, I didn’t have any mosquito bites whatsoever! 

The way the Thermacell works is by heating up a pad of repellant with a small butane cell. To activate the device you place the pad in its little holder on top, screw in a butane cartridge and turn a collar to light the fire. The fire heats the mat and that releases the repellant. 

The fact that the Thermacell actually works is another big plus. Thermacell repellant devices come in lots of forms from ones you can clip on your belt while hiking to ones that sit on a table. There are even models that include a lantern. 

We bought the lantern model which has an LED lantern and looks like the typical camping lantern. The lantern portion, powered by three AA batteries, has three brightness settings plus a flashing setting which would be good if you ever have to pull to the side of the road. The lantern and mosquito repellant functions are totally separate - you can use the lantern without turning on the mosquito repellant and vice versa. 

The lantern itself is quite bright at its brightest setting so we haven’t used our Ryobi lanterns as much since we bought the Thermacell. But we did get a lantern hanger and that has been a nice thing to have when camping as well. 

As for the mosquito repellant function it’s terrific. The Thermacell has done a very, very effective job of keeping mosquitos away and I can’t be happier with this. Mosquitos, as I wrote, have been the biggest deterrents to camping for me. This solves that. We hang our Thermacell lantern in the center of where we’re spending time outdoors and it just does the job. 

Of course the downside of the Thermacell is that you have to have replacement butane cartridges and repellant pads on hand for this to work. I’ve found that buying them on Amazon is a bit troublesome only because some package carriers don’t want to carry the butane cartridges but you can find them at Walmart easily enough. I’ve never had trouble finding the refills at Walmart and you can also use their website to order more and have them delivered to your local store. 

The replacement pads last for about 4 hours and a single butane cartridge lasts for about 12. I honestly don’t turn on the mosquito repellant function until the mosquitos come out so we’ve been able to make one box of replacement pads and cartridges last for quite a few camping trips. 

If mosquitos are a problem for you as they are for me give the Thermacell a try. It truly has been a life saver for me at the campground and I hope this article helps you. 

We also tried Grandpa Gus mosquito repellant and found it worked fairly well, especially if you also utilize this Thermacell.