Thanks to Thermacell for the complimentary review product. As always, all thoughts are my own. 

I have a very strong suspicion that my 3-year-old is actually allergic to mosquito bites. When she gets bit (and she seems to be a frequent target, just like her mama), the bites quickly become large, hard welts. Poor baby. They look just awful.

So that’s a big motivator for me to try to keep mosquitoes away from her as much as possible.

Oh, and that whole West Nile thing, too. Totally scary stuff, y’all. 

My solution? Honestly? I always vote for inside play. This strategy is NOT WORKING for my kids, which is understandable. So in order to let them run around outside and play, I need something else, and I’m totally not down with spraying my kiddos with DEET.

We are doing a few different things to stay protected. We are working on planting some mosquito repellent greenery, we have a few pieces of bug repellent clothing, and we also have the ThermaCELL backyard torch.

Have you seen this bad boy? Let me tell you all about! This battery powered device provides a 15×15 square foot zone that repells mosquitoes and other flying insects.

You can install it on it’s stand to be higher up, or you can place it directly on a flat surface like a table. The top of it has a little replacable mat that when heated (by being turned on) releases repellent into the air and sends those bugs flying in the other direction. It comes with 3 mats that each last 4 hours. Replacement mats can be purchased online. I appreciated seeing that the repellent contained in the mats is approved by the EPA.

Additionally, the LED lighting is soft and ambient; perfect for the evenings and not at all bothersome during the day. For me the big pull here is the mosquito repellent capabilities, but having a lighting feature built in is a really sweet bonus!

 

 

The Backyard Torch is also very lightweight and the long stand that you can use breaks down really easily so that you can take this with you anywhere. What a GREAT thing to show up with when joining friends for a barbecue or a playdate in the park!

 

The ThermaCELL Backyard Torch is available online for $34.99 and refill mats are available for $6.99 (set of 3).

What strategies do you have for keeping mosquitoes from biting you?