4x4bassin Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Sitting here thinking about my annual late spring trip into my favorite lake trout lake and was wondering something,This first trip of the year is always a great time except for the blackflies . Some years they are not so bad but other years as you all know can be brutal. I was trying to get some info. on the thermacell but found nothing really on it and how it works with blackflies just mosquitoes. Does anyone here have any good/bad experiences with the thermacell and blackflies ? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Works great if there is no wind. Bug jacket is a good idea for backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 The active ingredient is d-trans allethrin I believe. That is an insecticide and not a repellent. They say it repels them, which I suppose if you count when you spray a spider with bug spray it tries to run away repelling them, but ultimately any derivative of permethrin kills insects. It does work though....it's pretty much the same thing as a classic mosquito coil, but it's more portable and u won't burn yourself carrying it around. This product uses butane to heat up a pad that is impregnated with the insecticide. The smoke that comes from it is the insecticide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschirk Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 I have had several. works great. Igniters can be flaky though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenboater Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 ...Igniters can be flaky though. Yup. most annoying when they're bad and you can't fire it up. just endless click. click. click <insert favorite cuss here> click. click liked it when it worked though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 I have one when I got my last ofah renewal. It does work for both I can tell you that, but dito on the wind. Works best with no wind. Keep in mind the pads once used once are garbage. once you open the pack and light it up your tossing it out, so bring enough with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Sounds like a bug jacket would be the easy choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raf Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 has to be dead calm and boat moving slowly or not at all for it to work in the boat. seems to work good by the campfire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawyer Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) 4x4bassin, I use thermacell religiously in the summer time when bushing whacking through the bush in the headwaters of tributaries. It works well and I absolutely love it. A few points: I feel that when there are slight gusts to no wind at all, that's when the bugs come out and get you - thermacell works best in this condition. But when there is consistent wind blowing, the majority of the bugs go away therefore not needing thermacell. My rule of thumb is, if you are getting substantially bitten - then it's time to turn the thermacell on. With respect to turning the thermacell on - let the butane run for about 5-10 seconds before clicking the igniter button. What this does is it creates a small cloud of gas in the unit and typically one click does the trick! I use 1 pad per outting - if I don't see smoke coming out of the unit, it's time to change it for maximum protection. I hope this helps. -Sawyer Edited January 29, 2012 by Sawyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishTracker Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 4x4bassin, I use thermacell religiously in the summer time when bushing whacking through the bush in the headwaters of tributaries. It works well and I absolutely love it. A few points: I feel that when there are slight gusts to no wind at all, that's when the bugs come out and get you - thermacell works best in this condition. But when there is consistent wind blowing, the majority of the bugs go away therefore not needing thermacell. My rule of thumb is, if you are getting substantially bitten - then it's time to turn the thermacell on. With respect to turning the thermacell on - let the butane run for about 5-10 seconds before clicking the igniter button. What this does is it creates a small cloud of gas in the unit and typically one click does the trick! I use 1 pad per outting - if I don't see smoke coming out of the unit, it's time to change it for maximum protection. I hope this helps. -Sawyer I agree 100%. And to add a little to that: a couple years back I forgot my thermacell and was annihilated by blackflies...bites all over. The next day, I come back with the thermacell (off, to begin with) and the blackflies are ravenous once again. Turned on the thermacell and didn't get one more bite. From then on it's pretty much the first thing I pack for fishing. It works really well! I just wish it kept spiders away as well ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I find that if I layer my defences, I don't have too much of a problem, spray myself down with a bit of Muskol and fire up the Thermacell and I don't get 'bugged' too much. If it's a bit breezy, it's not too effective but when it's windy, the bugs aren't out anyways. So, here's for some wind and some walleye chop!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 The greatest thing for spring turkey hunting when the flies are out!! Its pretty much impossible to sit still when your swarmed with black flies! I wear a bug jacket for fishing in blackflies. Thermacell isn't as effective if your moving around in my experience. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4bassin Posted February 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Thanks guys , I'm going to keep my eyes open for any sales and then grab one ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 The greatest thing for spring turkey hunting when the flies are out!! Its pretty much impossible to sit still when your swarmed with black flies! I wear a bug jacket for fishing in blackflies. Thermacell isn't as effective if your moving around in my experience. S. Absolutely the most essential part of turkey hunting, and fall black bear hunting, I have 3 and cant say enough good things about them. And yes, they work on blackflies... RED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rufus Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I set out a couple of thermacells on the deck when eating outside and they work great for mosquitoes but the no-see-ums ignore them and feed as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rufus Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 I set out a couple of thermacells on the deck when eating outside and they work great for mosquitoes but the no-see-ums ignore them and feed as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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