This cool spring weather has kept the bugs at bay but last night as I sat there in my long johns on a perfect spring catfishing evening I had my first mosquito encounters. I found myself reaching for the Thermacell as a standard catifsherman’s response to the pesky bugs. After I had everything under control bug wise, it reminded me that this would be a good time to dig up one of my old Cat Tip of the Day posts I did back in 2006 about keeping the mosquitoes away. I will update that Cat Tip with some of the other options for spending a warm, muggy summer evening mosquito free.
Back in 2006 I wrote about a product I found at WalMart that was really doing the trick for controlling mosquitoes. It is called the OFF PowerPad and is designed to repel mosquitos from a 15′ X 15′ area. It is a small candle lantern that activates a mosquito repellant pad. I used it all that summer and it worked perfectly in the boat. The product is designed for people to use on their patios so I figured my boat is a small patio floating on the water – makes sense – right? The PowerPad Lamp comes with one candle and one repellent pad. You can buy refills that come with 3 candles and 3 repellent pads. The candle and repellent pads are supposed to last 4 hours. You can find the lamp and refills at a variety of places: WalMart, Cub Foods, Menards, etc.
Another really good option for mosquito control is a product called ThermaCELL. This is what I use now because it is simple to use and almost 100% effective. It is powered by a butane cartridge which provides cordless, portable heat necessary to operate the device (batteries are not needed). It directs the heat to a metal grill. A mat saturated with repellant is placed on top of the metal grill. The heat generated by the butane cartridge vaporizes the repellent allowing it to rise into the air, creating a 15 x 15 ft (225 sq ft) “Mosquito-Free-Zone” in minutes. You can find ThermaCELL at most any sporting goods store (Cabela’s, Gander Mountain, WalMart, etc) or order directly on-line from ThermaCELL.
If you are going to chase cats at night in Minnesota I highly recommend one of the two products described. I’ve used them both and they work.
Good Fishing!! Without the Bugs!!
