Mosquitoes can turn a great camping trip into a miserable experience, and every outdoorsman seems to have a different opinion on how to deal with them. In this episode, Chris Speir explores common mosquito control methods, discusses years of experience using Thermacell products, and explains why the best solution is often the one you'll actually use.
Mosquitoes have ruined more camping trips than bad weather, broken gear, and cold coffee combined.
In this episode, Chris Speir discusses one of the most common problems faced by campers, hunters, fishermen, and bushcrafters: mosquito control. Drawing from years of experience in South Mississippi, Alaska, deer camps, and conversations from the Primitive Camping & Bushcraft Facebook group, Chris breaks down several methods people use to keep mosquitoes at bay.
Topics include:
• Why mosquitoes can ruin an otherwise perfect trip
• Traditional methods including campfire smoke
• Dog fennel and American beautyberry
• DEET, Picaridin, and Permethrin
• Head nets and protective clothing
• Common mosquito myths and misconceptions
• How Thermacell products work
• Hunting with a Thermacell during bow season
• The new Thermacell Backpacker model
• Wind, setup time, and real-world limitations
• Why good gear solves problems
• Lessons learned from years outdoors
The biggest takeaway?
The gear is not the story.
The problem it solves is the story.
Join the discussion in the Primitive Camping & Bushcraft Facebook Group and let us know what mosquito control methods work best for you.
Remember:
"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:6
welcome back to
the Primitive
Camping and
Bushcraft podcast
my name is Chris
Speir and today
we're talking
about something
that can ruin an
otherwise
perfect camping
trip. Skeeter bugs,
mosquitoes, the
little winged
vampires. Yeah
those little
nuisances. You
know in my book
Primitive Camping
and Bushcraft on
page 80 I wrote
about mosquitoes
and biting
insects whenever
you were
selecting a site
for your shelter
and you know
there's
different ways to
control skeeter
bugs and that is
with natural
remedies like a
dog fennel or
American Beauty
Berry. A quick
history on
American Beauty
Berry it's
been used to
control insects
for ages. All the
pioneers whenever
they would
bed their
horses down or
whatever would
always put
American Beauty
Berry with them
and that
would control the
ticks and the
biting flies and
all that good
stuff all the
fleas and so
American Beauty
Berry is amazing
at mosquito
control
and I used a
bunch of the
leaves to make a
like a spray you
soak it in
alcohol and that
spray turns into
an amazing
mosquito
deterrent and
it's crazy it's
kind of like
an off in the
woods a natural
off so but now if
you spent any
amount of time in
the great
outdoors
especially down
here in South in
the South
Mississippi
or you
know the southern
United States you
already know
exactly what
I'm talking
about when it
comes to
mosquitoes heck
if you live in
Canada what kind
of flies
are that? and
mosquitoes are
horrible there in
Alaska the
mosquitoes are
ridiculous ask me
how I know but
you can have the
perfect campsite
the weather
can be beautiful
you can have a
fire burning you
know the coffee
is gonna be
good and hot the
fish are biting
everything can be
going exactly
according
to plan and those
mosquitoes start
showing up and
godly your
swatting
your ears
slapping your
neck scratching
your arms and
you're actually
they will
get you to
the point where
you're actually
considering is it
even worth
being out
here now I've
been in a
situation before
with camping on a
sandbar on the
river made a
couple of friends
and we we just
went out to the
sandbar drove a
boat out there
sat there all
night long fish
camped out and I
woke up the next
morning I'm
telling you I had
so many bug bites
on me it was
ridiculous like
ridiculous and I
just saw I was
like this is a
miserable we
didn't bring any
mosquito off we
didn't bring any
kind of repel any
kind of deep any
anything you
know we were
young enough and
that it was it
was crazy but
when you sit in
there swatting
your ears and
slapping your
neck all day it's
just like making
it misery so over
the last couple
of weeks I've had
several
conversations in
the group on
Facebook about
mosquito control
and it keeps
popping up every
time we we post
something else
there is always a
comment about
mosquitoes or
mosquito control
or one unit you
know it's like
whenever we were
talking about
items that we
thought were
gimmicks until we
tried it and it
just popped up
and it's called
the thermacell
and I'm trying to
remember if
I've done an
episode on
thermocell before
I don't recall
but some people
swear by them and
I am one I do
some people think
they're gimmicks
some people never
try one and
some people are
convinced that
they're nothing
more than another
expensive
gadget but the
funny thing is
thermos cells
were actually
brought
up several
times in the
group in recent
discussions about
gear and people
really thought
thermos cells
were a gimmick
until they
finally tried it
and that
really caught
my attention
because you know
I've been using
the thermos cell
for many years I
use the smaller
hunter variation
is the OD green
or the dark green
version and
it runs off a
little butane or
is it butane or
propane I don't
recall
but it's one
little cartridge
I think is a
butane cartridge
and it uses these
little pads
they're little
blue pads and you
put that
cartridge in and
you turn
it on and
you'll hear it
hiss like it is
it's letting the
propane or butane
escape and
then you got a
little burner
where you press
the button and it
ignites it and it
starts glowing
kind of like a
glow plug and
then it starts
putting
off some heat
and that heat
warms up that pad
and that pad
starts vaporizing
and it puts off a
odorless and you
can't see it you
know it's an
odorless cloud
that you
can't see
and it puts a
15-foot bubble
around you so
I've used them in
tree stands I've
used them in the
woods when I'm
walking around
I've used them
sitting in camp
I've put one on
one side of the
camp on on the
other side of the
camp and you know
I've recently
picked up the
backpacking
version that
screws directly
into a fuel
canister
like you'd use
for a jet boil or
something to that
effect so today I
thought we'd talk
about mosquitoes
mosquito control
what works
what doesn't
and why the
thermacell has
become so popular
in the outdoors
world now before
we get into the
thermosails let's
talk about
mosquitoes or
basically
the war on
mosquitoes in
general because
if you've been
camping for any
length of time
you've probably
heard almost
every skeeter bug
remedy known to
mankind and
when I say that
I'm talking about
dryer sheets
citronella
candles soaps
perfumes
shampoos eating
garlic burning
garlic vitamin B
bracelets
different clips
patches essential
oils and I mean
I've heard so
many stories
about oh use this
use that use this
one of the most
recent things
I've saw was
somebody
taking garlic
powder rolling it
up in cotton
balls and letting
it burn and it
puts off an odor
that the skeeters
can't stand and
they don't come
around and that
was on a short
video on TikTok
or something like
that no
matter of fact if
you've sat around
a campfire long
enough you've
probably heard
somebody swear
that dryer sheets
took under your
hat keeps the
mosquitoes away
then somebody
else will say no
don't then
somebody says
their grandpa
used this for 30
years and
somebody else
said centronella
is always
answered then
somebody
centronella don't
work the truth is
most of us don't
care about
marketing claims
only thing we
care about is
does it really
actually 100%
without a doubt
work for me
mosquitoes have
been a problem my
entire life all
all of my
outdoor time has
always been
plagued by
mosquitoes you
know down
here in South
Mississippi
they're
everywhere I mean
and especially in
early bow season
October November
you'd be sitting
at a tree stand
and try not to
move but
skeeters are
they're like
buzzing your head
and sometimes
it's so
bad that it's
just so bad it's
horrible but the
worst mosquitoes
I ever seen was
whenever I
lived in Alaska I
mean dude I'm
telling you them
things were bad
and you go out
into the woods in
Alaska and they
ate me alive and
I can remember
salmon fishing
in summertime and
you know
everybody is
elbow to elbow on
this creek
and they're
you know knee
high waist high
in the water and
everybody fishes
in a row and
everybody fishes
in rhythm so if
the person next
to you is
casting you're
casting so it
looks like
everybody's
casting all at
the same time
it's pretty
cool you say fish
down fish on
coming up coming
down everybody
reels their stuff
in gets out of
the way for you
you know but
still nonetheless
mosquitoes
all day
all night just
tearing you up
and the beautiful
thing about
Anchorage
whenever
I was there is
that we get off
work at five
o'clock we'd head
out there to go
fishing five
o'clock in the
morning we were
leaving to go
back to
work we were
still fishing and
I've seen it the
mosquitoes were
so bad in
Alaska they
called them the
state bird they
was crazy so I
remember whenever
I first got
there someone was
I don't know if
they were trying
to scare us
because I'd
never been there
before or
anything like
that but whenever
I first
got there one
of my in-process
and appointments
they were telling
me that
don't you get
caught without
any mosquito
protection
because they can
suck you
free of blood
eight hours now
hopefully that
was just an
exaggeration or
at least
I hope so
you know but the
mosquitoes up
there were no
joke so when
somebody starts
talking about
mosquito control
and listen to
them you might
learn something
but let's talk
about the
thermocell itself
one of the
biggest
misconceptions
is that people
think it's some
kind of mosquito
killing machine
it is not that
is definitely not
what it is it
doesn't attract
the mosquitoes it
don't zap on
or anything like
that you don't
suck them into
some kind of trap
it's just a
little device
that puts off a
15-foot diameter
bubble of
mosquito
repellent so
it creates this
little protection
zone all around
you and inside
that unit is
this little small
pad it's a little
blue pad and like
I explained
earlier the
unit heats that
pad excuse me and
that pad contains a
repellent called
allethrin
allethrin
allethrin
allethrin
allethrin
allethrin allethrin
allethrin
allethrin
and as the pad
warms up it's
it's got the
repellent it's
released
into the air all
around you and it
creates like I
said of an
invisible bubble
and the
mosquitoes
simply don't want
to be there now
this works
different than
sprays you know
sprays you put on
your skin or your
clothes and they
see you
don't have to
do that and you
know a thermosail
protects the
space around you
it's a big
difference and
one of the things
that people don't
realize is that
thermosails do
not work
instantly I've
seen where a
bunch of people
like hey this is
a gimmick this
thing don't work
but no it don't
it takes a
little while for
it to build up
it's got to build
up the heat it's
got to be
able to vaporize
that that
chemical and then
spit it out the
beautiful thing
about this is
that you don't
want to wait
until you start
getting to eat
alive to turn
your thermosail
on so you want to
go ahead and turn
it on whenever
I'm going hunting
I will actually
turn my
thermosail unit
on before I start
walking to my
stand that way
when I get to my
stand this all
heated up and it
starts putting
out that protects
that bubble of
protection so you
know with a
thermosail it
takes time to
build that zone
up and it's kind
of it's kind of
weird because I
was like I was
thinking about
this earlier and
it kind of
reminded me of
Noah I know he
probably like
worrying
the world's
ego it is no but
think about it
for a minute Noah
didn't start
building that
art when it was
started raining
he built it
before the storm
ever arrived he
built it before
there was a
problem and
that's something
that we see
throughout
the outdoors
people who stay
comfortable
aren't always are
aren't usually
the ones
reacting to the
problems they're
the ones
preparing
beforehand you
don't wait until
it's freezing
together you
firewood you
don't wait until
you're
lost and learn
how to use your
compass you don't
wait till you
dehydrated start
looking for
water you don't
wait until the
mosquitoes are
carrying you
away before
thinking about
mosquito control
good preparation
solves a lot of
problems
before they ever
become
emergencies and
that's really
what the
strength of the
thermosail really
is you turn it on
you let it do its
job by
the time the
mosquito bugs get
there you've
already prepared
for the problem
now another
thing many people
don't always
understand is
that the wind
really does
matter now this
thermosail it it
works by putting
a bubble around
you so if you
have the wind
it's gonna blow
your whole
protective zone
away that's one
of the downfalls
of using a
thermosail and if
the winds blowing
hard enough
it's going to
it's going to
disperse the zone
and that's just
you know
basically
common sense so a
very calm evening
or where the
thermosails
really shine so
if you're going
to go out and
you're going to
it's gonna be
windy or whatnot
you probably want
to have some
spray or
something to that
effect but
if you're
sitting around
camp you're
fishing on the
bank or you know
hunting in
a tree stand
then the
thermosail is
really going to
shine if it's not
really
windy but then
again if it's
real windy you're
not gonna have
many
mosquitoes so I've
learned that when
you relax and
around the fire
you're gonna get
the occasion
mosquitoes
they're gonna
come around the
backside of you
you know they're
gonna be away
from that smoke
there are a
couple of
different things
and I talked
about this
extensively in my
book using dog
fennel which is
natural using
American Beauty
Berry we talked
about it earlier
but anyway dog
fennel you can
take dog fennel
and I've done a
video of this you
get some coals
and you just
take some dog
fennel and you
lay green dog
fennel on top of
the coals
and just
a little smolder
and that that
smoke makes a
vapor barrier
just like the
thermosail does
and but it's all
natural and one
of the beautiful
things about
that is that
thermosail not
thermosail but
the dog fennel
can be
used to wipe
on your skin you
can rub it on
your skin and the
oils will
transfer
from the dog
fennel to your
skin and it will
help control the
mosquitoes it's
not gonna
riddle 100% but
it'll control the
mosquitoes and
plus if
you're looking
for a cover scent
for your deer
hunting it really
helps with that
as well so
thermosails
aren't the only
answer but they
have got to be
one of the
most most
effective devices
that I have found
to use for
mosquito control
and down here
in the south of
Mississippi I'm
telling you now
we got some
skeeters and these
things are
horrible and if
you're out
fishing during
the daytime
you're gonna
get mosquitoes
and you always
wear long sleeves
when I go out and
about into the
woods I do have
long sleeves on
now the problem
with that is most
of the time
they're real thin
long sleeves and
the skaters just
eat you through
the long
sleeves there's
other things out
there that you
can use smoke has
been used for
thousand years to
control
mosquitoes and
deep it works but
it also
causes cancer
deep's been
around forever
some people don't
want to put that
on their skin
some people don't
know about them.
Deet if you
squirt skater
spray on
stuff like
certain plastics
and stuff it will
eat the plastic
it will
deteriorate some
plastics. The
caridine I
believe the name
of it
P-I-C-A-R-I-D-I-N
it works
as good as
deep. One of the
ones that I've
always used
especially when I
was in the
military was
permethrin and
that stuff you
can get at the
local local feed
store they sell a
bottle of that
stuff and I think
it's like a 32
ounce bottle
it's only like 14
or 15 bucks
something like
that don't quote
me on the price
it's been a
couple years
since I bought it
because it lasts
forever
and you can
use it and treat
your clothes and
you just make
sure you wear
gloves you know
it is it is a
neurotoxin but
that's the
downside to it
make sure you
don't have
cats anywhere
around cats
because
permethrin will
kill your
cat but you
could put it on
your clothes and
you can dry your
clothes out and
then it's good
for like six to
ten washes or
whatever and it
will kill skaters
ticks you know
especially this
time of year you
want to have that
for ticks it
really really
does help with
ticks and it
works way better
than deet does or
anything like
that but
permethrin
permethrin you
can squirt it
around your house
you know
it'll keep fleas
down if you got
fleas if you got
dogs it that
stuff is amazing
stuff but like I
said it will kill
cats all of the
cats got it
is a lictar
paws that's
toasted and
they'll start
having seizures
and I've
had a company
for a month
straight like
almost every
other day for a
month and I'm
like look
I'm not
interested but
they have nets
that go around
your hat go
around your
head head nets or
whatever and
those work I mean
you see
pictures all the
ways back in the
50s 40s and 50s
with people
fishing and they
were using those
nets they were
matter of fact
they work
extremely well
the
downside is is that
most people don't
want to look like
they're
inspecting a
beehive so every
single mosquito
solution has a
trade-off and
that's really
what the
lesson of the
mosquito is you
know the goal is
it finding the
perfect solution
the goal is
finding the
solution that
actually you
could use and for
me it's been the
Thermacell and
I've used that
for a very very
long time for
somebody else it
might be deet
somebody else it
might be a head
net or a hat net
or whatever you
want to call it
and for some
people it might
be a combination
of several
different things
and that's
perfectly fine it
doesn't matter
like I've said a
hundred times is
all about the end
result it's not
about
them it's not
about looking
fancy it's about
the end result so
at the end of the
day good
gear solves
problems it don't
matter what it is
a bottle of DEET
is a thing
of gear and they
even got the DEET
the DEET they
even got the
DEET that is
works out like a
like a sunscreen
you know like a
lotion you just
squirt a
little on your
hands and you
wipe it on I've
used that
countless times
and that
tends to work a
lot better than
the spray does
for me because
you can put it
all around your
neck and
everything just
wipe a little bit
on your
hands and you
goes a very very
very long way and
I can't tell you
how many
times I have
repeatedly said
repeatedly
repeated on this
podcast is that
good gear solves
problems bad gear
creates problems
you know
essentially over
and over without
saying those
exact words is
it's all about
the end
result now the
thermosil solves
the problem just
like in water
purification
the grill
GeoPress is going
to solve a
problem so is the
Sawyer squeeze a
hammock is going
to solve a
problem a camp
chair is going to
solve a problem
you'll
start to see
what I'm talking
about y'all
starting to see
the pattern here
the gear
is not the
story the problem
that it solves is
the story the
problem that the
gear solves
is the main event
mosquitoes are a
problem and just
about every
campground hunter
fisher
outdoorsman
backpacker every
one of these
people if you do
anything in
outdoors and
mosquitoes are a
problem that you
have dealt with
at one point or
another
so
I want to throw
that question
back to you what
is your as my
beard keeps
touching this
thing oh
microphone what
is your favorite
mosquito
solution if
the mosquito is
the problem what
is your solution
is it a
thermosil is it a
deep the wipe on
kind or the
lotion guide is
it smoke you put
some dog
fennel down in
some coals and
let it vaporize
and create a good
bubble or
some American
beauty berry that
does the same
thing do you use
some kind of bug
net or something
to keep the
skeeter bugs off
of you I
heard do you use
something just
completely
different not the
wall I'd love to
hear it
I'd love to
find out what it
is so head on
over to the
primitive camping
and bushcraft
Facebook group
join in on the
conversation I
would love
to I would
genuinely
genuinely love to
know what works
for you because
if it works for
you it could
possibly work for
me is it easier
than thermosil
hmm I don't know
I found one yet
so remember guys
in all your ways
acknowledge him
and he shall
direct your paths
God bless you and
I'll see you
around the
campfire