Mosquitoes are a significant problem even in urban environments. On hot summer or damp and warm autumn-spring days, the real invasion begins. If you go out into nature, the situation gets even worse. In corners of the wild, due to lush vegetation, areas of high humidity and open water bodies, swamps of harmful insects become much more numerous.
It is not difficult to cope with mosquitoes if you have a stationary source of energy.
You can use exterminator traps, repellers, other powered devices, and much more. Plus, no one has canceled professional chemistry and insecticides, which destroy the population of bloodsuckers in the area in the bud. Does a lamp help against mosquitoes?
Does a lamp help against mosquitoes?
Review of popular models, rating, operating principle. Is it worth taking?
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A completely different question is what to do if electricity is far away, for example, in camping conditions. It is possible to cope with mosquitoes even in these non-standard conditions. When planning a hike, especially a long one, you need to consider portable insect repellent. Traditional methods will not be enough. Moreover, they are not always effective. There is little point in relying on old-fashioned recommendations. This is where special tourist fumigators come to the rescue, which operate from mobile energy sources or do not require power at all.
Below is a short rating of portable camping fumigators for effective protection.
Pyrotechnic spirals
The simplest disposable mosquito killers. A pyrotechnic fumigator is a small ribbon twisted into a spiral. It is made from compressed parts of a repellent plant - pyrethrum. This is not exactly what is commonly understood as a fumigator. The principle of its operation is also fundamentally different from the mechanism of operation of an electrical device.
To get a beneficial effect, the spiral must be set on fire. After this, it begins to gradually, slowly smolder, emitting a lot of acrid smoke. This smoke is toxic to insects and causes paralysis of the nervous system of bloodsuckers. After which they quickly die. The smoke is practically harmless to humans. But with prolonged inhalation it is quite possible to get poisoned.
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Therefore, mosquito coils are not used in tents. In addition, it is a source of open fire. There is always a risk of not keeping track and causing an accidental fire.
Hiking fumigator coils are represented by a wide group of items from major manufacturers. Among the popular options that can be found in stores:
- Raptor;
- Help;
- Taiga;
- Prigovor.
And others. Spirals are sold one by one or in sets of 3, 5, 10 pieces. The cost of one of these is in the range from 50 to 70 rubles. Domestic products from little-known brands are cheaper. One spiral is enough for several hours of continuous use.
Fight mosquitoes in a car: how to make a fumigator for a car
Some time ago I went fishing in the peat lakes of the Sergiev Posad district of the Moscow region. The route was familiar, the plan was the same - arrival on Saturday evening, overnight in the car, and at three in the morning going out on the water by boat. However, that time the trip coincided with another wave of mosquitoes, whose activity increased tenfold.
The interior of the car was instantly filled with ringing creatures, and although the assault squad was quickly killed by a towel, they attacked again and again. Any opening of the door - to boil water for tea, wash your hands, or just take a breath of air - finally infuriated.
But the most unpleasant thing began in the evening, since on a hot and humid July night it was impossible to sleep in the car without opening the windows, and even the tiniest and virtually useless half-centimeter gap opened the way for mosquitoes. I greeted the morning bitten, sleep-deprived, with a desire to burn everything around with napalm and dreams of a banal home plate fumigator - this cheap device could make an overnight stay (and a “day break” too) quite comfortable...
Returning home, I redoubled my efforts to study the issue of mosquito control in the car, both as a personal interest and as a columnist for the “Gadgets” section of “Wheels.”
And I was surprised to discover that 12-volt car fumigators are a rarity on offline shelves. They are scarce and expensive (!) even in Chinese online stores. Internet monitoring revealed several descriptions of homemade car fumigators, confirming the scarcity of factory-made devices, as well as numerous discussions on car forums and blog platforms, where people share their own methods of fighting mosquitoes in cars using improvised means.
Actually, the first thing that comes to mind is a fumigator plate slightly heated on a lighter, a lit smoldering repellent coil or a candle. The methods are simple and effective - mosquitoes quickly leave the car interior. However, this is a temporary success: the battle is won, not the war! It is still impossible to spend the night like this - through windows slightly open for ventilation, insects will quickly fly in again, attracted by the warmth of breath, carbon dioxide and the smell of a person.
A more technologically advanced and long-lasting option is to use an interior lighting lamp as a fumigator. If you remove the diffuser, you can place a fumitox plate in the ceiling lamp by bending it and pushing it between the lamp and the body. The lamp power is most often 3–5 watts, and it heats the plate well, while being battery-friendly, even if left overnight.
This life hack is very effective - we checked it - but it’s clearly not suitable for everyone. It will not help if you are afraid of breaking something by opening the lamp yourself, if the lamp is controlled by tricky electronics with a timer, or if the lamp is LED, which does not provide the necessary heating.
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As other alternative options, the public in “Internet smoking rooms” voices either difficulties or nonsense. Such as, for example, installing removable tinted nets on windows as mosquito nets or using a 220-volt home fumigator together with a 12/220 car inverter.
There is also mention of pocket devices called ThermaCell, where a tiny gas flame burns inside and evaporates the repellent - but such gadgets are not cheap and require expensive original branded consumables - mini-cartridges with propane-butane (standard anti-mosquito plates are suitable).
There are also pocket catalytic heating pads on sale that operate on the principle of flameless combustion of gasoline, and some of them have the ability to install a standard fumitox plate. These devices are functional, but, we repeat, they are not cheap and require certain skills in handling them, since they are still designed for use outdoors, and not inside a car...
In stores of spare parts and accessories for trucks, you can easily find specialized automobile fumigators, but, as a rule, they are all 24-volt, for the cargo on-board network. You can plug them into a 12-volt outlet, but for a passenger car such devices are ineffective - the heater in them has a resistance of 120 Ohms, which in a 12-volt network gives a power of slightly more than 1 watt - this is not enough to effectively evaporate the repellent from the plate.
But one advanced car traveler showed us such a homemade fumigator - wires with a cigarette lighter plug are soldered to a 12-volt 5-watt light bulb; the lamp is used as a heater - a repellent plate is pressed against it with a rubber band, after which the structure is placed on a rubber mat on the floor of the car.
But the most effective and easy to use, of course, is a factory-made 12-volt car fumigator. Finding it on sale is not easy due to the fact that not everyone needs such a gadget - why would, say, a purely urban car owner? However, although not without difficulty, we found the device, purchased it and tested it.
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From a 12-volt battery, the fumigator consumes a current of 0.43 amperes, which gives a total of 5 watts. Actually, this is four times less than the side light being turned on, so such a current with a working battery, and even in the summer (because in winter, as is clear, the fumigator is not in demand) will not harm the battery, even if you turn on the device in the car all night.
You will have to turn on the gadget so that it works all night in different ways, depending on the make and model of the car. For example, on many quite modern Skodas, the cigarette lighter is constantly connected to the battery, as on old classic Zhigulis - everything is simple and most convenient here, the fumigator is plugged into the cigarette lighter as is, without unnecessary actions.
On other cars there are two identical sockets - a cigarette lighter and a 12-volt socket, the first of which works only when you turn the ignition key, and the second - always. But most often there is only one cigarette lighter socket and only works with the ignition key. This imposes certain restrictions - nevertheless, vigilance requires that you take the key with you, even if you leave the car for a short time.
If there is a need to move the fumigator to a tent installed near the car, then it is advisable to make a “custom” extension cord that can be connected directly to the battery with “crocodiles”. After connecting it, you can remove the ignition key, close all doors and the hood and set the car alarm. An extension cord is made from inexpensive and accessible components - two alligator clips, a wire with a cross-section of 2x0.75 mm and a length of five to six meters, as well as a 12-volt female socket for the cigarette lighter plug.
And do not forget to install a fuse with a rating of 3–5 amperes in the wire near one of the “crocodiles” - we did not find it in the plug of the test fumigator!
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Models of portable fumigators powered by batteries
These are classic camping fumigators that work according to the usual principle. As a rule, we are talking about a small device that is equipped with a heating element.
Replaceable cartridge-tablets are placed inside the device. When heated, the tablet releases the substances with which it is impregnated. The chemical compounds are toxic to mosquitoes and cause their almost immediate death. The device runs on batteries. The average duration of continuous operation is up to several days.
There are not many models of fumigators that operate on batteries. The most popular name is Raptor Mobile. Finding such devices on the market is very difficult. The cost is in the range of 600-700 rubles, not counting replacement consumables.
Battery-powered models
Similar devices are presented in even smaller quantities. The key model in this category is the Xiaomi Mosquito Repeller. The operating principle is somewhat different from the previous version.
- Firstly, the device runs on an external portable battery (Powerbank). Although there is an option to use batteries.
- Secondly, it is not equipped with a heating element.
Special plates are used as the main component. However, the device sprays the substance not by heating, but by blowing. The outdoor mosquito fumigator is equipped with a fan. The key disadvantage is that not all plates are suitable as consumables. We need ones that passively distribute the substance. The kit comes with several plates, but they will only last for a few days.
There are other options. For example, portable usb fumigators or liquid fumigators for spraying insecticide from those. But they are mixed in terms of effectiveness. Before purchasing, you should read reviews from real users.
Hiking fumigators powered by batteries or an accumulator are convenient for use in a tent, provided that the operating instructions are followed.
Thermacell
Thermacell is a manufacturer of camping mosquito repellent devices. Unlike other companies, the brand specializes in portable protection against harmful insects. Portable devices from this company are represented by a whole line. Among the names are:
- MR-300;
- Halo Mini Repeller in different colors.
Not counting special lamps, which will be discussed further.
The remaining Thermacell devices that can be found in stores are the predecessors of the named models. They are no longer produced, but are still sold.
Fumigator for cars against mosquitoes DIK-6 12V
Fumigator for cars against mosquitoes DIK-6 12V A device of this type, designed to kill mosquitoes in a car:
- in a car - 12 V;
- in a truck – at 24 V.
The device, equipped with a light indication, has a similar operating principle. Used in combination with liquid or tablets. The effect is observed after 10-15 minutes of operation of the device (the result may also depend on how wide the windows are open).
On a note!
Using vehicles of this type with the windows closed is strictly prohibited!
You can purchase the DIK-6 fumigator in a store or order it via the Internet (cost 220-270 rubles).
