We put Thermacell’s light-up EL55 Mosquito Repeller to the test

[Nazifi Anwaru]

Summer is officially underway and after a long winter indoors, there’s nothing I’m looking forward to more than spending some time outside. But as great as that sounds, there’s a downside to that alfresco dream. Whether you’ve got a weekend of camping on tap or just plan on hanging on your patio, mosquitoes are going to be out there, and they can quickly ruin a good time.

I live adjacent to a wooded area in New Jersey and as such, we get a lot of mosquitoes in our backyard in the warmer months. To say I hate them would be an understatement. As I’ve gotten older, my reaction to bites and stings has gotten more severe, and between handling my own swollen wounds and the itchiness of my kids, I have zero tolerance for buggy nights.