Part 1: I Bought a ThermaCELL, and I’ve Never Looked Back

Editor’s Note: Will Primos, founder and president of Primos Game Calls in Flora, Mississippi, hunts all type of game in the southern woods where mosquitoes are a nuisance and an aggravating irritation. When Primos films or hunts outdoors, his success depends on him being still and comfortable. This week, Primos will tell us how and why he uses ThermaCELL to get good shots and good film.

Question: Will, when did you start using ThermaCELL, and why?

Primos: Cameron Miller, a regional sales manager who works with us, came to my hunting camp with a ThermaCELL. When I asked him, “What’s that thing?” he answered, “If you’re not using one of these, you’re crazy.” One thing led to another, and I finally ended up purchasing a ThermaCELL. I found out that it really worked, and I’ve been using it ever since.

Question: Will, how long have you been using ThermaCELL?

Primos: Pretty extensively for the last 4 years. I don’t really understand exactly how it works. My first concern initially was if the ThermaCELL could keep bugs away, then why didn’t deer smell it? I can’t answer that question, but I’ve noticed that deer don’t smell the ThermaCELL. Mosquitoes rarely come from downwind; they always come from upwind. All I know is when I turn my ThermaCELL on, mosquitoes stop biting me, and that’s all I really need to know.

Question: When do you use your ThermaCELL, Will?

Primos: Bow season in Mississippi begins October 1, and I hunt in the Mississippi swamps in the low Delta country. We normally have lots of mosquitoes in this area, but if the region has a wet fall, lots and lots of mosquitoes are everywhere. So, early-season bowhunting in Mississippi is a ThermaCELL must. We have mosquitoes in Mississippi until the time when we get three or four days of frost every morning. We really need about 25 degrees to kill off or drive in our mosquitoes. This past season, we had mosquitoes until the first week of December. In mid-November of 2007, we had a pretty-good frost, and the temperature dropped to 22 degrees one night. It knocked the mosquitoes back pretty good. But those mosquitoes get up under the leaves at night, and those leaves insulate them. So, when the weather starts warming up again, they come back out. So, yes, we were able to use our ThermaCELL well into December.

There are only about 3 months when we don’t use the ThermaCELL, which is the latter part of December and all of January and February. In mid-March, turkey season starts, and so does mosquito season. If we get those warm days early in March, when we’re out scouting, we may use the ThermaCELL then. Or, if we hunt turkeys in Florida during the first of March, we’ll use the ThermaCELL. So, there are only a few months out of the year when we don’t use the ThermaCELL. I know very-few hunting aids you can get as much use out of as you can a ThermaCELL. If you’re a two-season outdoorsman and like to hunt and fish, you’ve got a ThermaCELL with you almost all the time.

Tomorrow: Duck Country in the middle of Mosquito Country