Am I the only one who spends a good bit of time and a good bit of money improving/upgrading my outdoor space?
From chaise pillows to solar lighting to bug busters, I thought it would be helpful to share some of the products that we love, use and/or highly recommend.
And I’ll say that I’m in the market for a couple of things:
Bug busters to use on our wood deck - so attachable tiki torches, certain sprays, candles, etc. (for when we are dining)
Solar deck lighting - we have a large long 2 level deck and long flight of stairs to the water that had some electrical hooked up for lighting but seems to need some repair. That isn’t going to happen overnight so I’m looking for some solar lighting that I can space out a bit to keep our walk up and down safe.
A couple things I’ll recommend!
These yard solar lights. The starburst pattern is really nice and gives a modern vibe. I have 6 around the pool area and they don’t light up the place (thinking of neighbors) but provide a nice vibe and purposeful lighting for walking and looking out into the yard at night.
Super easy install, lights seem high quality, heavy duty - all parts! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WVLCFS1?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
Was just going to link to the Thermacell. Keeps all mosquitos at bay – even in the Maine woods. We practically live on our unscreened cabin porch. Not a mosquito in sight, but we also use this to kill the colony.
Actually, the Thermacell alone does the job for the porch which is mostly what we need, but the Magnet takes care of ALL bugs in the surrounding area, especially the front of the property where we enjoy our evening fires. I don’t want to be annoyed by ANY flying critters.
These are in an area that would be called part shade but not full shade part of the day - also a few hours of sun in the midst of a summer day.
Here are a couple screen shots from a video I took
Recently purchased this firepit for our deck area. It works well. We like to sit around it late at night and enjoy a glass of wine. The mosquitos in our area are fierce and it was impossible to sit on the deck in the evening. A few years ago, we signed up for a service called Pure Solutions. Supposedly the spray the company uses is “organic”, i.e., safe for humans and pets. It is so nice to be able to use the deck after all these years. Hopefully, I’m not destroying the ecosystem for my granddaughter.
It truly does. You have to run it for about 20 minutes before you intend to be outside in the area, and the range is limited to about a 20 foot area for coverage, but otherwise it works great.
I read some reviews and it mentions it doesn’t work well with wind. I was hoping to use it at the lake in the evenings, but there is typically a breeze. May have to try it at home on the patio, though.
We have a happy hour every Friday…outdoors weather permitting. Wondering if the thermacell would work for that…any chance it kills those nasty little gnatty bugs too?
Also wondering if it would work at our private beach…the bugs there are sometimes a pain.
We swear by the Thermacell, and we’re in the woods. We put one at each end of the porch about 15 minutes before we go out, and there are no mosquitos. None. As @DeeCee mentioned upthread, though, you need to keep refills on hand. They are a bit pricey but worth every penny IMO. I hate the look of a screened front porch but thought it was odd that none of the previous owners of this cabin had done so given the wooded, river-abutting property. Our also-unscreened neighbors told us about the Thermacell. Now we understand.
We’ve been using the thermacell for the past couple of years at both of our homes. I am usually bitten up by mosquitoes, but since we started using them I haven’t had a problem.
I’m not 100% certain of the make, but it looks like the Canopia patio cover from Home Depot is what we have over our decks. Since we’re in the PNW, being able to extend our time outside and under cover from rain is fantastic. At our place on the water, we have a dining table, comfy outdoor chairs, and a fire table underneath.
Thermacell sells two types of repellent–one for mosquitoes and a multi-insect version, but does not mention effectiveness against fruit flies:
Multi-Insect Repellent Refills The first and only EPA registered area repellent for black flies and no-see-ums , these refills protect from mosquitoes, black flies and no-see-ums (gnats). Not for the common house fly.
