Thermacell EX90 Review (2026)

Where to buy

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Key specifications

What we like, and where it gives ground

What it is, and who it suits

The EX90 is a portable repellent device. Instead of spraying your skin or burning a smoky coil, it gently warms a treated mat. The heat releases a repellent into the air around the unit, creating a shielded zone where you sit. Thermacell first built this idea for people who wanted a bug-free patch without coating themselves in chemicals.

This review answers one question. Is the EX90 the right area repellent for how you sit outdoors in Australia? We have not put this unit through our own field use, and we say so up front. Instead we read the maker's published specs against the jobs a camp, fishing or verandah kit asks. Those jobs decide whether a device earns a spot.

If you hold a still base at dusk, this is the shortlist pick. If you roam a long track, a skin repellent serves you. The sections below take the device apart piece by piece.

How it works, with no flame

A small butane burner heats a ceramic element, and that warmth activates the repellent in a mat clipped beside it. There is no open flame, no grid zapping insects, and no coil smoke. The result is a steady, quiet release of repellent into the air you are breathing around your chair.

The active ingredient is a synthetic copy of a natural chrysanthemum repellent, the same family used in many household bug products. It works by discouraging insects from flying into the treated air rather than killing them on contact. Used as directed, it keeps a zone clear.

Because it is a zone, placement matters. Set the EX90 upwind of where you sit so the treated air drifts over you. Park it on a table or the ground a metre or so away, and it blankets the space you occupy.

The protection zone, honestly

Thermacell describes the EX90 as shielding a small area around the device in calm conditions. In a sheltered camp, that roughly maps to the patch a chair or two occupies. It is not a force field over a whole site. It is a bubble you sit inside, and stepping outside it puts you back in the open.

This is the single most important expectation to set. The device is superb for a fixed base: a fishing seat, a camp table, a deck chair on a verandah. It is weak for anyone who moves, because the protective bubble does not walk with you on a long track.

For the still evenings when mosquitoes rise at dusk and hover around your dinner, that fixed bubble is exactly the fix. Plan your sit spot around the unit and let it do its quiet work.

Fuel, mats and running cost

The EX90 runs on refillable butane cartridges and disposable repellent mats, and both are consumables you must keep stocked. A mat gives a set number of hours before it stops releasing, and a fuel cartridge lasts a defined burn time. The maker publishes these figures, so check them and plan per trip.

This is the honest cost of the convenience. The device itself is one buy, but every season adds cartridges and mats, and over a few years of heavy use that consumable spend can pass the price of the unit. For occasional camp evenings it stays small.

Carry spare mats and a spare cartridge on any trip where the device matters to you. Running out at the first swarm, on a remote beach, turns the gadget into dead weight you forgot to feed.

Where it shines at camp

The EX90 earns its keep at a settled base. A seated fisher on a bank, a family eating dinner at a camp table, or anyone reading on a deck at dusk gets a calm patch without slathering repellent on skin or clothes.

For campers who hate the feel of DEET, or parents wanting fewer chemicals smeared on kids, a zone device is a welcome change. You treat the air you sit in rather than the people, and you can step out of the zone to move about.

It also works on the other biters of Australia. Flies and biting sand flies at a coastal camp are within what the device is rated to repel, which broadens its value beyond just mosquitoes in the top end.

Its limits in wind and time

Wind is the enemy. The repellent works as a blanket of treated air, and a steady breeze lifts that blanket away and shrinks the zone. In a calm evening it is excellent. On an exposed, gusty headland it may struggle, so a sheltered spot multiplies how well it works.

Mats and fuel also run out mid-evening. A mat stops releasing after its rated hours, so a long session may need a swap. Carry spares, and start the device a little before the swarm peaks rather than after you are already being eaten.

Finally, it is a repellent near children and pets, not a harmless lantern. Follow the maker's directions, keep the hot element and used mats off small hands, and use it in the open air it is designed for.

How it compares to other repellents

It helps to set the EX90 against the two repellents people weigh it against most. Each wins in a different situation, and the choice rests on whether you sit or move.

Should you buy it?

Buy the EX90 if you hold a still base at dusk and want a calm patch without smothering yourself in spray. For seated fishing, camp dinners and verandah evenings in calm air, it is a genuine quality-of-life upgrade that works on flies as well as mosquitoes.

Skip it if you roam long tracks where a zone cannot follow, or camp in steady wind that lifts the treated air away. A good skin repellent is the better tool for those jobs.

Still deciding? See how it ranks in our insect and mosquito protection guide. To time a trip against bug season, our best time to visit calculator maps the pressure.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Thermacell EX90 really work on mosquitoes?

In calm air it is effective over a limited zone around the device, releasing a repellent that discourages mosquitoes, flies and biting sand flies from flying into the treated space. It is not a force field over a whole camp, and strong wind shrinks the protection. Used at a sheltered, seated base at dusk, many campers find it a real quality-of-life gain. Start it before the swarm peaks and place it upwind of where you sit.

Is the EX90 safe around children and pets?

It uses a repellent from the same family as many household bug products, released into open air rather than onto skin, so it avoids smearing chemicals on kids. It is still an active repellent near a heat source, so follow the maker's directions, keep the hot element and used mats away from small hands and curious pets, and use it outdoors as designed. It is a smarter option than DEET on skin for many families, not a harmless toy.

How long do the mats and fuel last?

Each repellent mat gives a set number of hours before it stops releasing, and each butane cartridge has a rated burn time, both published by Thermacell. Over a long evening you may swap a mat, and refills are an ongoing cost that can pass the price of the device across heavy seasons. Check the maker's figures for your model and pack spare mats and a spare cartridge so you never run out mid-swarm.

Does wind stop the EX90 working?

Wind is its main weakness. The device protects a bubble of treated air, and a steady or gusty breeze lifts that bubble away and shrinks or kills the zone. In a calm, sheltered camp it works well, but on an exposed, windy headland it may struggle. Set up behind a windbreak or in a sheltered spot, place it upwind of your chair, and it holds its protective bubble far better.

Is it better than a mosquito coil?

For tableside comfort, usually yes. A coil is cheaper and smothers an area with smoke, but it burns openly, smells, blows out in wind and is poor around kids. The EX90 gives similar zone protection with no open flame, no smoke smell and better manners, at a higher price plus the ongoing cost of mats and butane. If low cost is king, a coil wins; if comfort is, the device does.

Should I still use a skin spray with it?

Yes, and that pairing is the smart way to use it. The EX90 protects a fixed base, so the moment you step out of the zone you are unprotected again. A DEET or picaridin spray covers you while you move, walk to the fire or use the toilet block at night. Keep the device running at your chair or table and apply spray for the time you spend away from the bubble.