If you’re one of those people that mosquitoes love, you might be tempted to see how effective Listerine is at keeping you bite free. You’ve seen a lot of buzz about this everyday household product solving an age-old problem. Wondering whether to check Snopes or just give it a try? I want to share some of the reasons mouthwash should keep its day job and you should utilize an alternate method for mosquito control and protection.
1: Where?
If Listerine worked, where do you put it? Do you put a dab on your pulse points? Do you put Listerine on your cat or dog? Do you splash a little on your deck before you eat outside? Do you carry a spray bottle of Listerine and grab it for a quick spray when you go out to the yard? Do you keep a spray bottle in your favorite parts of your yard or one each for the front and back porch? Do you switch out your birdbath with Listerine? Do you buy some green bowls and create wells of Listerine around your yard? Even if mosquitoes hated Listerine, it can’t be in the right amounts in the right places at the right time to keep you protected while in your yard.
2: Listerine for your body and not just your teeth?
If mosquitoes have a distaste for mouthwash, will your morning brushing routine be enough to keep them away all day? How about for an hour? If you’re outside and see a mosquito buzzing around, should you gather in your breath and blow out really hard in the direction of the mosquito? Clearly, if you want mouthwash to work as a mosquito deterrent, you need to also use it as an aftershave, as a perfume, and as a body spray. To keep the little buggers off you, you’ll likely need a lot of mouthwash all over your body.
3: Is this safe for kids?
If you’re ok with using mouthwash as a body spray, are you ok with doing the same for your children? What if you have several children? Does everyone need to line up at the back door for a mouthwash spray down before they go out to play? If the kids come in for lunch and go back out, do they need to line up for another mouthwash spray down?
4: Creative mouthwash distribution
Let’s say you’re still considering using mouthwash for your backyard or front yard mosquito control. If you can get the right amount of mouthwash in the right places at all the right times, would it still be a viable solution? Perhaps a large bowl of mouthwash slightly behind a strategically placed fan would waft the smell in a wide enough area. Perhaps a series of strategically placed fans and receptacles of mouthwash would do the trick. But you then need to have the outside wiring to run all the fans and need to make sure to turn them all off and on at the right times.
There’s a better way – yard spray.
Within the last 10 years, there is a super successful method of mosquito control that also is equally as effective at tick control. It’s called barrier protection. Trained and licensed applicators treat the perimeter of your yard with an FDA approved mist. At the time of the treatment, the product knocks down mosquitoes and ticks currently in your yard. The mist adheres to the foliage. Depending on the company, there is also a microencapsulated timed-release component that allows the product to continue to emit the treatment over the course of weeks! Barrier protection companies come back out and re-treat your yard every 2 – 3 weeks throughout the season. Truly, you can enjoy your spring and summer with barely a mosquito to be seen.
Of course, if you have a bunch of standing water in or around your yard, nearly nothing will be able to successfully fend off the constant breeding ground that is your puddles, pools, and other containers of standing water. Your best bet is to utilize a yard spray for your Central Mass home with a 2- to 3-week retreatment schedule. Then, sit back and enjoy your spring and summer. Toss the chemicals, candles and mouthwash and enjoy all of your yard.
Dave Macchia, Mosquito Control Enthusiast