Last month, I wrote about some advice I read that Listerine kills mosquitoes only to go to Snopes and find it to be false, or at least according to them. After doing some more digging on the subject for my new blog that Listerine may in fact might work to kill mosquitoes.
Apparently what works with Listerine or even the generic brand is the ingredient Eucalyptol. It’s an active ingredient in Listerine(.092%), and that has been proven to work well to kill both mosquitoes and their larvae. There were a few journal articles, and all I could read was the summary or pay $30 to read the entire thing. But from the summary you could tell that there was proof that it help curve the mosquito population.
I found on Amazon a repellent spray - Repel Lemon Eucalyptus. You can buy Eucalyptus oil, so in theory, you could make your own mosquito repellent that is a higher percentage of the ingredient that is suppose to work on them. It’s definitely something I will try this summer as we have a terrible mosquito problem.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:05 am
I have been searching the net for about 1/2 hr looking for the formula for Listerine. You gave me the essential ingredient! Thanks!
June 20th, 2008 at 9:41 am
why your not soo geeky after all-and I can’t spel or grammer.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
I went to Walgreens today to by some Listerine, they didn’t have any. Apparently there has been a run on it lately and they can’t keep the stuff on the shelves so, I bought the Walgreen brand. It worked. Now, I don’t know if it kills them but, I sprayed it around the outside door and the little buggers had left the deck. It is so nice being able to open the door without having them come into the house. It might not kill them but, they don’t like the smell.
October 9th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I told my fiance’ that when maple leaves turn upside down, that means its going to rain. She replied that it was just the wind. I know this is a good way to tell if it is goig to rain, could you please tell me if this is true?
Thank you so much!!
Brad Hawkins
November 13th, 2008 at 12:14 am
I am battling mosquitoes and just tried spraying with Listerine, and will let you know if it works.
May 7th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
We have just been over run lately with mosquitoes and the city just is not spraying anywhere. Will try this and if it works…god bless you.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I heard of the Listerine effect on mosquitoes so I will join the ranks and try as well. But I have a question:
with 3 young kids and a summer coming in, I dread the time when the kids want to have the small paddling pool inflated: they are eaten alive by mosquito attracted to the water.
would it work if I pour listerine in the water? or would spraying Listerine on the (rubber / plastic) pool edges work as well?
I guess I will try anyway but if anyone has done it before me, please let us know!
June 19th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
The mouthwash will work as well as the lemon scented dishsoap. This is nothing new. Started in farmers almanac, and also you can find a mosquito lemonade on Jerry Bakers website.
The caveat is generally it does not work for long.
It’s wiser to just invest in the Deet and Neem oil and spray it regularly.