I have been reading about some recent internet postings that claim that Listerine is being used as an insect repellent. My initial thought was to accept this claim as just another wacko report from the web.
Then last weekend at a birthday party I overheard some of the guests talking about using Listerine as a mosquito repellent. Now I am thinking that this rumor is “blog-worthy”. A recent article in Prevention Magazine relates the research done by Grayson Brown, PHD, a public health scientist. He shows that Listerine is not an effective mosquito repellant. Although it does have an ingredient found in some bug repellants (eucalyptol), it is in such low concentrations as to be ineffective. There are much more effective repellents out there, including several recipes for natural repellents. Anyway…save the Listerine for treatment of gum disease and gingivitis.