If you are looking for an all-natural, effective way to get rid of the mosquitos in your backyard – look no further than Mosquito Barrier.
Mosquito Barrier uses garlic oil – a completely natural derivative of garlic – concentrated and sold by the gallon. While the gallon of garlic oil costs nearly $80, this will cover several acres of property over several applications.
This review covers everything you need to know about Mosquito Barrier – from the science that makes it work to the most effective ways to use it.
What is Mosquito Barrier?
Mosquito Barrier is a concentrated solution of garlic oil. Garlic oil contains the substance diallyl disulfide (and some variants of this molecule) that are all effective in killing mosquitos. Other than the garlic concentrate, this product only contains a few food-grade preservatives to reduce any spoiling of the oil that would otherwise occur.
While normal garlic oil suffices – researchers at Mosquito Barrier have created their own strain of “super garlic” that contains much more oil than regular garlic. This allows the company to produce a more effective garlic mosquito yard spray than competitors, for cheaper.
While it may seem like this is too simple of a concoction to work, there is actually a lot of scientific evidence that backs up the Mosquito Barrier’s claim that it can eliminate mosquitos in an area after only a few applications.
Does the Mosquito Barrier Work?
The Mosquito Barrier website claims that Mosquito Barrier works with a “3-pronged attack” of killing adults, larvae, and repelling insects from an area. In a review of the scientific literature, all three of these claims can be backed up.
In fact, garlic has been used for decades (or maybe longer) to repel mosquitos and other biting insects. The research of garlic as an insect repellent essentially started because many cultures claim that eating garlic regularly can help repel mosquitos.
In the 1970s, researchers decided to take a look at the components of garlic and they found that garlic oil was a potent and effective larvicide. However, the research on garlic as a natural insecticide and repellent has extended well into the 2000s.
More recent research has indicated that garlic oil is even effective against insecticide-resistant mosquitos. This means that if you have been using DEET or Permethrin as a mosquito repellent/insecticide and it is ineffective, you may have success with Mosquito Barrier.
While Mosquito Barrier is not recommended as a skin repellent, tests have shown that garlic oil on the skin will repel mosquitos – though it’s effectiveness wears off more quickly than DEET.
Most importantly, Mosquito Barrier has a much smaller environmental impact than almost all synthetic insecticides, such as DEET, octenol, or any other synthetic chemical. Specifically, researchers found that garlic oil has very low environmental persistence.
This means that once Mosquito Barrier has done its job it can be broken down and recycled by the environment. Some synthetic insecticides linger in the environment for decades before they break down – affecting all sorts of different organisms in negative ways.
The scientific literature definitely supports the idea that concentrated garlic oil provides a way to kill adult mosquitos, larval mosquitos, and even repels mosquitos from an area after it is applied.
How to Effectively Use Mosquito Barrier
Mosquito Barrier comes in a concentrated gallon and it must be diluted before use. One gallon of Mosquito Barrier concentrate will make approximately 32 gallons of spray – an amount that could cover a 1-acre property through the entire summer season (about 5 applications).
Mixing Instructions
The mixing instructions vary a little depending on your property.
No Standing Water
If there is no standing water on your property, the application of Mosquito Barrier is very easy. Simply mix the Mosquito Barrier liquid with water and place in a hand-held pump sprayer at the rate below:
- 4 ounces of Mosquito Barrier
- 1 gallon of water
Pump up your sprayer, and hold the sprayer about 8 inches away from the surfaces you are coating. Make sure to spray your entire property – including grass, shrubs, and the trunks of trees to a height of 5 feet. This will ensure that all areas are covered – protecting you from mosquitos, ticks, and several other kinds of insects.
Standing Water Present
Mosquitos love to breed in standing water. If you have a small pond on your property, standing water in a ditch or driveway, or a puddle of any size on your property – you can bet that mosquitos are laying eggs in it. If you have any standing water on your property, you should use the following formula in your sprayer:
- 4 ounces of Mosquito Barrier
- 1 gallon of Water
- 2 ounces Canola Oil
- 1 teaspoon Liquid Soap (such as Dawn Dish Soap)
This recipe allows the Mosquito Barrier to form a well-distributed coating on the top of standing water, effectively suffocating any mosquito larvae that are growing. The oil and soap carry the Mosquito Barrier all across the water, clogging larval mosquito breathing mechanisms and causing them to perish.
Do Not Apply Before or After Heavy Rain
Rain will decrease the effectiveness of Mosquito Barrier because it will further dilute the garlic oil and wash any spray off of surfaces and into the ground. While this is not an environmental concern because garlic oil readily breaks down in soil, it will make your application ineffective.
Wait for a stretch of dry days so you can apply Mosquito Barrier and it has time to dry on the surfaces. This will make it the most effective.
How Long Does Mosquito Barrier Work?
Simply apply the spray once a month during mosquito season, and the population should be heavily reduced – if not eliminated entirely!
The spray is effective almost immediately, though seeing noticeable results take around 24 hours. After this, you should notice a significant reduction in the mosquito population. The company recommends that heavily-mosquitoed areas be treated on a monthly basis to continually reduce the population and drive away any mosquitos traveling from afar.
For really persistent populations of mosquitos, the formula can be increased to 8-12 ounces of Mosquito Barrier per gallon of water. This will almost certainly kill any and all mosquitos present, and will likely drive many other pest insects out of your yard.
What Other Pests Does Mosquito Barrier Work On?
According to the Mosquito Barrier website, this garlic oil concentrate has been effective on many different yard pests including fire ants, ticks, and grasshoppers. Grasshoppers and ticks can be repelled in the same way as mosquitos – just spray the area you want to protect and they will retreat to other areas!
The Mosquito Barrier also recommends that if the concentrated formula is only diluted 50%, it can be sprayed onto clothing and provides a barrier against ticks outside of the treated area. However, only anecdotal evidence backs this claim up. The company also suggests that diluted Mosquito Barrier can be poured onto a fire ant mound to drive them out!
Geese can also be a pest in some areas. Mosquito Barrier adds an undesirable garlic taste to the grasses geese are after, so Mosquito Barrier is also a Geese Barrier. Geese are not harmed by the garlic oil – they simply prefer grass without a garlic taste and will leave a treated area.
Is It Safe?
Garlic oil is a completely natural ingredient derived from whole garlic cloves. While Mosquito Barrier is particularly potent garlic oil, it does not contain any ingredients that are not approved for consumption by humans. Essentially, you could drink garlic oil and be alright. This is definitely not recommended though because it would be very spicy and uncomfortable!
Once diluted, the Mosquito Barrier is even safer. Users often apply it to their clothes as mosquito and tick repellent. Pets and children will not be affected – unless they are allergic to garlic. In this case, Mosquito Barrier could cause a reaction. But, few people are allergic to garlic and most people don’t even notice the spray after it dries onto sprayed surfaces.
The company claims that beneficial insects, such as bees and butterflies, will not be harmed in any way by the spray unless they are sprayed directly with it. While this claim has not been clearly validated in the literature, garlic oil is unlikely to harm bees and butterflies if they are not sprayed directly.
That being said, the garlic may act as a repellent for these insects as well. Avoid spraying on flowering plants if you notice a reduction of pollinators in your yard. This will preserve the smell and attraction of the flowers and the pollinators should remain unharmed.
