Folk Medicine - Listerine and Mosquitos?

I recently received the following post from a friend:

I can't wait to try this in the summer!
I was at a deck party awhile back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and deck floor with Listerine, and the little demons disappeared.
The next year I filled a 4-ounce spray bottle and used it around my seat whenever I saw mosquitoes. And voila! That worked as well. It worked at a picnic where we sprayed the area around the food table, the children's swing area, and the standing water nearby.
During the summer, I don't leave home without it.....Pass it on.

So why does this work? If we ask ourselves this then we will realize that the reason this works is NOT because of the Listerine brand but because of the high concentrations of Thyme and Eucalyptus essential oils in the mouthwash formula.

The active ingredients listed on Listerine bottles are menthol, thymol, methyl salicylate, and eucalyptol. Ethanol is present in concentrations of 21.6% in the flavored product and 26.9% in the original gold Listerine Antiseptic. Thymol is an antiseptic, methyl salicylate is a cleaning agent, and menthol is a local anesthetic. At this concentration, the ethanol serves to dissolve the active ingredients.

So...instead of using the slightly toxic mouthwash to rid your area of mosquitoes - consider making your own homemade spray with thyme and eucalyptus oils. And don't forget the sage oil for those horrible itches! (Note: Essential oils should be diluted by 3 drops per 1 TBS. of carrier oil)