Entrepreneur cooks up garlic mosquito spray
Susan Parkou Weinstein GateHouse News Service
Jason Salim was searching for an earth-friendly way to make money last year when he discovered the power of garlic.

Jason Salim, who owns Mosquito Foggers in Norton, Mass., gives the skeeters a taste of his garlic-laden, earth-friendly insecticide. PHOTO BY CHARLENE MCNEIL/GHNS

Now the 24-year-old Norton, Mass., entrepreneur is using the legendary vampire repellant to ward off another kind of bloodsucker.

His heady concoction of garlic extract and soybean oil can rid a field of pesky mosquitoes for weeks.

"I can't believe no one's thought of it," says Salim, who owns Mosquito Foggers.

Using garlic to kill mosquitoes is hardly a novel concept.

The pungent bulb contains chemicals long known to destroy the soft-bodied insects and may overwhelm their sense of smell.

Organic gardeners often treat their properties and small ponds with garlic extract, along with other natural bug deterrents.

But few entrepreneurs have tapped into the sales potential of the odiferous plant as an alternative to harmful chemicals.

And fewer have tried to market it to homeowners.

A self-described "spiritual and holistic" guy who eats organic and tries to "go green," Salim was turned on to garlic during last year's Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus scare.

He saw state and local governments attacking mosquitoes with pesticides and thought, "There must be a better way."

"I believe in anything that benefits someone without damaging the earth," he says.

He found a commercial garlic product online called Mosquito Barrier and customized it with the addition of soybean oil, water and Palmolive dish detergent to create a spray with exactly the right killing power and viscosity.

The substance kills off the insect larvae in shallow water by clogging their breathing tubes, causing them to suffocate.

Distributed with a gaspowered leaf blower attached to a backpack, it can kill all larvae and adult mosquitoes within 24 hours without harming people or pets - although it does stink, but only for about 10 minutes.

At least one satisfied homeowner said, "It didn't smell at all."

"I do a lot of organic gardening. When he said it was safe, I was glad to hear it," said Robin Clapp, who called Mosquito Foggers to spray part of her five-acre, mosquito riddled property in late June.

Five weeks later, her family is bite-free.

Salim is confident his garlic business will succeed as more people seek the benefits of a pesticide without the drawbacks of a poison.

Contact Susan Parkou Weinstein at sweinste@cnc.com.