Mosquito Barrier a Non-Toxic SolutionBy Susan Parkou Weinstein Now the 24-year-old Norton 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 with fellow Norton High School alum Peter Brooks III. 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. He 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 gas powered leaf blower attached to a backpack, it can kill all larvae and adult mosquitoes within 24 hours without harming people or pets. “The more I looked at it, the more I loved it,” he said. In April, Salim and Brooks drove around town hanging business postcards on residential mailboxes. The response was immediate - from the U.S. Postal Service. “They called us and asked us to cease and desist,” he said. When they ran a promotional piece in the local newspaper, however, the reaction was more positive. They now have more than 30 clients. Although Salim says his spray can be smelled for about 10 minutes after application, at least one satisfied Norton homeowner said she did not smell the concoction 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 still 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. The entrepreneur remembers a speaker at a motivational seminar once telling him, “You can create whatever you want in this world. You just need to believe in yourself.” Unfortunately, inspiration is not enough. Just as when they violated postal regulations taping their fliers on mailboxes, Salim and his partner did not do their homework with their product. There is a 17-year old product with the same name online! The original Mosquito Barrier sounds like the same formula, too.
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