COLUMBUS, Ohio — One viral TikTok video shows people using Irish Spring soap to keep mosquitoes away while enjoying the outdoors. 10TV viewer Connie asked, can you please Verify if this works?
The viral video shows a woman grating the soap and sprinkling it on her back patio. To find out if this method works, we went to Ohio Public Health Entomologist Dr. Richard Gary.
"The CDC and U.S. EPA recommend products that are registered because those are products that have been studied thoroughly for effectiveness and safety," Gary said.
Those products are listed on both the CDC and the EPA's website. They include ingredients that have been scientifically proven to keep mosquitoes away.
As for ingredients that work, Gary explained, "Deet is probably number one. There's an ingredient called picaridin and also oil of lemon eucalyptus."
Gary said that while Irish Spring soap could have something mosquitoes don't like, it really comes down to what ingredients have scientific backing to keep you safe because mosquitoes can carry diseases.
"Mosquitoes in Ohio can carry the West Nile virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis and, even a few years ago, you may recall we had a scare with Zika virus," Gary said.
So, can we Verify this viral claim? No, there is no scientific backing from the EPA or CDC that Irish Spring soap repels mosquitoes.