Q. I wanted to thank you for a recent Q&A about a safe way to get rid of mosquitoes in the house. The suggestion about 90-percent isopropyl alcohol was a great idea.
My husband was at the computer, saw two mosquitoes and sprayed them. They died instantly. We had been trying to find a way of spraying something in the house that would be safe.
A. We are pleased the alcohol spray worked so well, but we were taken to task for leaving out a very important warning: “I am very concerned about the advice you gave about killing mosquitoes using isopropyl alcohol. You wrote, ‘Put some [isopropyl alcohol, which is labeled FLAMMABLE on the container!] in a plastic spray bottle and adjust the nozzle until you get a fine mist’ and then you say to spray the mosquito when it lands.
“This advice is a formula for disaster, especially in a cabin or camping situation. In an unmarked bottle the alcohol could be confused with water. If that mist came in contact with an open flame or any ignition source (camp lamps and fires, or electrical equipment like space heaters) it would act like a flame-thrower and someone would get hurt.”
We had not imagined the possibility of spraying the alcohol near a flame. We agree that isopropyl alcohol is indeed very flammable and must NEVER be sprayed near any ignition source.
