Reason for whichmosquitoes preferring some people and avoiding others remains a mystery, although it is believed that this is due to the scent we give off According to recent research, fragrance soapmixed with a person’s individual scent, can be the key to attraction or repel these insects.
A study by researchers at Virginia Tech and State University and published in the journal iScience suggests that a person who is particularly attractive to mosquitoes when not bathed may be even more attractive to mosquitoes. after using certain soapor vice versa, with a different soap, they could become unpleasant, as the main author, a neuroethologist, explains. Clement Vinauge.
Revealed the reason why mosquitoes often bite near the ankle
Although mosquitoes also feed on blood, their main food source is plant nectar. Therefore, odors that imitate or come from plants can influence their behavior.
Soap that repels mosquitoes
To verify this, the researchers analyzed chemical odors four volunteers before and after washing four different brands of soap: Dial, Dove, Native and Simple Truth, as well as studying the aroma characteristics of the soaps themselves.
Caution: These products are NOT used to prevent mosquito bites.
Each volunteer had a different scent profile, with some being more attractive to mosquitoes than others. The use of soap markedly changed these profiles.
The study showed that washing with soap influenced preferences mosquitoes, but differently depending on the type of soap and the volunteer. Washing with Dove and Simple Truth increased attraction in some volunteers, while Native soap tended to repel mosquitoes.
They figure out why mosquitoes bite some people and not others.
Although all four soaps contained limonene, recognized natural repellent, three of them increased the attractiveness of mosquitoes.
As part of their findings, they identified four chemical compounds that attracted mosquitoes and three that repelled them, including a key ingredient in coconut-flavored American bourbon and a floral compound used to treat scabies and lice.
The research team plans to expand on these findings by testing more types of soap and more volunteers, as well as researching how long the effect of soap on attracting or repelling mosquitoes lasts.