A new study has found that female blood-sucking mosquitoes are attracted to certain kinds of soaps commonly used by people, while being repelled by others, potentially leading to the development of better mosquito repellents. It is estimated that about 80% of mosquito-borne diseases are transmitted in an area by approximately 20% of potential human hosts, according to Clément Vinauger, a biochemist and geneticist at Virginia Tech. Vinauger explained that in this context, understanding what makes mosquitoes bite some hosts more than others is crucial.
While some studies have identified chemicals in our body odor that are appealing to mosquitoes, there hasn’t been as much work looking at how the smells we add to ourselves can affect mosquito attraction. This new study found that adding certain chemicals, such as those commonly found in flower-scented soaps, to body odor can attract or repel mosquitoes, potentially leading to the development of mosquito-proof soaps.
The study, published in the journal iScience, recruited four human volunteers and identified each person’s unique smell signature. The volunteers were then asked to wash up with four soap brands, namely Dial, Dove, Native, and Simple Truth. Finally, female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were exposed to fabrics worn by the volunteers when they were unwashed or washed.
It was found that mosquito preferences differed between brands and volunteers to varying degrees before and after soaping up. As a result, the team also identified which chemicals were most likely to attract or repel insects in these soaps. It was a coconut-scented chemical that was found to be the most effective in preventing mosquito bites out of these candidates.
It is only a single study with a relatively small sample size, but the results are promising, and the team hopes to obtain funding to run larger studies to test a wide variety of soaps and volunteers while also answering other important questions, including how long soap effects last.
The results of this research could be used to inform the cosmetics industry about particular combinations of chemicals that can produce soaps that are still pleasant to the nose while repelling mosquitoes, if the research continues to be successful. To control mosquitoes, it could also inform the design of baits to lure them and trap them.