Mosquitoes: Let’s Scare Them To Near Death

Mosquitoes are clever little suckers! They learn fast, they react fast and they bite…fast! So let’s take this knowledge to our advantage by continuing to swat these disease spreading pests every time they come near us because new evidence has arisen that even if you miss your target, there’s a pretty good chance the mosquito won’t target you next time.

First-Ever Evidence That Mosquitoes Can Be Trained

Disease-carrying mosquitoes can learn to associate near-death experiences with scent and will stay away after an attempted swat. It turns out that by slapping at a mosquito about to bite, the insect learns to associate that near-death encounter with your personal scent and avoid you in the future.

So continue to wave your arms about, grab that swatter and generally defend yourselves against these critters because the more you ‘scare them’ the chances of them returning to you again and again decline. You become the smell that they associate with danger.

Our own actions and odor could be our personal defense mechanism, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t protect ourselves with already proven mosquito control.

A New Study Shows Mosquitoes Can Be Trained Not to Bite Specific Humans

According to a study published in Current Biology, when you slap at a mosquito that is about to bite you, it learns to associate your personal scent with that life-threatening experience and will avoid you in the future. This is the first demonstration showing that mosquitoes are able to both learn and remember.

It’s a promising discovery, with findings that can continue to contribute to the constant battle we have against mosquitoes. Let’s scare them to near death!