Can You Repel Mosquitoes by the Color of Your Clothes?

  

During the summer months, mosquitos can be a nuisance to many people across the globe. Besides the temporary, irritatingly itchy bites that many experience, mosquitoes can pose a real threat to the human body. Zika, malaria, dengue, and West Nile are some of the deadliest mosquito-borne diseases. What can individuals do to protect themselves from these infections on a day-to-day basis? 

 

Research scientists at the University of Washington found that common mosquito species fly towards specific colors, including red, orange, black and cyan. Photoreceptors, cells that respond to light and distinguish between different colors of light, in mosquitos are activated by the olfactory system. Mosquitoes are attracted to the CO2, temperature, and sweat that humans emit. When mosquitoes inhale the CO2 that we exhale, they become visually sensitized. This means that mosquitos can detect humans specifically by the colors that we reflect externally. Human skin emits colors on the redder end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Regardless of overall pigmentation, human skin emits a strong red-orange “signal” to a mosquito’s eyes, which researchers believe is how mosquitoes find their hosts. If humans emitted colors on the bluer end of the spectrum, would they respond differently?


In an experiment, researchers tested individual mosquitoes to see how they respond to different odor and color stimuli. Mosquitoes were kept in miniature test chambers, which were sprayed with specific odors and displayed with different visual patterns, such as a colored dot or an experimenter's hand. Results showed that mosquitoes largely ignored a colored dot, regardless of its color, without an odor stimulus. Once CO2 was administered into the chamber, mosquitoes would then only be attracted to the dots that were red, orange, black, or cyan. Dots that were green, blue, or purple in color were ignored. CO2-primed Mosquitoes also ignored the experimenter’s hand when wearing a green-colored glove. These results suggest that individuals could potentially wear cool colored tones in order to decrease their chances of getting bitten. 

 

There is still more research needed to be done to determine how other odors and visual cues promote mosquitoes to target specific hosts. Different mosquito species may potentially also demonstrate different color preferences, based on their preferred host species. Overall, these findings are the first step into understanding how mosquitoes find hosts and give us better insight into how we can prevent outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases.

 

 

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/science-news/shades-blue-stop-mosquito-biting-you

https://www.washington.edu/news/2022/02/04/mosquitoes-red/

 

Gina Pasquale (3)

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 5, 2022 at 11:29 AM

    Hi Gina! I’ve always wondered why mosquitos go after certain people more than others. It was interesting to learn that mosquitos are drawn to specific colors, and I’m curious to know if there are more factors that play a role in mosquitos targeting specific people. Also, learning more about the behavior of mosquitos is definitely important in reducing and even preventing deadly mosquito-borne diseases. Do you think in finding more about mosquito behavior we may be able to eradicate some of these diseases in the future?
    - Sarah Belcher

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 5, 2022 at 4:05 PM

      Hi Sarah, I do believe discovering more about mosquito behavior will help us better understand how to prevent these diseases in the future. Around 17% of global estimated diseases are transmitted by vectors and around 12 major vector-borne diseases in the world cause more than 700,000 deaths each year. By learning about the different factors that attract mosquitos to humans or other organisms, we can unlock more effective methods of prevention that could lead to a decrease in infection.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousOctober 5, 2022 at 4:05 PM

      - Gina Pasquale

      Delete
  2. Lydia LitvakOctober 5, 2022 at 7:09 PM

    Hi Gina!
    Just like mostly everyone in the world, I find that mosquitos are the biggest nuisance to exist. I find it pretty interesting, however, that they are attracted to certain colors. This makes me wonder, are these colors analogous to the colors of our veins and arteries as viewed through the skin? And does this pose any correlation towards the fact that mosquitos are attracted to such colors? Also, considering that these colors attract mosquitoes, are there any colors proven to significantly repel them as well?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 6, 2022 at 5:55 PM

    In regards to whether mosquitoes can see the color of our veins and arteries through the skin, I could not find much information. However, I think to find veins mosquitoes mostly use their olfactory senses to detect specific chemicals in our blood. Colors on the bluer side of the spectrum were found to be most effective in repelling mosquitoes. Colors such as white, green, blue, or purple reflect heat and light, which mosquitoes aren't particularly attracted to.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Victoria LeongOctober 12, 2022 at 7:16 PM

    Hi Gina!
    This is such an interesting study! Mosquitos are such a big annoyance to everyone in the summertime, and it is interesting to find more alternatives to bug spray when you want to deal with less bugs. I really hope to see more research done in ways to avoid mosquitos. I wonder which is more effective - bug spray or wearing a cool toned color?

    ReplyDelete

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