![]() Three of the four soaps increased mosquito attractiveness while one decreased. What were the results fragrance preferences? “That’s where we found that not all soaps have the same effect on all volunteers.” ![]() “This way we can really measure and quantify the effect of the soap in terms of increasing or decreasing the attractiveness of the individual,” Vinauger said. The tests were repeated for the various combinations of scents. These were gathered from a nylon sleeve on the forearms with the body in both washed and unwashed states. To test the interactions between smell, the researchers released mosquitoes in a meshed case that had two cups containing order extracts and gave them a choice, unwashed scents gathered from the persons along with their washed scents. “So we think there is a lot of chemical interaction between our natural chemicals and soap chemicals.” “The other aspect is that it’s not simply adding stuff to our body odor, but it’s also replacing some chemicals while eliminating others, that are washed away,” Vinauger said. The research team looked in the unique scent profile of each person, unwashed and washed with each Dial, Dove, Native and Simple Truth soaps, the release stated.Īccording to Vinauger, more than 60% of what is smelled after washing comes from soap, rather than natural body odors. His collaborator, Chloé Lahondère, is also an assistant professor of biochemistry.įour volunteers studied the connection between soap and mosquitoes’ attractiveness. “Just by changing soap scents, someone who already attracts mosquitoes at a higher-than-average rate could further amplify or decrease that attraction,” said Clément Vinauger, an assistant professor of biochemistry and co-principal investigator on the proof-of-concept study. While many are grabbing repellants, others claim mosquitoes don’t even bite them at all.Īccording to Virginia Tech researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, certain soaps could make people more or less attractive to mosquitoes. Pesky mosquitoes are coming out - but not to play - as the temperatures heat up. ![]() HOUSTON – It’s that time of the year again.
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