Washing your skin with soap is probably a logical way to avoid mosquito bites because you think that if they can’t smell your body, they won’t bite you. But a new study has shown that the smell of soap itself actually attracts mosquitoes to you.
Mosquitoes are likely attracted to the smell of soap because when they’re not feeding on blood, they satisfy their need for sugar, the Guardian reported. Nectar of plants provide As a result, when you use soaps with the smell of flowers and fruits, you actually attract mosquitoes.
“It’s like waking up in the morning and smelling tea and cake at the same time,” says Clement Winegar, lead researcher of the project from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. These smells will be very attractive to you.
The smell of a person’s body is also important in attracting mosquitoes
Despite the above explanation, apparently the effect of each soap is different on each person. The reason for this is probably due to the different reactions of soaps to the unique body odor of each person. “It’s interesting that a person who is very attractive to mosquitoes before washing, using a soap for them,” says Winager. more attractive And with another soap for them ugly It will be.”
Therefore, scientists have concluded that the choice of soap can explain why some people are attracted to mosquitoes, while others are protected from the bites of these insects.
In this experiment, the researchers examined soaps from four brands: Dial, Dove, Native and Simple Truth, and it was found that except NativeThe rest of the brands attract mosquitoes not in all participants but in some of them. Researchers speculate that Native’s reverse effect is due to the smell coconut It is possible that some evidence had previously reported the effect of its oil in repelling mosquitoes.
The results of this study have been published in iSicence magazine.
