Overview
- The study, published May 28 in the Journal of Experimental Biology, used Pavlovian-style training to pair DEET odor with feeding and found about 60% of trained Aedes aegypti attempted to feed in response to DEET alone.
- Researchers trained lab-bred yellow fever mosquitoes with short feeding trials where DEET was introduced in the last 10 seconds, and the insects later preferred a DEET-sprayed human hand over a clean hand.
- Authors replicated the effect with both blood and sugar rewards, which shows the association worked across different feeding contexts in the controlled lab setting.
- The team and independent experts stress that DEET remains the recommended repellent and that regular correct application is important because these results come from tightly controlled lab strains and mesh-barrier tests.
- Scientists say follow-up work should test wild mosquito populations, measure how long the learned attraction lasts, and evaluate how faded but detectable DEET concentrations affect bite risk in real-world settings.