Overview
- A peer‑reviewed study by teams at Virginia Tech and the University of Tours reports that lab‑bred Aedes aegypti can be conditioned to associate DEET odor with a food reward, changing avoidance into attraction.
- In controlled trials with mosquitoes behind mesh and a warm blood source, more than 60 percent tried to feed in response to DEET scent alone after four conditioning exposures.
- The same learned attraction appeared when sugar was used instead of blood, supporting an associative‑learning explanation rather than a chemical change in DEET's effects.
- Authors and outside experts stress the results come from tightly controlled lab work and do not prove the effect occurs in wild mosquito populations or typical real‑world exposure patterns.
- Researchers advise continuing DEET use with correct and regular reapplication, recommend combining repellents with nets, clothing, screens and source control, and call for targeted field studies to test real‑world relevance.