November 13, 2015

Perfume Effectively Repels Mosquitoes

At first I thought this claim was a joke... but it's no joke. Research performed at New Mexico State University found that Victoria's Secret perfume "Bombshell" effectively repelled mosquitoes for up to 120 minutes.

The research was performed in the lab of Dr. Immo Hansen, associate professor of biology.

He and his colleagues found that DEET is still the best at repelling mosquitoes, but apparently Bombshell may be the next best thing. This perfume apparently cut down the mosquito attraction rate from 60% (no repellant used) down to 17% with Bombshell.

Researchers evaluated a total of 10 commercially available mosquito repellants. They found non-DEET products had little to no effect except for:

- Cutter-brand Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent
- Avon Skin So Soft bug guard was effective in repelling the tiger mosquitoes but not yellow fever mosquitoes
- Avon Skin So Soft bath oil repelled the yellow fever mosquitoes but not tiger mosquitoes

So if DEET is a chemical that frightens you, consider Bombshell from Victoria's Secret! You can purchase this fragrance from Amazon.

Media:
This Perfume Can Repel Mosquitoes. HuffingtonPost.com 11/12/15

Reference:
The Efficacy of Some Commercially Available Insect Repellents for Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Insect Science. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iev125 140 First published online: 6 October 2015


Fauquier blog
Fauquier ENT

Dr. Christopher Chang is a private practice otolaryngology, head & neck surgeon specializing in the treatment of problems related to the ear, nose, and throat. Located in Warrenton, VA about 45 minutes west of Washington DC, he also provides inhalant allergy testing/treatment, hearing tests, and dispenses hearing aids.


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