For the vast majority of people, summer not only means sun, swimming and warm evenings, but also lots of mosquitoes. But mosquito expert Marcus Stensmyr reveals you can keep mosquitoes away – with the help of grapefruit. He explains that the skin of the grapefruit contains the substance notecaton which the mosquitoes cannot cope with.
– We don’t really know exactly what’s going on, but they absolutely hate it. They get like an epileptic fit and stop after a while, he says.
There are not yet grapefruit-based mosquito products on the market, but it is just as well to use other products that contain grapefruit, for example shampoo or soap, says Stensmyr.
– Washing your hair with grapefruit shampoo didn’t have much of an effect, but if you don’t rinse the shampoo out of your hair, but leave it on, it works quite well, he says.
Stensmyr does not know when commercial mosquito products containing grapefruit will hit the market, but believes that it should happen fairly quickly as the substance is already used as a perfume and flavor enhancer. For those who want to keep the mosquitoes away already now, however, there are other options. But it is important to keep an eye on the mosquitoes’ preferences. Because there are both colors and phenomena that make you completely unattractive to the blood-loving air fans – and things that make you irresistible.
– Mosquitoes like dark colors, such as dark blue and black. However, bright colors such as lime green or light pink are difficult for them to see. Then you basically become invisible to mosquitoes. You can imagine that bright colors are reminiscent of when it sparkles among the vegetation, or something like that. Ideally, you should also breathe and move as little as possible, says Stensmyr.
Even perfume can keep mosquitoes away – but not if it smells too flowery. Since mosquitoes normally eat nectar, a flower-scented perfume can have the opposite effect and make you extra attractive to them.
– The perfumes found that scare away mosquitoes smell of citrus, coconut and vanilla, says Stensmyr.
Do you want to smell good, scare away mosquitoes and at the same time attract cats? Then catnip is your obvious choice. When mosquitoes come into contact with catnip, their heat receptors are activated.
– It feels to them like putting their hand on a hot plate, roughly. And then they disappear on their way, explains Stensmyr.
For those who, despite this, want to continue wearing dark clothes, breathing and wearing flowery perfumes, even ordinary mosquito repellents work great, according to Stensmyr.
– Then you should think about using a mosquito repellent that has a substance that contains DEET. The more you have of that substance, the more effective it is, he says.