fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Scientific Research › Article

Common insect repellent now attracts mosquitoes — signaling a ‘blood meal’ for bugs: study

Nypost · 🇫🇷 public France · · 514 words · By Allison Lax
Scientific Research Public Health/Insect Repellents
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Scientific Research

Common insect repellent now attracts mosquitoes — signaling a ‘blood meal’ for bugs: study See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 6
Techniques found 1
Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Common insect repellent now attracts mosquitoes — signaling a ‘blood meal’ for bugs: study See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleResearch now shows that mosquitoes may bite the hand that feeds them Deet — at least in time.

Common ground

The commonly used chemical — which is the gold standard ingredient approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to act as a mosquito repellent — has recently been shown to potentially attract the pesky insects, as they’ve come to associate the…

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/29/science/deet-insect-repellant-may-now-attract-mosq…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4
verified Verified 1
verified Verified By Reference 1
check_circle
Claim 1: “nearly 60 percent of mosquitos that had fed on blood while exposed to the chemical attempted to bite a researcher’s Deet-dipped hand afterwards.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that more than 60% of mosquitoes that had previously fed on blood while exposed to DEET attempted to bite/return when they smelled DEET again.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cobra is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language psychological action thriller film directed by R. Ajay Gnanamuthu and produced by 7 Screen Studio. The film stars Vikram in a dual roles as twin brothers, alongs…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobra_(2022_film)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the characters that have appeared on 90210, an American teen drama. The series introduces Annie Wilson (Shenae Grimes) and her adopted brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds), who move from Ka…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_90210_characters
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — RRR is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language epic period action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who co-wrote the screenplay with V. Vijayendra Prasad. The title is an abbreviation for Rajamouli, Ram C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRR
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 2: “This was put up against 17 percent of mosquitos with no prior training; 13 percent of the insects who were presented with just Deet; 17 percent that had fed on warm blood without Deet exposure; and 23 percent that had fed on warm blood before and had Deet exposure, but not at the same time.”
CORROBORATED
The specific percentages (17% untrained, 13% DEET alone, 17% blood without DEET) are consistently reported across multiple web search results detailing the study's findings.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, also called diethyltoluamide or DEET (, from DET, the initials of di- + ethyl + toluamide), is the oldest active ingredient, and one of the most effective and common, in co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of Borrelia bacteria, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus Ixodes. It is the most common disease spre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sandfly or sand fly is a colloquial name for any species or genus of flying, biting, blood-sucking dipteran (fly) encountered in sandy areas. In the United States, sandfly may refer to certain horse f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandfly
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 3: “research — detailed in the Journal of Experimental Biology — suggests that mosquito’s reaction to Deet can be “modified by experience.””
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources report on a study (citing Prof Claudio Lazzari) stating that mosquitoes' reactions to DEET can be modified by experience, switching from aversive to appetitive.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Insect olfaction refers to the function of chemical receptors that enable insects to detect and identify volatile compounds for foraging, predator avoidance, finding mating partners (via pheromones) a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_olfaction
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word mosquito (formed by mosca and diminutive -ito) is Spanish and Portuguese for little fly. Mosquitoes have a …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, United States. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides docto…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_University
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 4: “The commonly used chemical [Deet] — which is the gold standard ingredient approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to act as a mosquito repellent”
VERIFIED
The US EPA website explicitly states that DEET is the active ingredient in many insect repellent products used to repel mosquitoes and ticks, and other sources refer to it as the 'gold standard' EPA-approved repellent.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — DEET (chemical name, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) is the active ingredient in many insect repellent products. It is widely used to repel biting pests such as mosquitoes and ticks. Formulations register…
https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/deet
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Most types contain either DEET or picaridin, a relatively newer repellent. Out of these two, which one is more reliable for preventing mosquitoes? Time and time again, EPA-approved repellents containi…
https://leospest.com/mosquitoes/prevention/what-is-the-most-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Protect your home with DEET-based mosquito repellent. Learn about EPA safety guidelines, benefits, and how to use DEET effectively.
https://www.barefootmosquito.com/articles/mosquito-control-h…
check_circle
Claim 5: “60 percent of the pesks that fed when presented with this — mixed with Deet — showed biting attempts when exposed to just Deet in future feedings.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources specifically mention that 60% of mosquitoes that fed when presented with warm blood alongside DEET subsequently showed biting attempts when exposed to DEET alone.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, also called diethyltoluamide or DEET (, from DET, the initials of di- + ethyl + toluamide), is the oldest active ingredient, and one of the most effective and common, in co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private university in Point Loma in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazarene.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Loma_Nazarene_University
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is an American television series produced by The Jim Henson Company. It is a prequel to the 1982 Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal that explores the world of Thra cr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Crystal:_Age_of_Resis…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 6: “Deet (which has the chemical name N,N, -diethyl-meta-toluamide)”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The chemical name N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide is explicitly confirmed by the US EPA and toxicological profiles.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — DEET (chemical name, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) is the active ingredient in many insect repellent products.
https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/deet
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — DEET is the chemical, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, ortho and para isomers are present at low concentrations. DEET is an N,N-disubstituted aromatic carbonamide, which is used as an active ingredient in …
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp185-c4.pdf
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Its chemical name is N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide. The EPA stopped requiring manufacturer studies of DEET's environmental safety by 1998 because it found early research compelling enough.
https://www.treehugger.com/what-is-deet-is-it-safe-for-you-a…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.