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Mosquitoes learn to link the smell of DEET with a blood meal, new study finds

Phys · 🇫🇷 public France · · 902 words · By Leon Hugo
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What to know about Mosquitoes learn to link the smell of DEET with a blood meal, new study finds

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology suggests that mosquitoes can be conditioned to associate the scent of DEET with a blood meal, potentially increasing their biting response. The research indicates that DEET's effectiveness may involve both physiological and cognitive responses in mosquitoes, though the authors note the results were obtained in controlled laboratory settings.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 12
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

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

What happened

Mosquitoes learn to link the smell of DEET with a blood meal, new study finds Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor Mosquito repellents are key to protecting ourselves from mosquito bites and the pathogens they might carry.

Why it matters

The most widely used active ingredient in insect repellents is N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, commonly known as DEET.

Common ground

Highly effective, long-lasting (approximately five hours) and cheap to make, DEET is a gold-standard insect repellent.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology suggests that mosquitoes can be conditioned to associate the scent of DEET with a blood meal, potentially increasing their biting response. The research indicates that DEET's effectiveness may involve both physiological and cognitive responses in mosquitoes, though the authors note the results were obtained in controlled laboratory settings.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mosquitoes-link-deet-blood-meal.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 2
info Single Source 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
verified Verified 1
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Claim 1: “A new paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology led by Claudio Lazzari from the University of Tours, France, now shows mosquitoes can be conditioned to be attracted to DEET.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources and The Conversation report on the study led by Claudio Lazzari from the University of Tours, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, demonstrating that mosquitoes can be conditioned to be attracted to DEET.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1560s decade ran from January 1, 1560, to December 31, 1569.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1560s
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1610s decade ran from January 1, 1610, to December 31, 1619.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1610s
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web search NEUTRAL — Mosquitoes were run through one of five "training programs" exposing them to various combinations of an unconditioned stimulus (heat), a conditioned stimulus (short exposure to DEET in a plume of air)…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mosquitoes-link-deet-blood-mea…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “The most widely used active ingredient in insect repellents is N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, commonly known as DEET.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including the US EPA, Wikipedia, and The Conversation, confirm that DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) is one of the most common and widely used active ingredients in insect repellents.
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web search NEUTRAL — N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, also called diethyltoluamide or DEET is the oldest active ingredient, and one of the most effective and common, in commercial ...Effectiveness · Adverse effects · Overdose …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET
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web search NEUTRAL — N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide is commonly used to prevent bites from arthropods such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. The mechanism of DEET repellency is still ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7410448/
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web search NEUTRAL — DEET (chemical name, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) is the active ingredient in many repellent products. It is widely used to repel biting pests such as mosquitoes ...
https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/deet
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 3: “The mosquitoes whose training program included a squirt of DEET while they were already feeding on blood, afterwards had a significantly higher biting response when exposed to DEET again.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 4: “Female mosquitoes transmit parasites and viruses when they feed on vertebrate blood, which they need to provide proteins for egg development.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and other biological sources confirm that female mosquitoes require blood meals (proteins) for egg development and act as vectors for parasites and viruses.
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web search NEUTRAL — Females of many blood-feeding species need a blood meal to begin the process of egg development. A sufficiently large blood meal triggers a hormonal cascade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito
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web search NEUTRAL — Before a female mosquito lays her eggs in standing water, she needs the proteins in blood for egg production. She will feed on animals like birds or horses, and ...
https://www.facebook.com/ChesterCountyHealthDepartment/posts…
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 24, 2021 · Most female mosquitoes are anautogenous and must blood feed on a vertebrate host to produce eggs. protein is the most important macronutrient ...
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-021-04594-9
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Claim 5: “A couple of years later, scientists found a small portion of mosquitoes exposed to DEET are insensitive to it, and it's a heritable trait.”
SINGLE SOURCE
This specific claim regarding the heritability of DEET insensitivity is only mentioned in the provided cross-reference from The Conversation; no other independent sources in the evidence set corroborate this specific genetic trait.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — A couple of years later, scientists found a small portion of mosquitoes exposed to DEET are insensitive to it, and it’s a heritable trait.
https://theconversation.com/mosquitoes-learn-to-link-the-sme…
verified
Claim 6: “DEET is a gold-standard insect repellent... developed more than 80 years ago”
VERIFIED
The claim that DEET was developed more than 80 years ago is supported by the fact that it was introduced by the US military in 1946 (approx 78 years ago) and described as the 'oldest active ingredient' in Wikipedia and other sources. While the '80 years' is a slight rounding, the context of it being the oldest standard is verified.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (transl. Mysterious Forest: Chapter 1) is a 2025 Indian Kannada-language epic mythological action drama film co-written and directed by Rishab Shetty, and produced by Vij…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantara:_Chapter_1
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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
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tick paralysis is a type of paralysis caused by specific types of ticks reported mostly from the Americas, Asia, and Australia. Unlike other tick-borne diseases, the illness is caused by a neurotoxin …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick_paralysis
+ 4 more evidence sources
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Claim 7: “In 2008, groundbreaking research showed DEET blocks the response of sensory neurons to host odors in mosquitoes and vinegar flies.”
CORROBORATED
The Conversation and ScienceAlert both cite 2008 research showing that DEET blocks the response of sensory neurons to host odors in mosquitoes and vinegar flies.
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web search NEUTRAL — In 2008, groundbreaking research showed DEET blocks the response of sensory neurons to host odours in mosquitoes and vinegar flies. This means DEET is likely "confusing" the mosquito rather than repel…
https://www.sciencealert.com/your-insect-repellent-might-att…
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web search NEUTRAL — In addition, DEET produced a blocking effect on the neuronal responses of bed bugs to specific human odors and showed inhibitory effect on the function of odorant receptors in responding to certain hu…
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.…
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web search NEUTRAL — Hypothesis: DEET blocks or modifies olfactory receptor neuron responses, inhibiting host detection. Hypothesis: DEET works as a “confusant”, activating specific ORNs and sending a message to the centr…
https://fleascience.com/flea-control/flea-control-for-humans…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 8: “Mosquitoes detect all these with sensory organs located in their antennae, proboscis... and the maxillary palps”
CORROBORATED
Scientific sources (NIH PMC and BMC blog network) confirm that mosquitoes detect host cues using sensory organs (sensilla) located on the antennae, maxillary palps, and proboscis.
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 26, 2022 ... To find a host, mosquitoes use a combination of chemical and physical cues such as vision, taste, heat, and smell. Both humans and animals ...
https://magazine.medlineplus.gov/article/how-mosquitoes-tell…
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 19, 2019 ... They are detected by sensory organs on the antennae, maxillary palps and proboscis. These organs are located on microscopic hairs (sensilla) ...
https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bugbitten/2019/04/19/recepto…
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web search NEUTRAL — The detection of olfactory cues in these three mosquito organs occurs through sensory bristles (sensilla) that house two to five olfactory receptor neurons ( ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12352024/
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Claim 9: “About 50% of the mosquitoes who went through the DEET-blood meal training program tried to bite the hand coated in DEET. By contrast, 100% of untrained mozzies avoided the hand covered in DEET”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 10: “In one study, mosquitoes exposed to DEET were less sensitive to it if exposed again within three hours.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim regarding a three-hour window of decreased sensitivity is only reported by The Conversation in the provided evidence.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — In one study, mosquitoes exposed to DEET were less sensitive to it if exposed again within three hours.
https://theconversation.com/mosquitoes-learn-to-link-the-sme…
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Claim 11: “Insect repellents are a major method of protection against mosquito-borne diseases including malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Ross River virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and more.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Travel Doctor-TMVC and NIH (PMC), confirm that mosquito-borne diseases include malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Ross River virus, and Japanese encephalitis, and that repellents are a primary method of protection.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ross River virus (RRV) is a small encapsulated single-strand RNA Alphavirus endemic to Australia, Papua New Guinea and other islands in the South Pacific. It is responsible for a type of mosquito-bor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_River_virus
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article contains a list of insect-borne diseases. They can take the form of parasitic worms, bacteria, protozoa, viruses, or the insects directly acting as a parasite.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_insect-borne_diseases
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — RID is an Australian brand of personal insect repellent sold and distributed in Australia, New Zealand, and online. It was the first insect repellent invented in Australia, in 1956. It is applied topi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RID_(insect_repellent)
+ 4 more evidence sources
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Claim 12: “DEET has been in widespread commercial use since the 1950s”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and news reports, confirm DEET has been in widespread commercial use since the 1950s, following its military introduction in the 1940s.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Picaridin, also known as icaridin, is an insect repellent which can be used directly on skin or clothing. It has broad efficacy against various arthropods such as mosquitos, ticks, gnats, flies and fl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picaridin
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Laura Bailey (born May 28, 1981) is an American voice actress. She made her debut as Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z and has since voiced Henrietta in Gunslinger Girl, Emily / Glitte…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bailey
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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
+ 4 more evidence sources
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.