Skrillex's dubstep beats keep mosquitoes from biting
Have you ever wondered how to make mosquitoes stop attacking you? The answer might be simpler than you think. Just use... Skrillex! Studies have shown that female mosquitoes listening to dubstep have less appetite for blood.
8:04 PM EDT, August 13, 2024
Mosquitoes are our unwanted summer roommates. As if that wasn’t enough, these small, annoying insects are also responsible for spreading dangerous diseases like the Zika virus or dengue fever. What if we could curb their appetite for blood and their drive to reproduce? A group of scientists decided to test if loud music could help with that. They chose Skrillex, the dubstep master known for his powerful vibrations.
Skrillex, mosquitoes, and a hamster for dinner
As part of the experiment, the research team prepared a special mosquito feast. They placed "fasting" female mosquitoes that hadn’t fed for 12 hours into a cage. Alongside them, they put an innocent hamster (meant to serve as dinner) and a male mosquito (playing the role of... a date). To introduce an element of chaos, they played Skrillex’s track "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" at full volume in the background. The female mosquitoes spent 10-minute sessions in this club atmosphere while the researchers closely observed their behavior.
Dubstep discouraged female mosquitoes from biting
The results of the experiment were quite surprising. It turned out that female mosquitoes exposed to Skrillex’s sounds had serious concentration issues. Instead of immediately attacking the hamster, as the silent mosquitoes did, these "music-influenced" mosquitoes took two to three minutes to start looking for dinner. That’s not all—when they did find the hamster, they were less likely to try to bite it, staying in the club mood.
And what about amorous adventures? Skrillex turned out to be a terrible wingman. The mosquitoes listening to dubstep had five times fewer successful dates than those spending time in silence. Scientists suggest that the track’s aggressive vibrations disoriented the insects, making them unable to synchronize the rhythm of their wings—the insect equivalent of swiping right.
The impact of music on insects
The study’s results fit well into the growing evidence that man-made sounds can disrupt insects’ behaviors. Similar experiments have shown that leaf-eating insects lose their appetite when hearing sounds generated by an audio oscillator, and beetles that feed on aphids lose interest in their meal when "Back in Black" by AC/DC plays in the background.
Not everyone might be a fan of dubstep, but if Skrillex can keep mosquitoes from attacking our bodies and reduce their reproduction, perhaps it’s worth reconsidering our summer playlist. Instead of traditional sprays and insect screens, maybe investing in a solid speaker and a few Skrillex albums is better?
