Colors that repel & keep away mosquitoes. Nothing is more annoying as the weather warms up than mosquitoes buzzing around the house or yard.
According to researchers from the University of Washington, some colors deter mosquitoes while others draw them in. Their research, which published in Nature Communications, showed that the mosquito’s olfactory (smell) sense affects how it reacts to visual cues and color.
However, this preference for one color only manifests when carbon dioxide (CO2), which we exhale when we breathe, is present.
Given that mosquitoes known to drawn to darker hues, the study found that pests dislike blue.
Lighter blues actually reflect more heat and light than the heat-absorbent navy blue tones, which mosquitoes dislike.
In a similar manner, mosquitoes shunned purple as well. This is primarily due to violet’s having the color with the shortest wavelength among all visible light colors.
They won’t approach it either because they prefer long-wavelength, red and orange tones.
Since white reflects heat and generally avoided by mosquitoes, it serves as the best deterrent. White was actually the study’s control object. The idea was to compare the outcomes by pairing each color in the test chamber with a white object.
According to research, mosquitoes chose to stay away from the white object in favor of the colors they preferred even when CO2 sprayed in the test chamber.
A researcher held their bare hands outside the test chamber throughout the experiment, and the mosquitoes drawn to them.
The same researcher, however, found that when they put their hand inside the test chamber while wearing a green glove, mosquitoes ignored it and passed right by. Even when it sprayed with CO2 to draw them in more, this continued to be the case. It would appear that mosquitoes are not particularly fond of the color green.
Even though these results are encouraging, experts advise that you still take additional preventative steps. Since citronella frequently found in mosquito repellent sprays and is repulsive to mosquitoes, it works well as a mosquito deterrent.
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Another option is to use a mosquito trap, which typically uses a combination of light and suction to attract and capture mosquitoes. In those problematic areas, gadgets like the Katchy Indoor Insect Trap ($44.99, Amazon) might be effective.
Typically, mosquitoes drawn to dark hues like navy/dark blue, red, orange, and black. This is because wearing darker colors will make you sweat more and trap heat, making you a mosquito breeding ground.