3 ms·

As I understand it, the issue is that, while it might repel them to begin with, mosquitos evolve quite rapidly, and sooner or later they will learn to ignore th

by runeks 10y ago

As I understand it, the issue is that, while it might repel them to begin with, mosquitos evolve quite rapidly, and sooner or later they will learn to ignore the repellent, and it will be ineffective. There are tons of substances that mosquitos and insects find repelling. We have mapped the receptor in mosquitos which, when activated, make them shy away from a substance. But if it doesn't kill the mosquitos, or damage them, they will eventually learn that it's unharmful, and it will no longer be effective. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v502/n7472/full/nature12594.html http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v502/n7472/full/nature1... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthranilate-based_insect_repellents https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthranilate-based_insect_re...

m_eiman 10y ago
Not if they can live their lives as usual everywhere else, then the evolutionary pressure to adapt is low. Assuming you spray only houses.
JshWright 10y ago
I assume this works because the mosquitoes don't want to get eaten. Unless this somehow causes chickens to evolve to no longer eat mosquitoes, it seems unlikely this effect would diminish over time.
- trhway 10y ago
  chicken actually eating, ie. killing mosquitoes, suggests similar technical solution - like miniature anti-aircraft weapon consisting of small laser and either camera or radar (like Google's recently demonstrated 60GHz penny sized one) which one would hang over the bed. By focusing laser right at the position of the mosquito it can be pretty safe for humans around. Can be a tool against flies too.
runeks 10y ago
While looking for a different paper, which shows that mosquitos can adapt to certain repellents, I discovered that the paper from above has been retracted: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature18613.html http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/natu... I will post a link to the other paper if I find it.
- runeks 10y ago
  Here's the paper. Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Exhibit Decreased Repellency by DEET following Previous Exposure: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0054438 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....
taco_emoji 10y ago
> But if it doesn't kill the mosquitos, or damage them, they will eventually learn that it's unharmful, and it will no longer be effective. If a repellent stimulus no longer harms them, that doesn't automatically mean there's any strong advantage to not being repelled anymore. (And I would avoid uses phrases like "learn" to describe this behavior. A population of mosquitoes may evolve to no longer be repelled by chicken smells, but that doesn't mean they're remotely aware of it.)
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Iv 10y ago
Sooner or later, sure. But mosquito coils use the same compounds since at least 100 years and still are pretty effective.

by runeks 10y ago

m_eiman 10y ago

Not if they can live their lives as usual everywhere else, then the evolutionary pressure to adapt is low. Assuming you spray only houses.

JshWright 10y ago

I assume this works because the mosquitoes don't want to get eaten. Unless this somehow causes chickens to evolve to no longer eat mosquitoes, it seems unlikely this effect would diminish over time.

trhway 10y ago
chicken actually eating, ie. killing mosquitoes, suggests similar technical solution - like miniature anti-aircraft weapon consisting of small laser and either camera or radar (like Google's recently demonstrated 60GHz penny sized one) which one would hang over the bed. By focusing laser right at the position of the mosquito it can be pretty safe for humans around. Can be a tool against flies too.

runeks 10y ago

While looking for a different paper, which shows that mosquitos can adapt to certain repellents, I discovered that the paper from above has been retracted: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature18613.html http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/natu... I will post a link to the other paper if I find it.

runeks 10y ago
Here's the paper. Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Exhibit Decreased Repellency by DEET following Previous Exposure: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0054438 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....

taco_emoji 10y ago

> But if it doesn't kill the mosquitos, or damage them, they will eventually learn that it's unharmful, and it will no longer be effective. If a repellent stimulus no longer harms them, that doesn't automatically mean there's any strong advantage to not being repelled anymore. (And I would avoid uses phrases like "learn" to describe this behavior. A population of mosquitoes may evolve to no longer be repelled by chicken smells, but that doesn't mean they're remotely aware of it.)

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

Iv 10y ago

Sooner or later, sure. But mosquito coils use the same compounds since at least 100 years and still are pretty effective.