Can You Lure Mosquitoes With Blood?
WouterDuring World War II, researchers conducted a large observational effort at the USDA lab in Orlando, Florida. The chemist Ulrich R. Bernier found that there were over 340 unique scents on human skin. He was able to use the findings to develop a formula that could attract mosquitoes to eat beet juice.
He also discovered that the parasites that cause malaria release a chemical into the blood of a host. This chemical smells like bloody steak to mosquitoes.
The chemical travels from the bloodstream to the mosquito’s lungs. It is then breathed out. This process may explain why people with malaria are more attracted to mosquitoes.
Scientists are currently studying this process and trying to figure out what makes someone more attractive to a mosquito. Other factors include heat, body odor, sweating, and more.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. Researchers are currently working on developing a commercial version of the bait. They are also experimenting with field applications.
Molecular Attraction is the company that developed the bait. Lech Ignatowicz, the company’s CEO, says that the company needed to find a way to make the bait affordable and scalable.
He started by creating a base that contained no blood. He then paired it with beet juice. After testing the bait on mosquitoes, he found that it worked well. It also was easy to scale up. They tested it on a variety of mosquitoes, including those that carry malaria. The bait killed mosquitoes quickly.
