“You’ve seen the clip on fans, bug repellent bracelets, and candles,” Jennifer Lindgren reports for CBS Dallas/Fort Worth. “The latest in gadgets claiming to help fight off mosquitoes, are apps for the smart phone.”
“One app, called the Anti Mosquito – Sonic Repeller – Pico BrothersAnti Mosquito Sonic Repeller, emits a high frequency sound, which the makers claim mosquitoes will avoid. The description says by keeping the app close, mosquitos will stay away,” Lindgren reports. “The makers say it is not 100% effective, but will ease the pain of the biting pests.”
“At UNT’s Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Dr. Joon Lee handles mosquitos on a daily basis. The medical entomologist is one of the leading researchers of the insect in the country. The only product he’s found to be tried and true: DEET,” Lindgren reports. “‘Most of the other products are unregistered (with the EPA), which means they are posing minimal risk, but the effectiveness is unproven,’ Dr. Lee says. He cautions, it’s important to read the label on a DEET product. Dr. Lee finds, concentrations with 15-30% DEET can be safer on the skin than high concentrations. Some products on the market today contain near 100% DEET. ‘Personally I wouldn’t recommend applying a type of chemical with this high concentration on the face, and directly on the skin,’ said Dr. Lee.”
Lindgren reports, “When it comes to the smart phone app, Dr. Lee says he’s not sure how effective it would be on mosquitos. Dr. Lee says male mosquitos rely on antennae more than females. While the noise may keep the males away, Dr. Lee says it may not affect the female mosquitos the same way — and females are the bugs that bite.”
More info and video in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: So, in general, these sonic apps repel the non-biting mosquitos and don’t bother the biting ones. Good to know. Pass the DEET, please!
But, on second thought, this could seriously cramp the mosquitos’ style. What if somebody scheduled an anti-mosquito flash mob and a bunch people in one city or town all ran sonic repeller apps their iPhones to drive the male mosquitoes away? Or if they just set up some big speakers scattered throughout town to play the app’s high frequency sound? Hence, no mosquitos getting lucky tonight or for as long as the sound plays.
How long would the app have to play until that would significantly impact the mosquito population? According to Wikipedia, male mosquitos typically live for about a week and females for one to two weeks in nature. So, if the sonic repeller app played nonstop for a week… no more males in the area and no more viable eggs, either!