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How Do Mosquitoes Sense DEET
Have you ever heard of the chemical N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide? You may recognize it by its more familiar shorthand name of DEET. This active ingredient is found in the majority of insect repellents to help keep mosquitoes away and it’s been around since about the 1940s. If you’ve ever watched videos of how mosquitoes “bite” someone, you’ve likely noticed that they don’t so much bite you. Instead, the female mosquito sticks its straw-like mouth called a proboscis to pierce the skin and draw blood. With that in mind, you may be curious if the same approach is used when there is DEET-enhanced...