Put away the bug spray this summer and crank up the Skrillex.
Researchers have discovered that the DJ’s 2010 breakout single “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” doubles as mosquito repellant.
According to medical journal Acta Tropica, the study looked at the effects of the track “on foraging, host attack, and sexual activities” of the biting insects.
"Females exposed to music attacked hosts much later than their non-exposed peers,” it reads. "The occurrence of blood feeding activity was lower when music was being played.”
No more mosquitoes man
— Skrillex (@Skrillex) April 3, 2019
The study also found that yellow fever mosquitoes exposed to Skrillex on repeat for 10 minutes “copulated far less often” than those kept in an environment without music. Researchers believe “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” confuse the insects, who need to synchronize wing beats to attract mates.
“In addition to providing insight into the auditory sensitivity of [mosquitoes] to sound, our results indicated the vulnerability of its key vectorial capacity traits to electronic music,” it reads.
“The observation that such music can delay host attack, reduce blood feeding, and disrupt mating provides new avenues for the development of music-based personal protective and control measures against [mosquito]-borne diseases.”
In other words, in places where Zika and dengue fever are real threats, people could be saying: "A DJ saved my life."
Science icon
— Skrillex (@Skrillex) April 3, 2019