The Loud, Bass Heavy Sounds Disrupt Mosquito Breeding Habits

While some types of electronic music can be divisive to listeners, a new study has shown that it may also be as unpleasant to mosquitos as it is to some humans. Scientists conducted a study, published in the Acta Tropica health journal, that came to some interesting conclusions regarding how music can affect the Yellow Fever Mosquito.

The wildly popular genre EDM, or Electronic Dance Music, has been shown to disrupt the mosquitos’ breeding habits, and cause fewer of them to bite people. Researchers played the dubstep artist Skrillex to a group of Yellow Fever Mosquitos, one of the main contributors to spreading diseases like Malaria and Zika.

The study concluded that many of the low-frequency vibrations, that are typically part of the bass-heavy EDM music, disrupt the mosquitos’ natural functions that rely on picking up sounds and vibration at different frequencies from the other mosquitos. While this study was conducted in a controlled environment, it does show potential for future studies into ways of keeping mosquitos at bay.

The widespread havoc caused by disease carrying mosquitos is usually controlled in the US by pesticides and chemicals, but in places with less infrastructure, like many African nations, alternative methods are being utilized. Halting the spread of deadly diseases will help many people who live in tropical and subtropical environments where mosquitos run rampant.

Even in the US, mosquito related ailments are a big issue, with the recent Zika outbreaks causing problems in many southern states. More research into preventing these diseases can help lead us to better methods of controlling such outbreaks.