▷ What is DEET? How Mosquito Repellent Works

What is DEET? How Mosquito Repellent Works

#buzz #mosquito #dangerous
Buzzz! Buzzzz!
Mosquitos, probably the most hated animals on the planet. Mosquitos are flies, and actually feed mostly on plants, however in many species the females have become vampiric ectoparasites, using nutrients in the blood to allow them to produce eggs. We cannot stand their irritating, itchy and potentially dangerous bites. These tiny insect kill more people each year than any other group of animals, by transmitting a host of viruses in their saliva. Most people are familiar with insect repellent, the most well known being diethyltoluamide, or DEET. But how does it repel mosquitos? I hope you find this video informative on mosquito biology, and helps you enjoy you expeditions, whether traipsing through the rainforest, or exploring your backyard, without the constant irritation of mosquitos. I have wanted to make some videos focusing on biochemistry, and hopefully this video gets some of that across.

Sources
Gates, Bill. “The Deadliest Animal in the World”.
Freudenrich, Craig (2001-07-05). “HowStuffWorks “How Mosquitoes Work””. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
Huget, Jennifer (2007-07-31). “Will Nothing Stop That Infernal Itch?”. Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
Anna Petherick (2008-03-13). “How DEET jams insects’ smell sensors”. Nature News. doi:10.1038/news.2008.672. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
Syed, Z.; Leal, WS (2008). “Mosquitoes smell and avoid the insect repellent DEET”. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 105 (36): 13598–603. doi:10.1073/pnas.0805312105. PMC 2518096. PMID 18711137.
Stanczyk, Nina M.; Brookfield, John F. Y.; Field, Linda M.; Logan, James G. (2013). Vontas, John (ed.). “Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes Exhibit Decreased Repellency by DEET following Previous Exposure”. PLoS ONE (published 20 February 2013). 8 (2): e54438. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054438. PMC 3577799. PMID 23437043. Lay summary – BBC news (21 February 2013)
^ Drakou, CE; Tsitsanou, KE; Potamitis, C; Fessas, D; Zervou, M; Zographos, SE (2017). “The crystal structure of the AgamOBP1•Icaridin complex reveals alternative binding modes and stereo-selective repellent recognition”. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 74 (2): 319–338. doi:10.1007/s00018-016-2335-6. PMID 27535661.
CDC (2009). “Updated Information regarding Insect Repellents”.

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This is Backyard Expeditions. Here you can find wildlife footage and short documentaries on the natural world. Nature is full of surprises, often amazing things are happening just feet from you door. I am a biology student who was inspired by the likes of the BBC natural history unit, PBS, and animal planet as a Child. I have also long been a hobbyist photographer, filming interesting things over time. My goal is to document interesting behavior and highlight interesting species I encounter both in exotic locations, and on backyard expeditions.

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