2019 study claiming Skrillex song 'reduces' mosquito bites goes viral

A study on Skrillex song’s effects on mosquitoes was conducted in 2019, the results of which have recently gone viral on the internet, as per Dexerto. According to the report by Dexerto, the study concludes that the DJ and musician’s songs significantly influence the rate of mosquito bites.

According to a report by BBC, the scientists who worked on the particular experiment, wrote a paper which was  published in Acta Tropica, which is a journal on infectious diseases which also publishes reports on public health. The study specifically highlighted the effect of dubstep music on the host-attacking characteristics of mosquitoes.

As per Dexerto, the paper highlights an important way in which music can be used in the future. The paper in short argues that music may be potentially used to protect human beings from serious infections like Aedes-borne diseases. According to the report by Dexerto the paper importantly presents the following conclusion:

“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 Aedes-borne diseases.”

More about the scientific experiment involving Skrillex’s songs

As per The Telegraph, the experiment cited internationally recognized experts on mosquito borne infectious diseases. According to the report by The Telegraph, the scientists subjected adult mosquitoes to Skrillex’s tracks, specifically his hit tracks such as Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites. 

As per The Telegraph, the 2010 hit Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites consists of an alternating rhythm of “high and low frequencies.” The experiment documented the effect of the sonic rhythms on the adult mosquitoes belonging to the Aedes aegypti strain, which is known to cause diseases like yellow fever.

According to a report by BBC, the results of the experiment showed that dubstep music indeed had a sensory effect on female mosquitoes. The report stated that Skrillex’s dubstep music worked as a distraction for female mosquitoes, as a consequence of which they were intermittently unsuccessful in their attempts to bite the host.

According to the report by BBC, the music also significantly altered the reproductive frequency of the mosquitoes. The particular experiment concluded that mosquitoes exposed to dubstep tracks underwent lesser number of mating cycles with their partners, further highlighting that Skrillex’s music could work as an impediment for mosquito breeding.

In key findings from the study, researchers observed,

“Females exposed to music attacked hosts much later than their non-exposed peers. The occurrence of blood feeding activity was lower when music was being played. Adults exposed to music copulated far less often than their counterparts kept in an environment where there was no music.”

As per The Telegraph, the scientists working on the experiment highlighted the rationale behind choosing the particular songs in their report. According to the paper published by the researchers, the alternating rhythm of “high and low” frequencies significantly altered the circuit of sensory perception which made the mosquitoes behave differently.

According to the report by The Telegraph, the scientists, in their paper, argued:

“Sound and its reception are crucial for reproduction, survival, and population maintenance of many animal. In insects, low-frequency vibrations facilitate s*xual interactions, whereas noise disrupts the perception of signals from conspecifics [members of the same species] and hosts.”

As results of the research have recently attained an unprecedented virality on social media, netizens are eagerly awaiting more scientific research on the efficacy of dubstep music as a mosquito repellent for the future.