Want to make yourself less appealing to mosquitoes? Our quiz has surprising ideas

By Andee Tagle,

Published July 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT

Do your ankles feel like a buffet these days? Test your knowledge of tactics to prevent bites.

When it comes to preventing mosquito bites, many people turn to the obvious solutions: bug sprays or just staying indoors. But there are other effective, science-backed ways to keep those pesky mosquitoes at bay, some of which may surprise you.

, a professor of entomology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and , a professor of environmental health sciences at Western Carolina University, share some of these tactics, which Life Kit has turned into a quiz.

See whether you can guess the answers to these questions. They may save you from a few mosquito bites!

This story was edited by Meghan Keane and Hannah Chinn. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

Listen to Life Kit on and , and sign up for our . Follow us on Instagram: .

Corrected: July 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM EDT

An earlier version of the quiz incorrectly suggested that the only reason why mosquito repellent works is because it masks your body odor. In fact, it also produces a taste on your skin that mosquitoes don鈥檛 like.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that 黑料吃瓜网 relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what鈥檚 been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from 黑料吃瓜网, the state鈥檚 local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de 黑料吃瓜网, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programaci贸n que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para m谩s reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscr铆base a nuestro bolet铆n informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Donate