Health News Florida

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

By Andee Tagle,

Malaka Gharib

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.

Level up your knowledge of mosquito bite prevention with our quiz. It's full of surprising, science-backed tactics that may save you from getting eaten alive this summer.

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.

Sammy Ramsey, a professor of entomology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Brian Byrd, 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 Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit.

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’t like.

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

Level up your knowledge of mosquito bite prevention with our quiz. It's full of surprising, science-backed tactics that may save you from getting eaten alive this summer.

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