---
title: "Scientists Say Skrillex Stops Mosquitoes From Biting"
description: "It sounds like an April Fools' Day prank, but scientists say that music by dubstep star Skrillex can keep mosquitoes from biting."
date: "2019-04-01"
modified: "2019-04-01"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/skrillex-stops-mosquitoes-biting"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "dubstep"
  - "mosquitoes"
  - "skrillex"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Say Skrillex Stops Mosquitoes From Biting

![It sounds like an April Fools prank, but scientists say that music by dubstep star Skrillex can keep mosquitoes from biting.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/scientists-say-skrillex-stops-mosquitoes-biting.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Brennan Schnell via Flickr/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Scary Mosquitoes

It sounds like an April Fools' prank, but scientists say that music by dubstep star Skrillex can keep mosquitoes from biting.

If it's a joke, it goes deep: the research is at the center of [a paper](<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001706X19301202>) published in the journal *Acta Tropica* last week, and the story has been picked up by the *[BBC News](<https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47770982>),* [*HuffPo*](<https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/blasting-dubstep-may-protect-you-from-mosquitoes_uk_5ca22f40e4b014390a165d34?utm_hp_ref=uk-lifestyle&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIxtEQ2-eu6K8GtqiSp-WlP_gwr0EtZ0Y8LsjRM48Gpy-ksfwIcWw97dqqwNHTBCnmQ6877dmH2h3_V0YjH-nAPw9yB27fmavLhAhx8WXJJ_x0AcuivwxqYOsXZ8HWn2IDJfh6_gV7xKp-GK4b4smgH_y815bVq4deG15Vs3FNR6>), and *[The Telegraph](<https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/03/31/dubstep-effective-mosquito-repellent-study-suggests/>).*

Assuming it isn't an elaborate joke — and, given the timing, it's hard not to be a little suspicious — the finding could suggest futuristic sound-based ways to keep disease-transmitting insects at bay.

## Not-So-Nice Bites

According to the paper, researchers broke *Aedes aegypti* mosquitoes — those are the [common bloodsuckers](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/mosquitoes-biting-diet-pills>) that spread dengue and yellow fever — into two groups, one of which they serenaded with Skrillex's 2010 electronic hit "[Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw>)."

The result: dubstep's aggressive bass lines, according to the paper, made the insects less thirsty for blood and less likely to have sex.

"The occurrence of blood feeding activity was lower when music was being played," reads the paper's abstract. "Adults exposed to music copulated far less often than their counterparts kept in an environment where there was no music."

**READ MORE:** [Dubstep artist Skrillex could protect against mosquito bites](<https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47770982>) \[*BBC*\]

**More on mosquitoes:** *[To Stop Mosquitoes From Biting, Scientists Put Them on Diet Pills](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/mosquitoes-biting-diet-pills>)*

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)