Scientists Find Best Way To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes, And Baking Yeast Is All You Need

Let¡¯s face it -- no one likes mosquitoes. The blood-sucking pests are such a pain that is not only annoying but also life-threatening. And we¡¯ve tried so many ways to get rid of them -- sprays, coils, you name it, but none are as effective as we want them to be. However, it looks like researchers might have a solution to nip this in the bud once and for all.

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Published first in journal Parasites & Vectors, researchers at the University of New Mexico have come up with a novel solution to get rid of mosquito larvae by using just baking yeast and orange essential oil.

Essential oils are known to possess insecticidal properties, according to Ivy Hurwitz, PhD, a research associate professor in UNM¡¯s Centre for Global Health. She says, ¡°Plants use it to protect themselves against predators. So we're just using it in a different way.¡±

The researchers have managed to inject this oil in the yeast. Why yeast, you ask? Well, that¡¯s because as much as they like sucking our blood, mosquitoes love gorging on yeast. Even though the oils kill the yeast, but who¡¯s baking bread here? The oil is absorbed inside of the yeast.

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Later they wash the granules appropriately and dry them into a powder form which is later mixed in a solution that is sprayed on open water bodies like ponds, lakes where larvae usually grow.

As the mosquitoes gorge on the delicious yeast, they succumb to the toxic nature of the oils.

Now you might be wondering, why go to such lengths when we have so many insecticides and sprays at our disposal? Well, the mosquitoes are getting evolved to get resistant to these sprays. So this new trick can surely come in handy.

Researchers are currently testing this out in Brazil in control field studies with local strains of mosquito larvae. They still need to denote the performance in a natural setting.