Are They Mosquito Repellents? Science vs. Popular Belief

We’ve all heard it before. Your uncle at the family barbecue who hasn’t been bitten all summer because he pops garlic pills. Or maybe it’s your coworker who swears by vitamin B supplements to keep the mosquitoes away. Sounds pretty sweet, right? Just take a pill and those annoying bugs will leave you alone? No more sticky sprays or smelly lotions?

But here’s the thing, is there any actual truth to these claims, or is it just one of those things people keep repeating until everyone believes it?

The Garlic Theory

Let’s talk about garlic first. The idea makes some sense on the surface. Garlic has a strong smell, and maybe that smell somehow seeps through our skin and bugs hate it. Sounds plausible enough.

But when scientists actually tested this in a proper study (you know, with people taking either real garlic capsules or fake ones, and nobody knowing which was which), they found... absolutely nothing. The mosquitoes were just as happy to bite the garlic-eaters as everyone else.

The researchers were pretty clear about it too: “consumption of garlic showed no significant systemic effect on mosquito attraction or feeding.” In plain English? The garlic didn’t help at all. Sorry, garlic lovers!

What About Garlic Lotions?

Now, here’s where things get interesting. While eating garlic doesn’t seem to work, what about applying garlic directly to your skin as a lotion or oil? Some people swear by DIY methods like crushing garlic cloves and rubbing the juice on exposed skin.

Does this work better than consuming garlic? Unlike oral consumption, there actually is some scientific research on topical garlic applications. Several studies have investigated garlic oil extracts as potential mosquito repellents. Research published in the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association and other scientific journals has found that certain compounds in garlic oil, like diallyl trisulfide and diallyl disulfide, can have mosquito repellent properties when applied topically.

In one study, garlic oil provided protection against certain mosquito species when formulated properly. Other research has shown varying degrees of effectiveness depending on concentration and preparation methods. These studies suggest that while garlic might not be as consistently effective as more known repellents, it’s not entirely without scientific backing as a topical repellent.

The smell is still, well, pretty intense. You might find yourself mosquito-free but also friend-free if you overdo it!

What About Vitamin B?

The vitamin B myth has been around since the 1940s! That’s some serious staying power for something that doesn’t actually work.

A big review looked at over 100 studies and reports on using vitamin B (especially B1, or thiamine) as a mosquito repellent. Their conclusion? It straight-up doesn’t work, no matter how you take it or how much you take.

What’s kind of wild is that even some doctors and medical professionals still believe this myth and recommend it to patients. Talk about stubborn ideas!

Why Do We Keep Believing This Stuff?

If science has pretty clearly shown these remedies don’t work, why do so many people swear by them? It’s actually some interesting psychology:

• We notice when things confirm what we already believe. Start taking garlic pills and happen to get fewer bites that week? Must be the garlic! (Never mind that the weather changed or you were in different locations.)

• The placebo effect is real. If you believe something will protect you, you might not notice bites as much or might blame them on something else.

• Personal stories hit different than scientific studies. Your friend’s enthusiastic testimony about vitamin B “totally working” feels more real than some study you never read.

• We all want easy, natural solutions to annoying problems.

But relying only on methods that don’t work is like carrying a rabbit’s foot instead of an umbrella when it’s about to rain. You might feel lucky, but you’re still getting wet.

What ACTUALLY Attracts Mosquitoes?

To understand why garlic and vitamin B pills don’t work, it helps to know what really attracts these little vampires:

• The carbon dioxide in your breath

• Your body heat

• Specific chemicals and bacteria living on your skin

• Lactic acid in your sweat

• Your genes (yep, some people are just mosquito magnets based on their DNA)

Research shows these factors are mostly determined by genetics and your natural body chemistry, not what you had for dinner or what supplements you took this morning.

The smell of garlic that comes out in your sweat just isn’t strong enough to override these powerful attraction signals. Those mosquitoes have evolved over millions of years to find us, and they’re really good at it.

What Actually Works

If you love your garlic supplements, keep taking them! They might have other health benefits, and they’re generally harmless. Same with vitamin B. And if you’re the adventurous type who doesn’t mind the smell, you could even experiment with garlic lotions – just don’t expect miracle protection.

But if you actually want to avoid getting bitten, go with stuff that’s been scientifically proven to work. The EPA tests and approves repellents based on their effectiveness, so their registered products are a good place to start.

Remember that depending solely on vitamin B when you’re planning a hike or camping trip might leave you unnecessarily itchy!

The Bottom Line

The super-confident neighbor who insists “I haven’t been bitten once since I started taking garlic pills!” might be experiencing the power of belief more than the power of garlic.

While it would be awesome if a simple vitamin or food could create an invisible force field against mosquitoes, the science just doesn’t back it up. Understanding what really attracts mosquitoes helps us make better choices about protection.

Further Reading and References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). "Preventing Mosquito Bites." https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/prevention/index.html
2. Rajan, T.V., Hein, M., Porte, P., & Wikel, S. (2005). "A double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of garlic as a mosquito repellant: a preliminary study." Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 19(1), 84-89. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15752181
3. Shelomi, M. (2022). "Thiamine (vitamin B1) as an insect repellent: a scoping review." Bulletin of Entomological Research, 112(2), 69-77. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35199632