Summer in France is mosquito season. The insistent high-pitched biting pests can be a huge frustration on sultry evenings, and are a major source of revenue for pharmacists and supermarkets selling repellents, creams and insecticide sprays, to those unfortunates who provide a tasty snack for the itch-inducing insects.

Recently, efforts to prevent mosquito attacks have moved into the app sphere. A number of smartphone applications are available that claim to repel mosquitoes by emitting low-frequency sounds from the phone’s speaker. 

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The idea isn’t new. And it is based on actual science. France’s Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm) said that the apps are intended to, “imitate the sound waves produced by the wing beats of … dragonflies. Female mosquitoes, which bite humans, would be repelled by this sound”.

So far, so good. The theory seems sound enough. 

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But there’s a problem. 

“The [sound]waves that could possibly be heard by female mosquitoes are too powerful to be reproduced by a smartphone,” Inserm went on to say.

Possibly to cover themselves, the Anti-moustique insecticide app, available on the App Store, states in its own description: “It has not been scientifically proven that low-frequency sounds can help repel mosquitoes. For this reason, this app should be considered a joke app”.

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According to Inserm, experts advise against this type of app, “at best because they are useless, at worst because they can provide a false sense of protection”, leading users to neglect other – rather more effective – approaches to protecting themselves from bites.

Anti-mosquito advice

When it comes to repelling the horrible little bastards, the French government does have some official advice.

The main thing is to have as little stagnant water around as possible – since this is where mosquitoes breed.

This includes regularly emptying vases, flower pots, as well as watering cans and pots. If you want to collect rainwater, you could cover water butts with mosquito nets or fabric to keep the mosquitoes from getting inside.

To protect yourself, try to wear long, loose and light-coloured clothing, and use a good quality insect repellent. You might also consider wearing a mosquito net head gear.

A plethora of products exist on the market, from machines that also produce the mosquito repelling noise to scented candles or smoke coils, most of these have at at least some effect, but are unlikely to keep the mossies away entirely.