Does Perfume Attract Mosquitoes? What a Lab Test Found

Does perfume attract mosquitoes?

The short answer

Not in the lab test we checked. In a 2015 study in the Journal of Insect Science, two hours after Victoria's Secret Bombshell, a fruity floral perfume, was put on a hand, 18 percent of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes flew toward that hand, against 58 percent for a bare hand.

By the Fragnatique team2 min read1 sourceUpdated 11 November 2026

Key facts

2 October 2015Rodriguez and colleagues publish their repellent tests in the Journal of Insect Science.
18 against 58Percent of Aedes aegypti drawn to the perfumed hand and to a bare hand, two hours on.
17 against 41The same comparison for Aedes albopictus, the second species tested.
20 mosquitoesReleased in each round of the Y-shaped tube test.
Four hoursBy then the difference was no longer significant.
DEETThe authors found DEET repellents the most effective on the market.

Why do people say floral perfume draws mosquitoes?

Because earlier work pointed that way. The 2015 paper notes that other studies have shown floral scents attract mosquitoes, and that people are advised to avoid floral scented perfumes for that reason. The authors class Bombshell as floral, quoting its fruity floral notes of purple passion fruit, Shangri-la peony and vanilla orchid, and say their results challenge the notion that floral perfume sprays, in general, attract mosquitoes.

How was the perfume tested?

In a Y-shaped tube called an olfactometer. A co-author's hand, treated or bare, sat at one end, and 20 mosquitoes were released in each round. The researchers counted the share that flew into the port with the hand. With Bombshell, fewer mosquitoes went to the hand than with a bare hand, for both species at the two-hour mark.

Does the effect last?

Not for long, and the dose matters. At four hours the difference between the perfumed hand and the bare hand was no longer significant. The authors add a caution of their own: the concentration of perfume they used was rather high, and lower concentrations of the same fragrance might have different effects. The result holds for this one perfume in this one test.

What actually keeps mosquitoes away?

A repellent made for the job. The same study concludes that DEET repellents are the most effective mosquito repellents on the market, with a prominent effect over longer times on both species. Repellents based on p-menthane-3,8-diol gave comparable results, but for shorter periods. A perfume is not a substitute for either.

The full storyDoes Perfume Attract Mosquitoes? What One Lab Study Found9 min read in the Fragnatique Journal