Could Perfume Help Us Fight Mosquitoes?

This article is written by Lisanne Swart and initially published on LisanneSwart.com

Every single summer, I always notice that one friend or family member who ends up covered in mosquito bites within minutes. These tiny, relentless biting flies leave them swatting and scratching while other members of the group remain largely untouched.

I’m definitely one of those people who always get caught. A trip to the Scottish Highlands last year left me properly humbled (and covered in red bumps) by what midget season really means. It doesn’t really matter where we go, it often feels like mosquitoes seem to zero in on me like heat-seeking vultures, which left me curious: why do mosquitoes seem to prefer some people over others?

In the meantime, I’ve learned that mosquitoes rely heavily on scent to find us, and certain fragrances—especially sweet, floral, or fruity ones, which are the kind of scents I usually love—can actually mimic the nectar they’re drawn to. Even ingredients that resemble the compounds found in human sweat can make someone more likely to get bitten.

While for mosquitoes it’s all about how we smell, repellents like DEET can help mask our natural fragrance for a while. However, these repellents wear off, require regular reapplication, and aren’t always affordable or accessible to the people who need them most.

That’s why I was so intrigued when I came across an idea that’s as simple as it is smart: what if mosquito protection could be built into everyday products like soap and laundry detergent?

That’s exactly what a team of the Swiss company called DSM-Firmenich is working on. They’re one of the world’s largest producers of fragrances and flavors. They help make your shampoo smell fresh, your laundry smell clean, and even your toothpaste taste minty. They’ve also done important work in public health. For example, the company is known for working on ways to make toilets smell better in under-resourced communities.

Now, they’re applying that same expertise to mosquito-borne diseases—like malaria and dengue—that still claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year, particularly among children in low-income countries.

Their idea is refreshingly straightforward: use scent ingredients that repel or confuse mosquitoes and integrate them into the products people already use every day. This way, people don’t have to buy anything new or change their routines—they’d just get an extra layer of protection, automatically. This idea of a perfume that repels mosquitoes really caught my attention—it’s such a clever way to combine something we already use every day with a bit of extra protection.

However, it’s not as simple as throwing some citronella into a soap bar. The scientists and perfumers at DSM-Firmenich have been rigorously testing different combinations of scent molecules. Some naturally repel mosquitoes; others confuse the bugs so they can’t detect us. The key challenge is to make something that works without sacrificing that clean and pleasant smell we all want from soap or detergent. After all, no one wants their laundry to smell like garlic or earwax, even if it keeps the mosquitoes off.

One of the most promising scents they found is Lily of the Valley—a soft, floral fragrance many people already love in soaps. In early trials, it performed surprisingly well–even matching the effectiveness of DEET at certain concentrations.

The main challenge now is turning that scent into a product that lasts all day through washing, sweating, and daily life. That’s no small feat—fragrance molecules tend to fade fast. To solve this, the team is working on ‘encapsulation technology’. Think of these as microscopic “scent bubbles” that are engineered to cling to skin and fabric fibers even after rinsing. As you move throughout the day, these tiny bubbles burst, slowly releasing the “symphony” and keeping the shield intact through sweat and activity.

Their research is being supported by the Gates Foundation among certain others, which shares our belief in practical, scalable solutions that improve health without adding burden. If successful, this could be a breakthrough–offering families in high-risk areas where diseases spread fastest a bit more safety, without asking them to change what they already do.

I’m always drawn to these kinds of ideas. Solutions that meet people where they are. Innovations that don’t rely on privilege, wealth, or perfect conditions. The kind that can spread, simply, quietly–and powerfully.

Sometimes, big change starts with something as small as a bar of soap—and a good-smelling one at that.