The Effect of Carbon Dioxide, Lactic Acid, Perfume, and Insect Repellent on the Attraction of Mosquitoes
The purpose of my experiment was to determine the substance that would affect the olfactory senses of a mosquito the most in terms of attraction. Carbon dioxide, lactic acid, a perfume, and Off brand insect repellent were tested to see how many mosquitoes were attracted by the results. A mosquito trap was built out of empty pop bottles and a solution with each of the variables was created within each trap. The traps were laid out in different locations to limit bias. The traps were laid overnight (due to the mosquito's nocturnal behavior) and the number of mosquitoes was tallied each morning. A t-test was performed with the data to see which results were statistically significant from the others. Carbon Dioxide produced statistically greater numbers of mosquitoes and was proven to be the greatest attractant of mosquitoes, whereas insect repellent produced the fewest number of mosquitoes.
Research Done By:
Buck Weglarz
Lake Shore High School
Warren Consolidated Schools