Social media users have been sharing a viral life hack that claims mosquitos can be repelled with a bubble machine.
Videos uploaded to TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have generated millions of views as testers experiment with handheld bubble guns and standup bubble machines while they’re outdoors, and it’s led many users to question if it works.
Here’s what experts in the bug removal and health space have to say about the viral hack.
Shannon Harlow-Ellis, an associate certified entomologist and technical specialist at the pest control company Mosquito Joe, which is owned the online handyman service finder Neighborly, says it’s not the soapy bubble solution that’s keeping mosquitoes away.
It’s the wind produced by bubble machine fans that create an “unfavorable environment for mosquitoes” and other small flying insects, such as gnats.
Are bubble machines an effective mosquito repellent? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no.
“It is possible that the blowing of the bubbles causes the mosquitos to have troubles flying around the area because of the wind created, so they stay away,” Purdy said, which agrees with entomology theories on the matter.
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