Do bugs bite based on how you smell?

In recent months, biting midges have hit Hong Kong hard. While it’s true that all the rain we’ve had this year has facilitated breeding, another reason you may have been getting bit more is because of your sweet smell!

Eating strong-flavoured foods tends to make you give off a floral scent that bugs find particularly attractive, and so you’re more likely to get bitten. Conversely, to keep them away, you can use products that smell like things they don’t like, such as repellents containing DEET or citronella oil.

Now let’s listen to one of the Green Volunteers explain the relationship between insects and odours.