Does smoke really make mosquitoes stay away?

Question

Does smoke keep mosquitoes away? If yes, why do they not like smoke?

Answer 1

Mosquito coils sort of work if you have enough of them burning. traditionally, coastal villagers would build a small smoky fire under the house (built on stilts with a floor of palm slats.) coconut shells and husks give an almost bearable flavour to the smoke. But I could never figure out which was worse the mossies or the smoke! The lotion or roll on repellants work a bit better than the spray on ones, but if you are hot and sweaty, none of them work.

Answer 2

It's debatable, some people say yes and others say no.  They do sell a lot of mosquito coils though.

Answer 3

Smoke will keep mosquitos away if there is a repellent in the smoke.  Mosquitos find their meal by the CO2 released during respiration, so a regular campire releases CO2 which may attract mosquitos, although I'm not sure if CO or other compounds released during combustion have a repelling effect.  I have personally noticed no difference in mosquito bites with or without a campfire.

Answer 4

Absolutely.

Answer 5

  YES.. BECAUSE ITS AN active ingredient they dont like.

Answer 6

Yes it does! When I went to visit mexico, the small village did this, and it worked! I wasn't bitten by any! And im noy sure why they dislike smoke

Answer 7

I like ppl who ask sensibly,even if am not answering the question.Not like ppl asking when will we die...

Answer 8

Back home in Hawaii we used green "mosquito coils" also called "punks" which slowly burned and created wisps of smoke which seemed to keep mosquitos away. They only produced a little smoke, it didn't fill up the whole room or anything.

Why the smoke keeps mosquitos away is something I do not know. Perhaps their respiratory system is sensitive, because they are also repelled by the stinky lotion you can put on your skin.