You probably would laugh at the perspective of an insect looking at you as its favorite meal of the day, but that is the case for many of them, and the most familiar – the mosquito. There is a solution to that of course, DEET, an insect repellent that keeps those nasty bugs away; but did you ever wonder how?

Researchers from the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at the Rockefeller University explained that in fact, it’s not the odor of the repellent that keeps the bugs away, but the fact that DEET “inhibits electrophysiological responses of olfactory sensory neurons to attractive odors”, in other words, humans don’t smell that attractive anymore.

Insects have a distinct behavior, in the sense that they smell their prey from a distance. But when they are face to face with a cloud of DEET, their olfactory ‘radar’ breaks down and simply can’t find its pray anymore.

DEET was invented in 1946 and made public in 1958, but its formula was discovered by mistake, or trials, in the sense that its creators were not aware of how it really works, they were simply satisfied with the consequences, as it made bugs go away. Five decades later, scientists managed to uncover the mechanisms behind the insects’ reaction to the spray.

Scientists have conducted several studies on mosquitoes and their behavior around DEET. They concluded that in effect, mosquitoes are able to reach and touch the skin that has been sprayed with repellent, but they later become disoriented and unable to feed.

The new findings could prove efficient in finding alternative methods to DEET, something that seemed impossible for the past five decades in terms of functionality. And not only that, but creating new products just as efficient as DEET could eliminate possible negative effects skeptics believe it has on the human skin after using it, despite the fact that WHO declared it to be safe.