A British bug spray manufacturer is looking for volunteers willing to stand outside for eight hours and serve as a living buffet for tiny mosquitoes. The purpose of this search is to test their new product.
The test, organized by APS Biocontrol, the company behind the repellent brand Smidge, has chosen the Scottish area of Minard of Inveraray in Argyll as the location for the test. Here, it is teeming with small mosquitoes the size of fruit flies. Especially during the summer months, these mosquitoes are notorious among Scottish walkers and campers. Volunteers are asked to apply insect repellent to one arm while leaving the other arm unprotected. This creates a kind of ‘all you can eat’ buffet for the mosquitoes. The goal is to see how many mosquitoes land on the unprotected arm.
APS biocontrol emphasizes that the volunteers will not be bitten too much. Dr Allison Blackwell, who works at the company, explains to the BBC:
“When a mosquito lands on your skin, it wanders around a bit before it starts biting. As soon as the mosquito has landed, one of the employees will remove it.” In addition, the volunteers have mosquito nets over their heads to provide extra protection.
There is a lot of interest in the volunteer position. According to Blackwell, this is due to the volunteer fee of 100 pounds (about 116 euros).
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