It's that time of year when we're all outside a little more and so are the mosquitoes.

Cue the insect repellent.

However, a new study has thrown a wrinkle in that line of defense.

It turns out that mosquitoes that feed in the presence of DEET will begin to be attracted to the smell as a source of food rather than be repelled.

The Guardian reports,

Further investigation revealed that 60% of mosquitoes that fed when presented with warm blood alongside exposure to Deet subsequently showed biting attempts when exposed to Deet alone.

60% were attracted to DEET with no blood present!

This compared with 17% of insects given no prior training, 13% of mosquitoes previously presented with Deet alone, 17% that previously fed on warm blood with no exposure to Deet, and 23% that previously fed on warm blood and were exposed to Deet but not simultaneously.

One of the scientists had this to say:

‘For a long time, it was believed that repellants worked solely because of their chemical properties, either by being toxic or unpleasant to mosquitoes and driving them away, or by blocking their ability to detect humans. However, our findings suggest that the reaction can be modified by experience,' said Prof Claudio Lazzari, from the University of Tours, France.

Lazzari says most mosquitoes in the wild will still be repelled by DEET, reassuring the public that such results only work in "specific laboratory conditions."

Still, the purpose of the study was to look at how mosquitoes can adapt and learn.

Hopefully, none of the mosquitoes they trained escaped!!