Carbon dioxide
They track changes in concentration caused by breathing from a distance.
MOSLOCK TECHNOLOGY
High-output ultrasound:
eliciting mosquito
repellency responses
Starting with basic research on mosquito sensory organs, we redesigned sound pressure, space coverage and frequency, then tested the design under practical use conditions.
Professor Hyung Wook KwonDirector, Research Institute of Vector-Borne Diseases · Incheon National University
01
Johnston's organ: the mosquito's hearing organA role comparable to human ears · densely packed auditory neurons
02
Two conditions for ultrasonic repellent designFrequency selection · sufficient sound pressure
03
MOSLOCK design and testingIncreased sound pressure · variable frequency · staged tests · three years of development
01Researcher interview
Nearly 20 years of research
How do mosquito
senses work?
Professor Hyung Wook Kwon has used neuroscience to trace how insects respond to sounds and odors.
Using mosquitoes and honeybees as key models, he studies how sensory signals lead to behavior. The Research Institute of Vector-Borne Diseases at Incheon National University, which he leads, combines neuroscience, mechanical engineering and AI to develop new pest-control technologies.
“I have studied how insects respond to stimuli such as sounds and odors.”
20
years of research into
insect sensory systems
Researcher interview video
Can mosquitoes really hear?
We asked the researcher directly.
Professor Kwon explains experiments investigating mosquito hearing organs and their responses to ultrasound.
02-1Mosquito senses
Question · Senses used to find people
How do mosquitoes
find people?
They follow carbon dioxide and odors from a distance, then narrow down the target using visual and body-heat cues as they get closer.
Mosquitoes combine several sensory inputs rather than relying on just one. In addition to these four cues, they have an organ that detects air movement and sound.
Odor
Olfactory receptors identify chemical compounds released by sweat and skin.
Vision
After detecting odor cues, they use shapes and movement to narrow down the location.
Heat
At close range, they detect temperature differences caused by body heat.
Sound and vibration
Johnston's organ at the base of the antennae detects the movement of air particles.
02-2The mosquito hearing organ
Question · Mosquito hearing
Mosquitoes have
an equivalent of ears.
It is Johnston's organ, located inside the second antennal segment.
Thousands of mechanosensory neurons convert tiny antennal movements into electrical signals. A study of male Culex pipiens mosquitoes identified at least eight groups of auditory neurons tuned differently within 85–470 Hz.
Read the Journal of Experimental Biology paper ↗
YouTube ShortsDo mosquitoes have ears?
03-1Ultrasonic repellency principles
The key is finding conditions
that produce a change in behavior.
The research examined how ultrasound at sufficient sound pressure affects approach behavior and the CO₂-based host-seeking system.
Sound pressure, not frequency alone
Comparisons across 50–110 dB conditions reported a tendency toward higher repellency at higher sound pressures.
Immediate suppression of approach
Movement and approach decreased under certain ultrasound conditions in a CO₂-baited wind tunnel and a two-zone chamber.
Changes in sensory-related gene expression
Changes in AaGr3 and AAEL009258 expression were observed after 24 hours of exposure to 100 kHz at 90 dB.
Reduced host-seeking behavior
Groups exposed to 30 kHz or 100 kHz at 90 dB subsequently showed less behavior directed toward landing on a human hand.
The paper links behavioral changes with gene expression, but does not establish a single gene change as the sole cause of repellency. Some survival tests found no effect of ultrasound exposure on survival.
03-2Measuring responses
Question · How responses are detected
How can we tell
that ultrasound was detected?
By measuring electrical signals and imaging changes in living tissue.
Electrophysiology
Directly records the electrical activity generated by sensory neurons when stimulated.
Live imaging
Observes changes in stimulated living tissue in real time.
03-3What sets MOSLOCK's design apart
Question · The starting point of the design
Ultrasonic repellency:
what conditions matter?
Mosquitoes have a hearing organ. The question is whether a meaningful stimulus actually reaches them.
Earlier research reports that sound pressure, as well as frequency, affects repellent responses. MOSLOCK focuses on achieving both conditions within the intended space.
Frequency
Accounts for response bands that may differ by mosquito species and environment
Sound pressure
Accounts for distance and obstacles that weaken sound within a space
Design factorMOSLOCK design elements
Sound pressureHigh-output ultrasonic speakers
SpaceFive speakers + 360° rotating head
FrequencyMulti Sweep variable frequencies
Variable-frequency design
Continuously changing stimuli,
Multi Sweep.
Repeated stimuli can lead organisms to gradually ignore them. MOSLOCK aims to delay that adaptation by continuously varying the frequency.
Fixed-frequency output
Repeated identical stimuli → habituation (adaptation)
Variable-frequency output (Multi Sweep)
Changing frequencies to avoid repetition → a design aimed at reducing habituation
04-1Test results
Question · Test methods
From research to product.
We broadened the conditions
and tested again.
After behavioral, physiological and molecular observations, testing was extended to conditions closer to actual use spaces.
Incensory Co., Ltd. performed the performance tests using mosquitoes reared at Incheon National University's mosquito facility. The samples were MOSLOCK prototypes.
Preliminary tests
Check basic responses in a controlled indoor environment.
Semi-field
Retest with broader variables under conditions resembling the outdoors.
Real-world environments
Check whether outcomes hold in use spaces such as cars and docking tents.
2026 MOSLOCK · WHITE / BLACKSUV + docking-tent environment
2025-06-25 · OFF 20/18 events → ON 1/0 · reduced blood-feeding events (two participants combined)
SUV interior test
2024-08-27–28 · OFF 20 events → ON 1 · reduced blood-feeding events
Reverberation chamber test
2024-11-04–05 · attraction behavior suppressed in 10 of 12 mosquitoes
Results were measured under the stated conditions. Actual outcomes may vary with mosquito species, number of mosquitoes, space size, ventilation, obstacles and placement. Identical performance in every environment is not guaranteed.
04-2Research papers
Basic research paper · 2021
Behavioral and molecular responses of Aedes aegypti to ultrasound
Basic research analyzing approach behavior, host-seeking behavior and changes in sensory-related gene expression in Aedes aegypti.
- Authors
- Dong-In Kim, Rustem Ilyasov, Ural Yunusbaev, Sung-Hwa Lee, Hyung Wook Kwon
- Publication
- Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology 24 (2021), 429–435
- Key observations
- Reduced approach and host-seeking behavior and changes in AaGr3/AAEL009258 expression under high-sound-pressure ultrasoundThis is basic laboratory research on Aedes aegypti, not a direct performance test of the MOSLOCK product.
Related research · 2017
Frequency organization of the Johnston’s organ in male mosquitoes
Analyzed frequency-tuned auditory neuron groups in Johnston's organ in male Culex pipiens mosquitoes.
Read the paper via DOI ↗04-3Development process
Question · Why three years?
The same question,
in different spaces,
tested repeatedly.
Ultrasound is highly directional and affected by distance and obstacles. Even the same product needs to be reassessed when the space changes.
We repeatedly examined sound-pressure coverage and placement in enclosed bedrooms, cars with many reflective surfaces, and larger, more open docking tents.
Enclosed space
Check placement near the head, feet and entry routes.
Many reflective surfaces
Check sound-pressure distribution in a compact, irregular interior.
Larger, more open space
Check effective coverage with wind and open sections.
05How to use
Practical placement guidance
In bedrooms,
near the head or feet.
Place it near the area mosquitoes approach, without large objects in front. Sound is easier to manage in partially enclosed spaces than in wide-open ones.
- Avoid large obstacles between the device and the person.
- Consider mosquito entry routes such as windows and doors.
- Adjust placement in large or windy spaces.
YouTube ShortsWhere should you place MOSLOCK?
Professor Kwon's personal-protection research at Incheon National University
From killing all pests,
to protecting the space around me.
Research into personal protection using physical rather than chemical stimuli continues, aiming to reduce insecticide resistance and impacts on non-target insects.
Notes and references
- This content was edited and reconstructed from an interview with Professor Hyung Wook Kwon at Incheon National University's Research Institute of Vector-Borne Diseases and publicly available research.
- Test results, including repellency rates, may vary with layout, distance, mosquito species and individual condition. The same effect in every actual use environment is not guaranteed.
- This page makes no claims of efficacy as a pharmaceutical or quasi-drug.
- Lapshin & Vorontsov, “Frequency organization of the Johnston’s organ in male mosquitoes”, Journal of Experimental Biology, 2017.
- Kim et al., “Behavioral and molecular responses of Aedes aegypti to ultrasound”, Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology 24 (2021), 429–435.
Research into mosquito senses and ultrasound,
leading to an ultrasonic mosquito repellent.
View official retailers →Some screenshots, customer reviews and test reports are Korean originals. Translated captions explain their context.