# How far is a buzzing mosquito from your ear? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 23, 2012, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388 "2012-01-23T11:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/1 "2012-01-23T11:47:12Z")
That mosquitoes fly only around our ears at night is an oft-heard complaint, and can probably be explained by confirmation bias and relatively high concentrations of CO2 around our heads. My question is somewhat different. I was thinking of posting this last night with a [need answer quickly] so that I could kill those ^@$@%#\* at a higher(read: positive) success rate, but I’m interested in finding out even during the relative calm of day. So, what is the range of the human ear around the frequency of a mosquito buzz? \*aside: am I allowed to insult insects in GQ? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/2 "2012-01-23T11:55:13Z")
In a quiet room at night, a mosquito needs to be between 2 and 4 meters away to be inaudible. This will vary with species of mosquito, humidity and how prone one is to stress induced tinnitus. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/3 "2012-01-23T12:33:01Z")
If I could be so bold. When you hear a mosquito buzzing in your ear, how far away from your ear should you swat, to best improve your chances of actually getting it. I’m sure it varies and depends on how loud the mosquito is, but when I ‘think’ the mosquito is within an inch of my ear, I consistently miss, so I’m guessing its maybe further away. How far? ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/4 "2012-01-23T12:41:37Z")
> [@naita](#): > > In a quiet room at night, a mosquito needs to be between 2 and 4 meters away to be inaudible. This will vary with species of mosquito, humidity and how prone one is to stress induced tinnitus. Thanks, but could you also tell me what you’re basing it on? > [@Sigene](#): > > If I could be so bold. Of course you should 🙂 > [@](#): > > When you hear a mosquito buzzing in your ear, how far away from your ear should you swat, to best improve your chances of actually getting it. However, I did actually want to know the (average?) range at which the human ear should be able to hear a mosquito, so that I can then try and roughly figure out how far it is from how loud or faint it sounds, and swat appropriately. That’s one advantage of phrasing a question in relative calm, you can get it close to how you want it. > [@](#): > > …but when I ‘think’ the mosquito is within an inch of my ear, I consistently miss, so I’m guessing its maybe further away. Ditto! ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/5 "2012-01-23T16:12:51Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > Thanks, but could you also tell me what you’re basing it on? Experience and wild conjecture. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/6 "2012-01-23T17:23:54Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Experience and wild conjecture. Hmm. In which case, 2 to 4 meters sounds like a LOT to me. My wild conjecture and experience puts the maximum outer bound for a mosquito to be completely inaudible at 1m away. Maybe less. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/7 "2012-01-23T17:39:17Z")
I’m going to have to side with **bldysabba** on this. That sounds way too far. My WAG would be more in the range of 16" or less. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/8 "2012-01-23T18:29:56Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > Hmm. In which case, 2 to 4 meters sounds like a LOT to me. My wild conjecture and experience puts the maximum outer bound for a mosquito to be completely inaudible at 1m away. Maybe less. Much less. I have watched mosquitoes land on my arm without any apparent sound. (Well, except the slap that follows). I do a lot of mosquito watching/killing because they just love to eat me alive. (True story: I share a tent with my two brothers. 95 mosquito bites on me, 10 between the two of them.) If I was going to guess, I’d say six inches is the maximum audible distance. I think the problem with trying to kill them based on sound (or anytime they’re in the air) is that your hand is stirring up a lot of air as you try to swat them. This tends to push them out of the way. You really just have to wait for them to land, then kill them. If you watch them closely, you can see that they have to settle for a half second or so before they bite you. That’s when you get them. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/9 "2012-01-24T07:30:40Z")
Well, the hand stirring up air problem would exist even if they’ve landed right? And I _need_ to kill them by sound because it’s usually dark when I hear them and I can’t depend on killing them when they land. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/10 "2012-01-24T11:08:20Z")
In a quiet room my wife can hear a mosquito at about 2 meters (i.e buzzing about in the corner of the room while we lie in bed). I just get an elbow in the ribs or a kick in the legs. Actually, I can hear them at that range, too. I just take the risk that they will prefer my wife. [One paper](http://pdn.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MiamiImageURL&_cid=272099&_user=10&_pii=S0960982206016368&_check=y&_coverDate=2006-07-11&view=c&_gw=y&wchp=dGLbVBA-zSkWb&md5=0f69f23cb2ec5a60427ea59c1453935a/1-s2.0-S0960982206016368-main.pdf) claims that normal flight mode for a mosquito is ~60 dB SPL at 10cm. Using the [calculator here](http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-distance.htm) we find that at 2m the sound level is 34 dB SPL, well within human hearing limits. Trying to locate an attacking mosquito by sound is generally a losing game - the sound is difficult to localise due to the frequency (300-500Hz) and the fact that is is moving rapidly. Si ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-is-a-buzzing-mosquito-from-your-ear/610388/11 "2012-01-24T13:32:24Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > In a quiet room my wife can hear a mosquito at about 2 meters (i.e buzzing about in the corner of the room while we lie in bed). I just get an elbow in the ribs or a kick in the legs. > > Actually, I can hear them at that range, too. I just take the risk that they will prefer my wife. > > [One paper](http://pdn.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MiamiImageURL&_cid=272099&_user=10&_pii=S0960982206016368&_check=y&_coverDate=2006-07-11&view=c&_gw=y&wchp=dGLbVBA-zSkWb&md5=0f69f23cb2ec5a60427ea59c1453935a/1-s2.0-S0960982206016368-main.pdf) claims that normal flight mode for a mosquito is ~60 dB SPL at 10cm. Using the [calculator here](http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-distance.htm) we find that at 2m the sound level is 34 dB SPL, well within human hearing limits. > > Trying to locate an attacking mosquito by sound is generally a losing game - the sound is difficult to localise due to the frequency (300-500Hz) and the fact that is is moving rapidly. > > Si An my conjecture has been vindicated. It was based on similar observations by the way. I was just uncertain about the distance to appropriate room corners.