attractant

noun at·trac·tant \ ə-ˈtrak-tənt \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Definition of attractant

: a substance (such as a pheromone) that attracts specific animals (such as insects or individuals of the opposite sex)

Recent Examples of attractant from the Web

Southern pine beetles normally pool their efforts by using chemical attractants called pheromones to summon each other to target trees.

— Washington Post, "Pine-killing southern beetle may be more deadly in North," 10 June 2018
Traps are simply an attractant (food or foodlike aroma) placed inside a container the pests can crawl into but can't get out of easily.

— jean nick, Good Housekeeping, "How To Wasp-Proof Your Backyard For Outdoor Summer Living," 21 June 2017
While Council’s efforts are for his personal use and for his customers’ angling pleasure, the TP&W department also regularly relies on fish attractants as part of their habitat improvement activities.

— ralph winingham, San Antonio Express-News, "Choke crappie: Habitat enhancements help fire up spring fishing action," 22 Feb. 2018
Catnip This fragrant mint cousin contains a natural chemical called nepetalactone, which is both a feline attractant and a useful insect repellent.

— christopher michel, Good Housekeeping, "8 Plants That Repel Mosquitoes Naturally," 17 Feb. 2017
That suggested the ethanol wasn't solely serving as an attractant, says Ranger, whose study was published April 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

— National Geographic, "These Beetles Use Booze-Soaked Trees to Farm Their Food," 9 Apr. 2018
Emerging elm flowers proved to be a great attractant for small groups of American goldfinches and house finches in the treetops.

— taylor piephoff, charlotteobserver, "Four Mile Creek Greenway is a good site to look for winter wrens | Charlotte Observer," 23 Feb. 2018
If the coyote visiting your yard seems to lack a fear of humans, or is presenting a conflict even after removing attractants from your yard, contact a nuisance trapper.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Police warn residents to be on the lookout for Coyotes," 6 Oct. 2017
The old outhouse design, which used a trap to contain solid wastes while letting liquids leach into the surrounding soil, was a bear attractant.

— lisa maloney, Alaska Dispatch News, "Close encounters of the ursine kind near Wrangell," 3 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'attractant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.