WHY MOSQUITOES LIKE SOME PEOPLE MORE THAN OTHERS

 

 

Have you ever wondered why mosquitoes target a few people in a large gathering while others are rarely bitten? 1 in 10 people are highly attractive to mosquitoes and 1 in 5 people are mosquito magnet.

According to a University of Florida entomology Professor, Dr. Phil Koehler, "Both your metabolism and your unique body chemistry - which is as distinctive as a fingerprint - play an important role in determining whether or not you are a mosquito magnet. Also, there is evidence that your degree of attractiveness to mosquitoes can change over time".

 

Some of us are tasty targets because:

• Mosquitoes prefer blood group O. A Japanese study revealed that mosquitoes are twice as likely to bite people with blood group O than those with A, B & AB groups. This is because people secrete substances that allow mosquitoes to identify blood type before they bite.
• Mosquitoes also prefer beer drinkers - another study published by Journal of the American mosquito Control Association revealed that mosquitoes targeted the volunteers more after beer consumption than before consumption.
• Pregnant women - expectant moms get bitten twice as often as women who are not pregnant. Pregnant women's abdomens are about 1 degree warmer, and this causes more volatile substances revealed in sweat to attract mosquitoes.
• Your smell - acetone and estradiol released in your breath and many of the compounds and bacteria found on your skin contribute to your attractiveness.
• Full moon - mosquitoes are 500 times more active when the moon is full. The highest risk times are dusk and dawn.
• Also the carbon dioxide we exhale and lactic acid in our sweat attract mosquitoes to us.
• Dark coloured clothings can also increase your risk of being bitten by mosquitoes.

Individuals that get bitten less could be producing chemicals on their skins that make them more repellent and cover up smells that mosquitoes find attractive.

 

There isn't much we can do about mosquitoes other than using EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) approved mosquito repellent and covering up.

For those of us with blood group O; to be on the safe side, always take your bath before bedtime and sleep in a mosquito treated net.