2024-07-10 10:13:08
Do you feel like you are literally a mosquito magnet? Are you more attracted to them than your friends and relatives? And you wonder what it is and how you could prevent it? The news website The New York Times tried to find answers to these questions.
All humans are attracted to mosquitoes, says Christopher Potter, an associate professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. However, if you find yourself pushing them away more often than those around you, you may be one of those unfortunates who are simply more attractive to mosquitoes.
According to Potter, there’s no single, clear-cut reason why some people get bitten more than others — partly because it’s a difficult enough problem for scientists to study. But experts have identified two main categories of factors that make us more attractive to mosquitoes: biological aspects we can’t change and behaviors we can change.
The first group of factors mainly includes how you smell. Dozens of different molecules distributed throughout your body work together to create your unique scent.
“It’s like strawberries — there’s not one smell in strawberries that gives them that smell,” Potter said. “It’s a combination of a dozen smells coming together. And it is likely that this characteristic mix of chemical compounds attracts mosquitoes, he added.
It’s also possible that some people emit more odors that mosquitoes like, said Lindy McBride, an associate professor of ecology, evolutionary biology and neuroscience at Princeton University.
What attracts mosquitoes the most?
That doesn’t mean someone who smells more strongly to other people will always be a target for mosquitoes — mosquitoes are sensitive to different kinds of odors, even ones that humans can’t detect, McBride said. According to her, for example, mosquitoes love the smell of forearms. “It never occurs to anyone that their arms can be felt,” she said.
Mosquitoes are attracted to sebum; a waxy, oily substance on the skin that protects it from drying out. It contains molecules that contribute to your body odor.
It can also depend on blood type, says Cleveland Clinic emergency medicine physician Christopher Bazzoli. According to him, mosquitoes seem to gravitate towards people with blood type 0, for reasons that scientists have not yet discovered.
The individual way of breathing, which Bazzoli calls the “breath signature”, also plays a role. Mosquitoes seek out carbon dioxide, which is partly why they can find us so well. The more we exhale, the more carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere – and unknowingly, we attract stinging predators to us.
So if you’ve exercised outside, for example, you’re breathing harder and breathing out more carbon dioxide, which could attract mosquitoes, Potter said. Sweat also sends a distinct signal to mosquitoes, McBride added — especially sweat that stays on the body for hours and mixes with bacteria on the skin.
When you have a few beers or margaritas on the beach, the alcohol also starts to be secreted into your sweat, which can also attract mosquitoes. Plus, alcohol can change the chemistry of your body odor, which will also act as an attractant for buzzing insects.
Tricks for annoying insects
How can they be chased away? There are several proven strategies. According to Bazzoli, some scented personal hygiene products, such as perfumes, scented soaps, lotions and sunscreens, can attract mosquitoes. So if you’re going to be spending time outdoors when mosquitoes are around, try to use fragrance-free products and consider skipping fragrance altogether.
Certain colors of clothing, such as black and dark blue, can act as a magnet for mosquitoes. Research also suggests that mosquitoes are attracted to bright orange and red colors. Stick to lighter colors, advises Bazzoli; and if you want to be extra careful, wear long sleeves and pants.
A number of repellants can help keep mosquitoes at bay, in part because they effectively mask the smell of your skin, Potter says. There are also special electronic repellers and insect catchers.
Or you can try a simple trick that McBride recommends. Mosquitoes like to stay close to the ground and bite the legs. Take a desk fan and put it under your desk. Mosquitoes may seem indestructible and endlessly annoying, but they have trouble in the wind because they’re not very good flyers, McBride added.