If you feel as if every mosquito
in a 50-mile radius has you locked in its sights, while your friends are rarely
bitten, you could be right. Up to 20 percent of us are highly alluring to mosquitoes—and
scientists have discovered some surprising reasons.
“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’re a mosquito magnet,” says University of
Florida entomology professor Dr. Phil Koehler. “Also, there’s evidence that
your degree of attractiveness to mosquitoes can change over time.”
Here
are some intriguing discoveries about why some of us are particularly tasty
targets for the tiny vampires:
Mosquitos prefer blood type O
In their quest for a meal,
mosquitoes are nearly twice as likely to land on people with type 0 blood than
those with type A,
according to a Japanese study. Indeed, the biting pests consider type 0 more
delectable than any other blood type, the researchers reported. Most people
secrete substances that allow mosquitoes to identify blood type before they
bite.
Beer drinkers beware
Swigging just one bottle of beer
can significantly boost your risk of being bitten, according to a study
published in
Journal of
the American Mosquito Control Association. The researchers reported that, “Mosquito landing
on volunteers significantly increased after beer ingestion compared with before
ingestion.”
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Watch out for the full moon
The tiny bloodsuckers are 500 times
more active when the moon is full, reports the
American Mosquito Control Association
(AMCA). Overall, the highest risk times for mosquito bites are dusk and dawn,
with the females of some species migrating up to 40 miles in pursuit of a meal.
(Male mosquitoes don’t bite.)
Keep your socks on
The pungent aroma of dirty feet
is apparently irresistible to mosquitoes, as a brave scientist, Bart Knols,
discovered when he sat in a lab in his underwear to find out which parts of
the body the pests are most likely to target. He found that 75 percent of the bugs
homed in on his feet, but after he washed them with deodorant soap, the
mosquitos bit randomly. His team also reported that stinky cheeses, such as
Limburger—which has the same odoriferous compound responsible for foot odor—also
draws mosquitoes.
Mosquitos know if you’re expecting
Moms-to-be get bitten about twice
as often as women who aren’t pregnant, increasing their risk for bug-borne
diseases,
according to a study conducted in Gambia.
The researchers hypothesized that since women in the later stages of
pregnancy exhale 21 percent more volume, mosquitos were drawn in by the
moisture and carbon dioxide in their breath. They also found that
pregnant women's abdomens are nearly 1 degree warmer, which may cause
more volatile substances—released in sweat and attractive to
mosquitos—to be present on their skin.
Not only do several other studies have
similar findings, says Dr. Koehler, but “there’s also evidence that
women are
more attractive to mosquitoes during certain phases of the ovulation
cycle.”
Studies have mixed results as to whether men or women are more likely to
get
bitten, he adds.
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Running won’t help you
Both the carbon dioxide we exhale
and substances in sweat, such as lactic acid, help mosquitoes home in on their
prey. As a result, Dr. Koehler reports. “You’re more likely to be bitten if
you’re running or exercising than when you’re at rest, since you’re breathing
harder and sweating more.” In fact, physical activity ups risk for bites by as
much as 50 percent, according to AMCA.
Like vampires, they prefer dark clothes
Dark-colored clothing can increase
your risk of falling victim to the little bloodsuckers, compared to
lighter-colored garments, says Dr. Koehler. In one study comparing the appeal
of various hues to mosquitoes,
the researchers reported the following results: black (most
attractive); red (very attractive); grey and blue (neutral); khaki, green,
light khaki, and yellow (less attractive).