Certain people are mosquito magnets because of their smell

Some people sit outside in good weather and are not bothered by mosquitoes, while others are completely swarming. People tend to joke that it “attracts mosquitoes,” but it’s actually legal, according to new research.

Research published in journals cell, Eight people were tracked and asked to wear nylon stockings on their forearms for six hours a day, and this was repeated for several days. Researchers took those stockings and tested them against each other in round-robin format tournaments. egyptian temple Mosquitoes (the mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus, dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya) were put in the room and asked to choose the socks they liked.

Numbers were assigned to study participants, and subject 33 was by far the most attractive. She was four times more attractive than the second most attractive study participant, and he was a whopping 100 times more attractive than the least attractive subject, 19.

“This suggests that skin odor is a major factor in differences in mosquito attraction to humans,” the researchers wrote.

If you’ve fallen into mosquito coil camp, you probably have a lot of questions. Here’s what you need to know and what you can do to protect yourself in the future.

How do mosquitoes find their prey?

Mosquitoes don’t blindly land on things and want to be eaten. According to, they actually use special receptors to find food. National Institutes of Health (NIH (National Institutes of Health). Its receptors detect carbon dioxide. take a breathand skin odor.

According to the NIH, female mosquitoes have nerve cells called cpA neurons that have receptors that detect carbon dioxide, allowing them to sense plumes of exhaled air. research We also discovered that it uses chemosensory and thermal cues to detect people.

Mosquitoes also “use their sight” to find their next meal, says Eva Buckner, Ph.D., an expert in medical entomology and assistant professor at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach. “Their vision is certainly not as sharp as ours, but they can tell the difference between bright and dark areas,” she says. “They are generally attracted to dark colors.”

As for that smell you give off, Buckner explains that it’s caused by the breakdown of bacteria in your skin. “It’s not necessarily a detectable smell,” says Buckner.

Lastly, mosquitoes are a bit picky about where they bite people. Mosquitoes “use their gustatory organs in their bodies and their mouthparts and feet to detect good places to bite,” says Thomas Dobrynska, a board-certified entomologist in the United States. ehrlich pest control.

worth pointing out, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Only female mosquitoes suck blood, male mosquitoes eat plant juicelike honey.

Why are some people more attracted to mosquitoes than others?

Body odor seems to be a big factor. The researchers in this particular study found that people considered “highly attractive” to mosquitoes produced “significantly more” carboxylic acids in their skin. It is an organic compound.)

Even “mutant” mosquitoes, which lacked specific sensory receptors, “retained the ability to distinguish between highly attractive and weak individuals,” the researchers wrote.

Blood type may also play a role, with certain blood types found to be more attractive to mosquitoes than others, Dobrinska said. “O blood typeseems to be the most popular In fact, among certain mosquito species, these mosquitoes preferred O blood almost twice as much as A blood. ”

Basically, if you’re a mosquito coil, you’ll attract pests to some extent no matter what.

What to do if you are a mosquito magnet

It may feel like you’re free from mosquito bites, but experts say it’s not.according to CDCthey include:

• Use of repellents with DEET, picaridin, IR3535, lemon eucalyptus oil, paramenthane diol, or 2-undecanone.
• Please wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants
• If you go to mosquito-infested areas (such as forests), treat your clothing and gear with 0.5% permethrin, or purchase permethrin-treated clothing and gear.
• Use screens on windows and doors
• Use air conditioning if possible
• Remove standing water around your home such as buckets, toys, planters, flower pots, trash cans

Another hack by Buckner: Ditch the perfume. “Mosquitoes can be attracted to floral odors, like floral perfume,” she explains. “If you’re going to an area where mosquitoes are likely, don’t wear floral-scented perfume.”

Cutting back on alcohol can also help, says Dbrynska. “Some people sweat when they drink alcohol,” he explains. “Alcohol also dilates blood vessels, drawing warm blood closer to the skin. The smell of sweat combined with increased heat from the skin increases mosquito attraction.”