Health
Why are you so attracted to mosquitoes?
Some people are tastier than others – at least to mosquitoes.
Many of us humans say it's no surprise, as science has confirmed our long-held hunch: Skin chemicals attract mosquitoes, and some people have smells more appetizing than others.
Jeff Riffle, a biology professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he works in the university's massive insectarium, has been stung thousands of times in the name of research.
As Riffle explains, the mosquitoes are fed cow's blood, but unless the mosquito populations collapse, the human researchers have no choice but to donate their own blood. (“This is not ideal at all,” Riffle said in an email. “This shows that these mosquitoes are really specialized to feed on us humans.”)
Some people attract mosquitoes for reasons they can't control: different compounds on our skin attract mosquitoes. But there are some factors we can control, like the color of our clothes. Riffle told Seattle Now that mosquitoes seem to be most attracted to black, orange, and red clothing, and less so to white and green. Mosquitoes are also attracted to people who get hot easily; the more sweaty and talkative a person is, the more mosquitoes are drawn to them.
By understanding what attracts mosquitoes, Riffle and his colleagues can help companies develop bait and traps that lure them.
“We're in the lab trying to understand the cues, the genes, the nervous system and why they bite us,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to stop them from biting us.”
Riffle says it may be possible to completely eradicate certain mosquito populations that have evolved alongside humans: There are so many different kinds of mosquitoes that targeting those that harm humans or spread disease would not disrupt ecosystem balance too much, he says.
roughly 3,500 species of mosquitoesBut very few of them thrive on human blood, and even fewer spread diseases such as dengue fever, malaria or Zika.
Not all mosquito species bite humans, but of those that do, only the females feed on human blood.
“They're little vampires that suck blood to prepare eggs for their offspring,” Riffle said. “The males just fly around looking for females.”
To keep mosquitoes away, Riffle said the chemical DEET is effective — it's controversial, but studies have shown it's safe for children and pregnant women — and if that's not your thing, frequent applications of lemon and eucalyptus essential oils are also effective.
Riffle buys clothes from REI that have mosquito repellent built into the fabric.
“If we actually eradicated the mosquito species that carry these diseases, it would have no effect on the ecosystem or the ecology of the environment around us,” Riffle says. “The mosquitoes around us are the problem that we're trying to avoid and control.”
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