6 things that make you more attractive to mosquitoes
<p>The pesky mosquito – is there anything more annoying at a BBQ? For many of us, the answer is “no”, but for others, mozzies don’t seem to be an issue at all – but why? Why do mozzies favour come people over others? It may be because of these six things about you which they simply can’t get enough of.</p>
<p><strong>1. You exhale a lot of carbon dioxide</strong></p>
<p>Larger people (and pregnant women) produce more carbon dioxide. Incredibly, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-entomological-research/article/role-of-carbon-dioxide-in-hostfinding-by-mosquitoes-diptera-culicidae-a-review/2506B86EF63852B2D02EC3FCEE1E3B8B" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">this makes them more attractive to mozzies</span></strong></a> and thus more likely to be bitten. If that’s not incentive to lose some weight, we don’t know what is!</p>
<p><strong>2. You’re hot</strong></p>
<p>No, really, you are! <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0122716" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A 2015 study</span></strong></a> found that having a high body temperature increases the likelihood of being bitten by mosquitoes. Again, this only makes it harder for overweight people, who as a rule have a higher body temperature. Our advice? Stay cool!</p>
<p><strong>3. You have type O blood</strong></p>
<p>It’s not just the blood bank that wants your type O. In 2004, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=15311477&ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">researchers discovered</span></strong></a> that people with type O blood had a significantly higher chance of being bitten by mozzies than those with type A. But take this one with a grain of salt – the study’s sample size was small and it hasn’t been repeated since.</p>
<p><strong>4. The bacteria on your skin make you smell good</strong></p>
<p>Well, they make you smell good to the mozzies – not necessarily to the person sitting next to you. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028991" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Researchers found</span></strong></a> that the microbes that live on the skin produce certain chemicals which make you smell more attractive to those flying pests.</p>
<p><strong>5. You’ve just exercised</strong></p>
<p>While being overweight makes you more susceptible to mozzie bites, so does exercise. Not only does it raise your body temperature (see above), but it also <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/161/3848/1346" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">increases lactic acid production</span></strong></a>, which is secreted through the skin, attracting mosquitoes.</p>
<p><strong>6. You’re a beer drinker</strong></p>
<p>It might be time to switch to soft drink – that cold brew isn’t doing you any favours. In 2002, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12083361" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Japanese scientists found</span></strong></a> that even one glass of an alcoholic beverage (beer in particular) makes you more attractive to mozzies, but no one is quite sure why this is.</p>
<p>So, if you’re an overweight, exercise-loving, germy, beer-drinking person with type O blood, you should probably invest in some high-strength insect repellent!</p>
