With the end of summer closing in, mosquito season is at it’s peak. You may wonder why mosquitoes bite some people and not others, and what to do to get rid of mosquitoes around your home. This post answers those questions and give you some tips for getting rid of mosquitoes.
Maybe they’re born with it?
As humans, we all give off certain natural scents. These scents either naturally attract or repel mosquitoes.
In many parts of the world, mosquitoes are active in large numbers as well as year round, and at the same time, humans have lived in those areas for centuries. Over time, certain groups of people could have built up resistance to being bitten by mosquitoes, allowing them to live comfortably in these highly populated areas.
In addition to this, a big determining factor for mosquitoes choosing their next meal seems to rely to some extent on what kind of bacteria is on your skin. Think of it almost like seasoning on your steak dinner.
This composition of bacteria can vary depending on the cleaning products you use, part of the world you live in, and even genetics to some degree. The bacteria on your body could either seem delicious to mosquitoes in the area, or poorly prepared, causing them to avoid you or seek you out.
Too Hot To Handle
Another interesting reason that can attract more mosquitoes to a person is that they have a higher overall body temperature. Mosquitoes don’t just feed on humans, like you may think, they actually feed on a large variety of warm blooded animals, from livestock, to birds, to humans.
Humans aren’t the hottest creatures around, as some livestock has a higher resting body temperature than humans, but depending on the person your temperature may run a bit hotter than others, attracting more mosquitoes.
In addition to that generally if you are running hotter, like from exercising or simply being outside in the summer heat, you will sweat more. Your body can release a variety of chemicals in your sweat that mosquitoes can detect, as well as making your body more prone to bacteria growth, making you a big target for these buzzing pests.
For example, pregnant women often have a higher resting body temperature compared to other people, and that can make them an easy target for mosquitoes. Unfortunately, some mosquitoes carry the Zika virus, which can be especially harmful if you a pregnant, so be sure to prepare yourself with repellent, longer clothes, or avoid areas with mosquitoes all together if you are pregnant.
Take a deep breath and everything will be OK…well except maybe mosquito bites
Another factor that can attract mosquitoes to one person over another is how much carbon dioxide they are exhaling. There are a few factors that can cause this as well to be aware of.
Interestingly, pregnant women tend to exhale more carbon dioxide when they breathe. This happens because they actually breathe deeper when they are pregnant. They need more oxygen to support the growing baby and therefore they tend to breath more deeply when they do breathe.
This causes them to exhale more carbon dioxide as well, which again can attract more mosquitoes.
Exercising, doing yard work, or other more intense outdoor activities can also cause us to breathe in more oxygen and release more carbon dioxide. Don’t be surprised if mosquitoes bite you more during outside activities including exertion.
Body size can play a factor in this as well as larger people tend to exhale more and release more carbon dioxide.
What’s your blood type?
Blood type does seem to also play a factor whether mosquitoes will bite you or not. Studies have shown that mosquitoes tend to like type O blood the most and then followed up with type A and B blood.
Another fun fact is that some people also release a secretion that lets mosquitoes know what blood type they have. Not everyone releases this, but sending that signal out to mosquitoes certainly doesn’t help your cause of fewer bites.
Prevention tips for avoiding mosquito bites
Unfortunately, many of these reasons mosquitoes may be prone to bite you more are out of your control. For this reason some prevention steps like using repellent and wearing longer clothes can be a few of the ways to avoid being bitten as much.
You can also try and reduce mosquitoes access to standing water around your home as that is where they lay their eggs. Beyond that we recommend having a mosquito treatment set up around your home to help reduce current numbers and to help lower their numbers next season as well.
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