Are you a Mosquito Magnet?

According to Dr. Jonathan Day, a medical entomologist and mosquito expert at the University of Florida, Mosquitoes are attracted to some people than others. “Some people produce more of certain chemicals in their skin,” he explains. “And a few of those chemicals, like lactic acid, attract mosquitoes.” There is also a study that shows people with blood type (O) attracts mosquitoes more than others (A or B).

One of the most important factors in attracting a mosquito is:  your metabolic rate –which is the amount of energy expended by an organism in a given time period or the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by your body to burn energy-

So for linking Mosquitoes and CO2, they simply use the gas as a primary mean to identify bite targets, Further linking pregnant women and over-weight people tend to have higher (BMR) basal metabolic rates because they don’t move a lot, which in turn makes them better targets for mosquitoes.

While CO2 remains the primary identifier technique for mosquitoes to find its hosts, Secondary identifiers are also present to help mosquito differentiate you from non-living organisms or other CO2-producing objects. And according to Dr.Day we can trick mosquitoes by controlling these secondary identifiers.

  1. Color of your clothes and Movement:  Dark colors are more attractive to mosquitoes than light outfits. Mosquitoes tend to avoid wind motion by staying closer to the ground; down there they can spot you by comparing your silhouette to the horizon, where dark colors are clear, while light shades blend in. Also, lots of moving and gesturing can help them distinguishes you from surroundings.
  2. Heat and sweat
    Beside carbon dioxide mosquitoes smell compounds like lactic acid, uric acid, ammonia and others emitted in sweat. So if your body runs warmer quickly or if you were having an exercise or a run between the trees you are more likely to be kissed by bunch of mosquitoes.

A Simple approach to keep bites away from you , is by simple using a mosquito-repellent skin chemical.

You can check more info here: http://mosquito.ifas.ufl.edu/Day.htm

 

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