Clothing
Mosquitoes use their eyes to find targets. Studies also show that mosquitoes easily spot people wearing green, black, and red.
Blood type
Adult mosquitoes get their nutrients from honey, but females produce eggs by ingesting proteins in human blood. Interestingly, it turns out that mosquitoes have a particular blood type that they prefer. Research has found that each species of mosquito has a preferred blood type. For example, Aedes albopictus mosquitoes like blood type O, and Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes like blood type AB. In addition, most people (about 80%) produce secretions that indicate what their blood type is. This secretion attracts mosquitoes more regardless of blood type.
Gas
Mosquitoes can detect carbon dioxide from a long distance. Furthermore, they can see people at a distance of between 5 and 15 meters. These pieces of evidence show how mosquitoes find people.
Also, the more carbon dioxide people emit, the more mosquitoes will stick together. The larger the body, the more it exhales, so it is easy to attract mosquitoes.
Heat and sweat
Mosquitoes also have different sniffing noses. For example, they can smell lactic acid, ammonia, and other compounds released from sweat. Vigorous exercise promotes the accumulation of lactic acid and heat in the body. Furthermore, genetic causes influence your “smell profile,” which helps make you attractive to mosquitoes.
“Living” Skin
Human skin is full of microscopic life. When these bacteria are mingled with sweat, they create a unique scent.
Pregnancy
It turns out that some mosquito species are more attracted to pregnant people. There are not many studies on this. However, a study in Africa in 2000 revealed that twice as many mosquitoes were attracted to pregnant people compared to people who weren’t pregnant.
Researchers think that this situation occurs for the following reasons:
CO2: People in the late pregnancy period breathe more than normal people do.
Heat: Abdominal temperatures in pregnant people were about 1 degree higher than in the general population (Breyer, 2022).
Why does it itch when people get bitten by a mosquito?
When a person is bitten by mosquitoes, mosquito saliva enters their body. This causes the human immune system to release histamine, and itching is a side effect of this.
Histamine serves to inform the rest of the immune system that something that should not be in a person’s body has been generated. This is a warning to the immune system to erase mosquito saliva.
Itching generally occurs about 20 minutes after a mosquito bite, and the symptoms usually weaken after about a day. After seven to ten days, the itch completely disappears (Sudhakar, 2022).
How can people avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes?
Remove stagnant water.
Mosquitoes lay eggs in stagnant water. The eggs will hatch into young mosquitoes, turn into pupae, and evolve into adult mosquitoes. Stagnant water is the perfect place to do this.
Changing bedding and pajamas regularly
You may now know that mosquitoes detect carbon dioxide released by humans and find them. People have to change blankets, pillows, and pajamas regularly. Also, taking a shower before going to bed is helpful.
Turn on the fan
Mosquitoes are thin and weak, so turning on your fan can keep them away. Fans also help prevent mosquitoes from biting people by dispersing carbon dioxide and human body odor.
Fill your garden with garlic and herbs.
Mosquitoes hate fragrant herbs (such as mint and rosemary) and garlic. Therefore, placing them in the window or in their garden or bedroom will greatly help to keep mosquitoes away.
Reducing the beer
Studies have shown that beer can cause a person to attract more mosquitoes, so refraining from beer and alcohol can help control mosquitoes.
The removal of flower scent
Mosquitoes are attracted to the sweet scent of flowers. However, if you want to use perfume, you should put on perfume with a citrus or woody scent to trick mosquitoes (Martin and Thorpe-Woods, 2022).
Conclusion
Mosquitoes can survive by sucking human blood. We can also sometimes see certain people being bitten more by mosquitoes, which is not an illusion. There are people who are favored by mosquitoes, such as people with certain blood types and people who emit a lot of carbon dioxide. It’s a physical feature that we can’t change, so we have to protect ourselves from mosquitoes by using various ways to prevent them.
References
Breyer, M. (2022). 7 Reasons Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others. [online] Verywell Health. Available at: https://www.verywellhealth.com/reason-mosquitoes-bite-some-people-more-others-4858811 [Accessed 10 October. 2022].
Sudhakar, S. (2022). Why Do Mosquitoes Bites Itch, and How Can I Stop Them from Itching? [online] GoodRx Health. Available at: https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/itching/why-mosquito-bites-itch-how-to-stop [Accessed 6 October. 2022].
Martin, E. and Thorpe-Woods, B. (2022). How to stop mosquitoes biting you. [online] Good Housekeeping. Availableb at: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/health/health-advice/a688522/how-to-stop-mosquitoes-bites/ [Accessed 13 October. 2022].
