10 Reasons Mosquitoes Bite Some People But Not Others

Summer has arrived and this is the time that mosquitoes bite people because they are out and about at cookouts, picnics, or enjoying the outdoors in other ways.

Jonathan Day is a professor of medical entomology and a mosquito expert at the University of Florida. He shared some interesting things about the 20 percent of people who are magnets for Mosquitoes.

1. Clothes

Mosquitoes rely on their eyes for their targets. They go after people who wear dark colors such as black, navy and red. People who wear those colors are easier for mosquitoes to spot.

2. Sweat

Mosquitoes can smell the lactic acid, uric acid, ammonia and other compounds that come from people's sweat. Therefore, those who exercise a lot are prime targets because mosquitoes are attracted to people with higher body temperatures.

3. Breath

Mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide from a person's breath up to 164 feet away. Therefore, they go after larger people because they exhale more. Mosquitos buzz around the head more than other body parts because they follow the carbon dioxide coming from the nose and mouth as people breathe.

4. Blood type

Mosquitoes survive by eating nectar for nourishment. Only female mosquitoes bite because they need the protein in human blood for the production of their eggs.

They favor people with Type O blood, but they will settle for Type A and Type B. It is amazing that mosquitoes know a person's blood type even when some people don't know what type they have.

5. Bacteria on skin

Mosquitoes go after people with bacteria on their skin. They bite the body part with the most bacteria such as ankles and feet.

Make sure you are bacteria-free when you are out and about.

6. Beer drinkers

Mosquitoes go after those who drink beer more than non-drinkers. Scientists have figured out that beer drinkers have alcohol content in their sweat and on their skin.

7. Pregnancy

Mosquitoes must be really smart to know which women are pregnant. Two clues help the pests pick out pregnant women in a crowd.

First, there is an increase of carbon dioxide that comes from a pregnant woman's breath because she exhales 21 percent more than a non-pregnant woman. Secondly, the abdomen of a pregnant woman is 1.26°F hotter, and mosquitoes like warm bodies.

8. Gestures

Mosquitoes go after people who are moving more than people who are stationary. Even people who use a lot of hand gestures while sitting are a target to be bitten.

9. Genetics

Mosquitoes bite people based on their genetic makeup and immune system. That's why you could be sitting next to someone on a picnic bench who never gets bitten, but you always get your blood sucked out of you.

10. Dawn and dusk

Mosquitoes usually bite at dawn and dusk when the wind isn't blowing as much and the humidity rises. If you are outside at those times, don't be surprised if you get bitten.