Why do mosquitoes bite me more compared to others?

Remember the time you went camping with your friends and had to wake up in the middle of the night just to find out your ankles red and itchy? And remember how your friends were peacefully sleeping, completely oblivious to the menace caused by mosquitoes?

“Why me?”

You ask yourself while slapping your ankles. “Why is it always me?” There’s no answer to this, but there have been times when you would joke about it to your friends saying “It is because I am irresistible”. And that joke is not funny anymore. What is actually funny, are the reasons mosquitoes bite you more compared to other people. And here they are:

Reason #1 Mosquitoes are loyal

Not to you but to your blood type. Mosquitoes love to suck on our blood for protein, it is no rockets science. Plus, scientists have proved that mosquitoes have been more favourable to certain blood types compared to others.

O NO!

Mosquitoes like to feed on Type O blood twice as much as they like to feed on Type A. Type B lies somewhere in the middle. But how do mosquitoes know our blood type? It is because our bodies produce certain secretions that let a mosquito know what our blood type is.

Reason #2 Carbon dioxide. You get what you give.

One of the most important factors is the amount of carbon dioxide we breathe out. It’s like a catalyst that triggers the attack. The more you exercise, the more Co2 you will breathe out. The more your metabolic rate, the more Co2 you will expel. And the more CO2 you give, the more mosquitoes you attract.

Reason #3: Acid attack.

Humans are not the only ones who breathe out CO2. Cars and Chimneys give out Carbon Dioxide too. And the thing that differentiates us from cars when it comes to mosquitoes, is lactic acid. Lactic acid and uric acid released through our body act like a signal on which mosquitoes attack.

Reason #4 Mosquitoes are fashionable.

Mosquitoes have a vision too. And they use it to locate us. Like other predators, they use their eyes to target victims. And if you are dressed in black, blue, or red, you are a much easier target. How you are dressed matters. So the next time you dress to stand out, also give it a thought in whose eyes.

Reason #5 Mosquitoes love those who work hard.

As strong as the emission of carbon dioxide and secretion of lactic acid, mosquitoes also have a nose for other scents. Sweat, for instance. Exercise builds up heat. The body becomes warm which brings blood closer to the skin, and this is exactly what a mosquito is looking for. So the higher your body temperature, the higher are your chances of attracting a mosquito. Or ten.

Reason #6 Mosquitoes are alcoholic.

Who doesn’t enjoy a pint at the end of a tiring day? Well, so do mosquitoes. If it is the ethanol in beer or something else that makes the mosquitoes land on human is still a mystery. But drinkers tend to attract these serial killers more than non-drinkers do. So if you planning to have a pint after a heavy workout, do plan to take care of the mosquito problem too.

Conclusion

Mosquitoes can cause a lot of problems. Dengue, malaria, and Zika are just a few of them. So if you are facing a mosquito menace in your home and are the prime victim of these flying insects, wearing baggy pants, a full-sleeve t-shirt, avoiding alcohol, working out less often, and reducing your metabolic rate is an impractical option. What you need to do is find out a more practical solution and for that especially if you are from metro cities like, Mumbai, Bengaluru, etc. where all the kind of pollutions happen, make your homes safe with the best pest control services around your city,