Five reasons mosquitos bite some but leave others,

This is a situation many of us have faced or wondered about before now because why can one person become completely covered in mosquito bites, whilst the other escapes almost completely unscathed? 

Asides from leaving some of their victims with red, sore, bumpy bites, the buzzing creatures also spread a host of dangerous pathogens, and according to the 2022 World Malaria Report, Nigeria accounts for the highest percentage of the global malaria burden compared to any other country, with 27% of the global estimated malaria cases and 31% of the estimated deaths due to malaria.

Nigeria accounted for an estimated 55% of malaria cases in West Africa in 2022.

1. How big you are and how you breathe.

Mosquitoes track down their prey by scent and one the things they are on the hunt for is carbon dioxide.

The gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) which we exhale when we breathe, acts as a homing beacon to the insects.

However, the quantity of CO2 matters too. Which means larger people naturally exhale larger quantities of carbon dioxide and it’s for this reason experts say they tend to get bitten more.

This means in the real world, men get bitten more than women, pregnant women get bitten more than non-pregnant women, and adults are munched on more than children.

An expert in disease control from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Dr Robert Jones, said fatter people may also be targets for this reason.

“Amongst a group of people, the proportion of bites upon an individual has been associated with the proportion of the total surface area or weight contributed by that individual to the group,” he said.

The same logic is thought to apply to people with an increased rate of breathing like those doing exercise.

2. Natural scent as well as the bacteria on your body:

People’s unique aroma is also believed to play a role in mosquito victim selection. Our natural scent is determined by a combination of our genetics as well as the skin’s microbiota, the community of microscopic organisms that live on the surface of our flesh.

Some tests have been carried out, where people wear nylon strips to extract their musk and then hang it in front of swarms of mosquitoes, shows that the insects do have a preference when it comes to particular aromas.

Similar studies on twins have suggested genetics could account for as much as 67 per cent in mosquito attraction.

While evidence that personal aroma can be a reason for mosquito attraction, scientists are still trying to find out exactly what compounds are responsible and what can be done to mask or reduce them.

Dr Jones said: ‘We believe that genetic factors and our skin microbiome affect the volatile compounds that our bodies produce, and this in turn affects how we smell.Some of these compounds have been shown to be attractive to mosquitoes, so if your body produces lots of these compounds you may attract more mosquitoes than other people.

3. Outfit colour can make you a target.

The colour of your outfit can contribute to why mosquitoes bite you as studies have shown that mosquitoes prefer some colours over others.

Experiments have shown that mosquitoes have an overall preference for red, orange, black or cyan and in contrast, green, blue or purple colours don’t attract their attention. 

Experts said people might be able to reduce the chance of mosquitoes biting them by avoiding wearing the colours they find attractive.

4. Does your blood type make you more delicious?

One of the more common beliefs is that your blood type, specifically type O, makes you a more desirable meal to mosquitoes.

Although some studies have found this to be true, other tests have been inconclusive.

However, Dr Jones said, overall, blood type is probably not an important component of mosquito attraction.

He added: “There does not seem to be strong evidence for blood types affecting how attractive people are to mosquitoes. Other factors are more important.

5. What about what you eat or drink?

Numerous food and drink have been linked to either attract or repel mosquitoes.

Some claim that the strong smell of garlic will help mask your own scent, acting as a type of olfactory camouflage while on the other hand salty or sweet foods are claimed to have the opposite effect producing compounds that makes us more attractive to mosquitoes.

Even beer might not be a safe option. One study, admittedly only on 14 people, found mosquitos were more likely to land on a person after they’d had a drink.

Dr Jones said, given the unreliable nature of using food or drink to ward off mosquitoes, people are better off sticking to standard repellents.

“It is much better to use methods that have been proven through rigorous scientific tests to provide a high level of protection from bites, he said.

“There are several insect repellent compounds that are effective for many hours against a range of mosquito species and can be safely used by both adults and children.”