Why do Mosquitoes Bite Some People More Than Others?
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One mosquito bite is annoying, but to be continually bitten by those little creatures can drive you crazy. Even worse, the friend standing next to you seems inexplicably mosquito bite free. The reason why mosquitoes are attracted to some people and not to others can be summed up in a single word: smell.
Scientific research has shown that if you are frequently bitten by mosquitoes, it is because of the smell you give off. Mosquitoes are attracted to the smells of certain people. If a person is rarely bitten, then his or her body gives off a smell that masks the scent that attracts mosquitoes.
The body's masking odors act like a natural repellent to mosquitoes. People who are bitten less frequently, or not at all, emit chemicals that repel mosquitoes. Mosquitoes recognize these smells as something they would not like to feast on and fly to someone else. Recent research has been undertaken to narrow down the smells that are attractive and repellent to mosquitoes. The research was at first described as similar to looking for a needle in a haystack, but scientists have since managed to track down and identify around 30 chemical compounds out of 300 that can protect people.
The mosquito bite repellents currently available on the market work on much the same principle. They mask the attractive body odor that mosquitoes like. Some mosquito bite repellents are plant-based in odor, causing the mosquito to sense that the wearer is a plant and look elsewhere for its food.
The importance of the tests to find a masking order goes beyond solving irritating little mosquito bites. A mosquito bite is not just annoying; it can present a real danger to humans. Mosquitoes carry dangerous diseases, such as malaria. Malaria is the cause of millions of deaths every day and a significant problem in many African countries.
After determining the masking odor that deters mosquitoes, the next step is to duplicate it. If this is possible, then further tests will make sure it is safe to be applied to human skin. If this is successful, then a whole new type of mosquito bite repellent will be available. These repellents should be safer and more natural than previous repellents, as they will be based on the skin's natural masking agents.
Another way to avoid a mosquito bite may be to stay close to friends who are never bitten. Until the new mosquito bite repellent is available, this might be the safest option.
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Discuss this Article
All I seem to read is people getting bit! I have *never* been bit so I'm happy :) if you lot read the article, it says it doesnt always work but it depends on the odour that you give off "naturally". I always thought I never got bit because I had *bad* blood but obviously not. I recently got off holiday and I slept in between my mum who was furthest from the window and my brother who was closet to the window and they got bit to hell by the mosquitoes, why didn't I get bit even though I was in the middle -- because I am a *natural mosquito repellent!* :)
- anon34945
its aggravating cause i have like beautiful skin during the winter, but have to cover it all up! so during the summer i get bit...even under a pair of pants some kind of bug can somehow find me. when i was little i remember i couldn't walk in the grass let alone outside without having bugs swarm around me. there was one point in a summer where i couldn't see my ankle due to bites on me. darn sweet body odors!
- anon34109
I'm pretty sure sweat and moist skin are big attractants to mosquitoes. I have very moist skin and overly active sweat glands and the mosquitoes simply cannot get enough of me. I went camping with my girlfriend last year by a lake. She had little to no mosquito bites at all by the end of it. I was literally covered from head to toe. I had well over a hundred.. no exaggeration. This year we went camping in a place with less mosquitoes. In spite of eating many cloves of garlic and drenching myself in deet i was still bit many times (although not as many as the last time.. I'm guessing it had a lot to do with there being less mosquitoes).
- anon34042
Hello Dig21445,
So what is the name of the product you keep saying is so great? I'm sure most of us here would like to get it as well. Thanks. - anon26638
Long sleeves and long pants, repellent on my skin *and* clothes, on holiday in NZ, and I currently have bites covering my entire body. I stopped counting at 100+! What gets me is the instant welts, inevitable pus and scabs and the disfiguring scars I am left with. I *hate* being a mosquito magnet! Wearing a short skirt is now out for this summer...
- anon25680
I was trying to find why insects bite me so much more than other people, not just mosquitoes. I am sometimes viciously attacked by flies in general, but most insects bite me. Even ones you wouldn't consider biting insects like fruit flies and those hoppers (that's what we call them) that live in the grass.
I truly believe it has something to do with my blood as I've liberally sprayed myself with insect repellent with the most Deet I could find with little success. One downside to getting bit so much while others are relatively bite-free is that people tend to think you are imagining you are getting bit. It's hard to explain that you are currently getting bit by a fly when they see no flies around because it is a No-See-Um (baby fly) that is biting you. With years of frustration I have finally convinced people close to me that I'm not imagining it at all and I am getting bit quite often. Fortunately, I don't have problems with mosquitoes as I live in the desert. But believe it or not after living here several years and having never seen a mosquito here I actually have had seen a few in recent years and somehow they find me.
- Pahrumpian
I used to get bitten previously; however, since I have been taking the vitamin/mineral supplements from a BodyWise Company (mail order) they do not bite me at all. In fact I have watched them actually land on me and put their mouth? (word) down to me and pull away without biting me!! Are you sure it is not to do with Vitamin or Mineral intake?
- anon17681
This weekend, my family held a barbecue for labor day. Nobody even realized there *were* mosquitoes until they looked at me. My legs, arms, and even fingers were *covered* in giant bites, while the rest of the group was untouched, with the exception of *one* bite on *one* other person.
The worst part of it is that no matter how many layers of clothing I wear, or how much bug spray I put on, I'm *always* the one to get bitten up. Argh! - anon17573
Okay, well basically this research doesn't apply to me and my step mom. Both of us are neither diabetic, overweight (to any degree, together we weigh in at about 220 pounds), we are not pregnant, we don't have a high cholesterol level, and when you say we should stay around friends who don't get bitten, well that's pretty false because then they'll just go on you instead! All the mosquito repellent candles, products in general, don't work on us. We have been to many doctors and they all don't know why they are specially attracted to us. We think that there is something in our blood, or blood type, like if there is a pill we could take, or a certain drug/ vitamin we could take, we would be all over it.
- anon15810
I would like to know what site to log onto to find the Best Yet mosquito repellent, as mentioned on your site. I need some of that stuff. I have asthma and am allergic to most of those things that are in stores , to spray on. If this stuff can be put on babies, surely I could use it. Please let me hear from you . Thanks, N.F.
- anon13699
Very helpful article thank you. I get bitten too much even after I spray myself with mosquito repellent, and even over my clothes as well. I guess I smell like mosquito food.
- anon12718
I always get way more bites than whomever I'm with. On a trip to a beach Thailand, I slept in the same room as two other family members. The morning after our first night there I counted 34 bites (literally), my brother had 4 bites and my mother had 2 bites. We were astonished. I was always told the old wives reason why mosquitoes bite some people more than others -- people with sweet blood get bitten more! ;)
- minombre
I always wondered why some people are bitten more than others. Good article. I also get bitten quite frequently especially when I travel abroad to tropical places. I often use sprays with deet or mosquito wristbands that repell the buggers. You can get a wristband at most drug stores or dept stores.
- sonia99
The Company that makes the product BEST YET is in Texas. They have a huge website and a online store. I spent 4 hours in the site reading testimonials and researching the different technologies they have invented. It appears to me they have some of the Best Kept Secrets in the Industry. Unfortunately they are not a public company or I would own a piece of them tomorrow. It will link to all of the other sites they have. As to the BEST YET product, we found that when used on the animals it will kill the fleas and ticks instantly. Never saw anything like this in my life. When you spray it, the fleas fall off the dogs dead before it ever hits them. The Press Release claims it freezes the insects because the reaction to the solution makes them close all of the body pores they breathe through. Now think about that for a moment. When reading the Testimonials I find that the hotels are now using it to control the bedbug problems that is mammoth throughout the world. I can see why. It is really a neat product.
- dlg21445
I have not had a bug bite of almost any kind in the last 20 years and have often wondered why, so i found this article very interesting - I have also noticed that most perfumes don't smell as good on me as they do others - I am assuming this is for the same reason - INTERESTING
- anon3487
so where do you buy this Best Yet repellent - sounds great
- beach4dj
I found out from the USDA that there is a new mosquito product on the market. It was created by a company in Texas. They made it for the Army and the Middle East soldiers. It has the highest bio content of any of the 10 tested by Iowa State who was commisioned to do the study for the US Government. It is really a neat product. Made from melted quartz rock and cedar oil. Will last all day long, 12 hours they say. Feels really good on the skin and will not burn under the army uniforms like DEET. Will not affect the nervous system like DEET. Can be used on babies and animals. I ordered some and tried it. I know why the Army wanted it. It really is the Best Yet. That is what they call it.
- dlg21445
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Garry Crystal
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