Mosquitoes- DO They Love YOU More Than They Should?



When you live in the South (or Minnesota, land of 10,000 breeding grounds, or Alaska, home of the other 10,000 (the South claims 80,000, Louisiana taking 40,000), LOL), mosquitoes are a fact of life.

adult mosquito


But some of us can walk into a swarm and never get attacked by the little blood suckers.

Ever wonder WHY?

I did, but then I'm in that 20-30% ratio that they liked to declare "she's here, BUFFET time!" upon, especially during the hot Summer months! So in the name of research, I set off to find the answers for you and me!

So why are some of dessert time, and other's aren't?

bare feet clip art

1. Bare Feet- I know, you just said "WHAT?". Yup, they're attracted to stinky feet (or cheese, so don't eat any yucky cheese outside at night in the Summer by the pool either). Especially if you've had sandals or flip flops on all day, your feet can be sweaty, and with their internal infra-red sensors (not kidding), they can be as attractive to a mosquito, as a BBQ platter is to humans.

2. Blood Type- the blood suckers are like the local blood bank- they crave Type O over any other type. SIGH, gives 'universal donor' new meaning, doesn't it? Unfortunately God gave them the ability to smell the difference in blood types. It's like choose chocolate cake over a baked potato to them. Oh joy...

3. Full Moon Fever- it's not your imagination. They're like mini-werewolves when the moon is full. Up to 500% more biting. Dusk to dawn is your danger zone, just like in the horror movies, and a female Salt Marsh mosquito (you know the type we have in LOUISIANA) will fly 40 MILES to find the buffet (you). And no, FYI, male mosquitoes DON'T bite (run with that one yourself, I'll leave it up to your imagination for snarky comments...)

4. Pregnancy-women in their last trimester exhale more (well you ARE getting ready to PUSH), and that equals more moisture. Add to that a higher body temp, which equals more sweating.....means more moisture. And we all know how much the blood suckers love moisture....And it ties in with number 1!

vampire clip art
From Cherry Ann

5. Dark Clothes-trying to look 10 pounds thinner could leave you open for a swarm. Black is attractive to them, followed closely by red (see they ARE vampires!). Light yellow and green make you less attractive. So just look like a pastel flower and you can reduce your vampire attacks.

6. Physical Activity- back to number 1. If you're active, you're sweating. Ding ding ding, we have a winner- human dessert bar. In fact, sweating could make you 50% more likely to be bitten! See, I told you there was a reason to SIT by the pool, not SWIM!

wine and beer pix

6. Beer Drinking- ever wonder why when you're out at the bonfire during the Summer, you get zoned in on like a lightning rod? Could be that beer in your hand. Sorta corresponds to number 1 too-could be you sweat more, or they just like the 'yeasty' flavor....

7. Perfume- back to that sense of smell. A musty cologne or perfume leaves you with a red target saying "stop here" over your head!


girl detective clip art
Courtesy of Clip art Panda

SO what have we learned?

If you are going to be outside in a full moon, after dark, wear light clothing, no perfume, make sure to wipe down (aka desweat) continually, especially your feet, do NOT be pregnant, make sure you drink wine or whiskey, and SIT still!

Whew. That's easy, right????

Yeah, I know.

Just call me the human buffet....sigh

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