Why do mosquitoes bite some people more than others?

[luv2fly]

Why do mosquitoes bite some people more than others?
Katherine Wang

Long before they land, mosquitoes are reading our body signals from afar. Find out if you feature high on the bloodsuckers' hit list.

I am a mosquito magnet. No matter where in the world I go on summer holiday, one thing is certain: I will inevitably be bitten by mosquitoes. Massive, itchy welts that plague me for weeks.

Meanwhile, others who are with me don't suffer at all. Not a single bite. And those that are bitten, are often left with just a tiny red dot. My friends have long joked that my blood must be "alluringly sweet".

It turns out they may be right. Our bodies exude numerous biological markers – including breath and body odour – which determine an individual's susceptibility to bites. For some people, those markers are irresistibly strong.

Here are three ways the bloodsuckers may track you down.

*snip*

More at:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260708-why-do-mosquitoes-bite-some-people-more-than-others

[CanonRay]

1. They eat me alive

[Skittles]

11. they don't bite me

fleas, however, will go to town

[mr715]

2. This is my area of research.

Much of it is skin microbiome. Everyone has a microbiotic "fingerprint" and some bacterial complements produce attractants (or fewer repellants).

Mosquitos rely on carbon dioxide to active feeding behavior, then body heat, visual cues, and olfactory signals before landing on you. Finally, they take a taste. If they like it, they'll drink. They can discern energetic states and disease in the blood and may refuse feeding even if someone smells nice.

My boss made the first mutant mosquito that couldn't smell (many odors). On these mosquitoes, the species lost their preference for human smells, but were still repelled by DEET. Turns out DEET also tastes bad.


Edit: The article you shared appears to be from the lab where my doctoral advisor did his post doctoral work - Rockefeller. Dr. Leslie Vosshall is the world expert on insect olfaction

[underpants]

3. Grew up in Tidewater VA. Mosquito haven. Weirdly they rarely bothered me.

“BUG MAN!” was a regular early evening event. We’d be out playing and someone would hear, see (the yellow lights reflecting off the trees), or just sense it. We’d all run into whomever’s house was closest. Wait 10-15 and go back out.

Bug Guy drove around a Ford F-150 with two giant tubs of pesticide in the truck bed spreading the stuff.

[walkingman]

4. I have always heard if you drink alcohol it attracts mosquitos? No idea if it is true?

[mr715]

5. Alcohol causes an increase in body temp and CO2

So they will be more tuned to people while they are drinking alcohol.

[allegorical oracle]

12. Not in my experience. I was down in the Keys and had a few beers. (Keys skeeters

are rumored to carry off small animals.) Got nary a bite. In fact, some guy came over to me and asked me why I wasn't being bothered when he was being eaten alive. But he had bathed in strong cologne -- reeked to high Heaven. I advised him not to wear strong scents next time he was out.

A wildlife officer at one of the parks told me that drinking sulfur water repels them (and everything else, including people).

[LeftInTX]

6. They don't bother me too much.

Maybe I have bad tasting blood.

[milestogo]

7. I need to stop exhaling.

[Conjuay]

8. Not a great idea,

Then bigger, nastier bugs will start munching on you!

[Manatee]

9. They HATE

me. I think it's my level of garlic intake

[pat_k]

10. Repellants irate my skin so I resort to permethrin spray on clothes.

Without some protection, when mosquitos are around, I get bites.

My working theory has been that perhaps I don't get bitten more, but rather i'm more reactive to the damn bites I get and can't leave them alone.

But who the hell knows ?

I just despise the nerve-racking itch!!

[LeftInTX]

13. Repellents are oil based and reduce your sweat's ability to evaporate. When I was a kid, they made me feel super hot.

Repellents don't work on clothing anyway, but the permethrin does.

Still, like a dummy, I put repellent on my shoes to protect against fire ants. I think I sprayed Raid one time and the smell was overpowering.

[Xavier Breath]

14. When I was a kid my grandmother told me they bit me so much because I tasted better.

So, the science was long-ago settled.

[FoxNewsSucks]

15. I always got bitten way more than average

30 years ago when I had a motorcycle, I read in one of the motorcycle magazines that vitamin B will make you stink to mosquitos. No smell to other humans, just mosquitos.

So I gave it at try, and despite this article saying it is "inconclusive", I say that it worked for me. I took one B vitamin a day all summer, and had very few bites.

[NBachers]

16. I also read that B vitamins will help make you less attractive to mosquito bites.

[Stacey Grove]

17. Some people are more tasty?

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

18. I hate the "noseeums" ankle biters..the itch!!

[Emile]

19. They bite me because I'm hot.