What makes some people more attractive to mosquitoes than others?

Mosquito bites in Cyprus in the summer are more than annoying and a recent scientific study shows exactly what makes some people more attractive to them than others.

One theory suggests the majority of mosquitoes preferred people with type O blood to those with other blood types but scientific research over the years is contradictory.

In fact, the Pfizer-sponsored study reveals that a variety of factors might make you more palatable to mosquitoes – from your skin microbiota and carbon dioxide emitted in your breath to the color of clothing you’re wearing.

Spe
cifically, colors like red, orange, and black seem to be the most attractive to mosquitoes. But in the end, much of the variation in mosquito preference comes down to two factors: our natural body odor and genetics.

Mosquitoes feast on people for practical reasons with only the females ones biting humans. They do it to get a “blood meal,” deriving proteins from the blood to produce their eggs.

One might not be able to change the genetic factors that make him/her more attractive to mosquitoes, but you can still take steps to reduce your risk of mosquito bites.

Whether you are a mosquito magnet or just suffer the occasional bite, disease control and prevention centers recommend wearing shirts and long pants, especially fabrics treated with the insect repellant 0.5% permethrin.

As well as applying insect repellants that contain ingredients like oil of lemon eucalyptus.

Steps to control mosquitoes indoor and outside can also be taken by installing window screens and keeping doors closed, using air conditioning during the warmer months and eliminating standing water in birdbaths, pools, buckets, and flower pots.

In-Cyprus