Study offers clues into when and why mosquitoes bite
news.yale.edu
news.yale.edu
https://ourbloodinstitute.org/blood-matters/mosquitoes-blood...
The smelliest parts of people are the sweat glands and mouth. I pay extra care to my smell when archery hunting by keeping my teeth brushed and using wet wipes on sweaty areas. Eating an apple also helps neutralize mouth odor.
I'm pretty sure as a kid I got a lot more bites. My kid's a teen so I wonder if hormones play a part.
Mosquitoes have never left any kind of mark or bump or bite on my skin.
I can sometimes feel them biting (injecting? whatever) and I smack/brush them away but that's the most nuisance they cause.
I've always wondered why.
It's a big deal for blood transfusion but that doesn't automatically make it relevant to mosquito preferences, and TFA doesn't mention blood type.
Yes. https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/41/4/796/885285
Hardly conclusive, but there is some reason to suspect it plays a role.
I would happily pay $100/month for life to get rid of the issue. I live in a place with moderate mosquito activity, but it bothers me A LOT. And I lost countless nights sleep over trying to kill a mosquito in my bedroom.
I'm also quite a snack for them and they seem to love attacking my feet in the evening when I'm at my desk. I can handle one or two bites but somewhere after 3 in a small area it becomes extremely inflamed and itchy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser
No pollution, low risk of impact on other species, and safe to deploy in populated areas sounds really appealing in the era of climate change and invasive species like the tiger mosquitoes which have been changing the game in the United States.
They made a pragmatic decision about cost for malaria prevention in Africa but I strongly share your sentiment and suspect that you could really drive the cost down by developing volume in the western countries where affluent people will pay more for their personal comfort and health than they donate for malaria control on another continent.
Needs a refill every month or so in Summer.
I assume the vape goes up to the ceiling where the mosquitos also like to be.
We have no pets. I knew it is bad for any insect, not only mosquitos, and we do not like any insects at night in our bedroom.
I assume no bees (outside our house) are effected by our vaporizer if the mosquitos are any indication. In Summer we have them almost every night, even though every opening is closed all the time with mesh and we check regularly for open water inside (plants, toilet) and around the house. Our land also still has bees (but almost no wasps this year).
The article defluffed: Mosquitoes can taste, and the amino acids in some people's sweat in combination with salt gives stronger cues for biting.
Makes me wonder if hot sauce consumption leads to fewer bites. (Not just slightly tangy ancho chili sauce, I mean sauces like Reaper Squeezins.)
Specifically, Baik, L., Talross, G.J.S., Gray, S., Pattisam, H.S., Peterson, T.N., Nidetz, J.E., Hol, F.J.H. and Carlson, J.R. (2024) Mosquito taste responses to human and floral cues guide biting and feeding, Nature https://rdcu.be/dXckk
or maybe you can find it via: https://carlsonlab.yale.edu/full-publication-list
Though, the downside is that I do have less incentive to protect myself if I'm in malaria/dengue/etc. areas.
https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/why_are_some_people_tas...
Seriously though. When they land on my hairy leg they are quickly detected and dispatched.
This article mentions an observed preference to certain people by mosquitos, but it doesn't go into why. It seems to leave out geographical considerations, which I know from experience, are real.
In the ag fields where I work in the Willamette valley of Oregon, most of what I actually come across during the day are non-biting midges that look like mosquitos. Coming across actual mosquitos during the day is a rare thing because whatever species we have here tend be out during very short seasons or only when it get’s dark. Far different from Michigan or Minnesota imo.
Mind you, you can absolutely find mosquitos if you go out looking for them in the woods.
The very low amount of biting mosquitos that I noticed is actually my big reason for having originally moved here, since bites for me tend to be dime-quarter sized and intensely itch for 2-4 weeks, avoiding mosquitos is a high priority. I’ve yet to find any chemical that adequately deals with the itching, and while heat based solutions like hot water or thermal sticks work they are still only temporary.
Unfortunately, the pollen levels here are a special hell of its own. If you aren’t allergic, you will be. I use a PAPR respirator when out in the early summer during grass pollination.
As for mosquito bites, have you tried hydrogen peroxide? It's supposed to neutralize the protein in the mosquito saliva. I haven't had occasion to test it myself.