Do They Love the Taste of Your Skin?
Holidays generally bring sun, sea, sand – and, for many of us, at least a handful of incredibly frustrating insect bites.
Up to 20 per cent of us are highly attractive to mosquitoes and consistently get bitten more often than the other lucky 80 per cent.
While genetics are thought to count for up to 85 per cent of our susceptibility, scientists have a number of ideas as to why some of us are more prone to being ravaged by mosquitoes…
CLOTHING COLOUR
Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colours such as black and navy blue, as they use vision along with scent to locate their targets.
It is best to dress in light colours such as white or pastels to reduce the risk of this.
BLOOD TYPE
Research suggests that certain blood types are more attractive to mosquitoes than others.
A large number of the population, depending on their blood type, secrete saccharides or sugars through the skin that mosquitoes are able to sense.
Studies as early as 1972 suggest that mosquitoes seem to prefer those with Type O blood.
Indeed, mosquitoes land on skin with Type O blood nearly twice as often as those with Type A.
People with Type B blood fall somewhere in between this range.
CARBON DIOXIDE
Mosquitoes are attracted to exhaled carbon dioxide via receptors in an organ known as the maxillary pulp and can detect their prey from up to 50 metres away.
Consequently, those that exhale more gas i.e. often larger people with increased body habitus, are more likely to get bitten.
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