Your body chemistry might be attracting mosquitoes. Mosquitoes choose hosts based on a lot of different factors, many of which are genetic, including carbon dioxide output, body odor, body heat, and skin bacteria.
If everyone else seems fine while you're covered in bites, you're not imagining it. And it's not because you're doing something wrong. Scientists estimate that roughly 20% of people are significantly more attractive to mosquitoes than the average person.
Mosquitoes can detect the carbon dioxide plume you exhale up to 150 feet away. If you exhale more CO2, you’ll likely attract more mosquitoes. This often happens to those with larger body mass, higher metabolic rates, and pregnant women.
As mosquitoes get closer, they look for other reasons to choose a target. Body odor plays a major role, which in this context, means the chemicals in your sweat, particularly lactic acid, ammonia, and uric acid. All of this determines how appealing you smell to a mosquito. And that ultimately comes down to genetics, the bacteria living on your skin, and to some extent your diet.
Body heat and moisture also guide mosquitoes at close range. People with higher skin temperatures and more moisture on their skin surface are easier for mosquitoes to locate. This is one reason why mosquitoes often target ankles and feet, where bacteria are abundant and skin temperature is relatively high.
There are factors you can control, even if the underlying genetics aren't changeable. Wearing light-colored clothing helps, since mosquitoes are visually attracted to dark colors, especially black. Showering before spending time outdoors can temporarily reduce the chemical signals on your skin. And if that doesn’t work, you can always use EPA-registered repellents that have DEET or picaridin.
But reducing the mosquito population around your home is likely going to be the most practical long-term solution. Fewer mosquitoes means fewer bites, regardless of your unchangeable body chemistry.
If you are a homeowner in Central Virginia and you’re tired of being the main course for mosquitoes,Mosquito Squad of Central Virginia can help. This can be done through barrier treatments that help reduce mosquito populations by up to 85-90% throughout the active season. Treatments target the areas where mosquitoes rest and breed on your property, with follow-up re-treatments every 21 days to keep coverage consistent.
