You are standing with a group of family and friends at an afternoon Bar-B-Que. There seem to be hundreds of annoying mosquitoes biting at every exposed piece of skin they can find on you, but no one else seems to be bothered. Why is this? You aren’t wearing perfume, so what’s going on?
It is reported that one in ten persons are highly attractive to the pesky critters. And this is due to the plethora of chemicals that attract the pesky critters. There are around 400 chemicals that are seen as attractant chemicals and can cause one person to be far more vulnerable to bites. The female’s of their kind are the blood-sucking culprit’s. They must have a meal of blood to help produce healthy eggs. But they are apparently finicky eaters. They won’t feast on just anyone.
There is a link between the skin surface and attraction. If there is a high concentration of steroids or cholesterol in the skin, a mosquito will come swarming at alarming rates. The cholesterol concentration does not speak of a person with high cholesterol levels internally, this means levels within the skin. It relates more to the ways that cholesterol is processed.
Mosquitos are partially attracted to their next victim through their breath. The carbon dioxide in the breath, and in other instances, gives the mosquitoes a come-hither temptation. The more carbon dioxide is emitted the more attractive you are to them.
A mosquito can sense the carbon dioxide from quite a far distance. Up to fifty meters is the average, yet impressive, length in which they can smell the carbon. Unfortunately for people giving off larger amounts of carbon dioxide they become large targets. The people who give off the most carbon are pregnant women and people with a larger frame, carrying excess weight. Some children are bitten more than others due to genetics. Around 85%, a huge number, of the population (young and old) are vulnerable to bites because of genetics. It is scary, but we literally attract them with our DNA.
Be aware that female mosquitoes will fly up to 40 miles for a blood meal so no one is immune to their bites. Coastal areas have a higher population of mosquitoes due to large water source. Their home is indeed the water, so be aware of the threat found in standing water in areas close to your home. This creates a cozy host area for their ‘young’ to thrive. Use caution when building devices used for water conservation. Devices that trap and hold rain water can easily be contaminated so be sure to empty and ‘recycle’ the water in these types of devices at least once a week, if not twice. Use precaution.
