Why Are Some People Mosquito Magnets? (phys.org) 51
fjo3 shares a report from Phys.org: Ever felt like mosquitoes bite you while ignoring everyone else? Scientists are now making progress in deciphering the complex chemical cocktail that makes particular people more enticing to these disease-spreading bloodsuckers. "It's not a misconception -- mosquitoes are attracted to some people more than others," Frederic Simard of France's Institute of Research for Development told AFP. "But we are not all magnets all the time," the medical entomologist added.
A range of sensory cues can cause mosquitoes to pick one human over another -- mainly the smell and heat our bodies give off, and the carbon dioxide we exhale. Female mosquitoes -- which are the only ones that bite -- detect these signals with finely tuned receptors, then choose their target accordingly. "We have known for over 100 years that mosquitoes are attracted by the carbon dioxide that we exhale -- this is the first signal that triggers their behavior" when they are dozens of meters away, Swedish scientist Rickard Ignell told AFP. Within around 10 meters, "mosquitoes will start detecting our odor, and in combination with carbon dioxide," this attracts them even more, said the senior author of a recent study on the subject. As they get closer, body temperature and humidity make particular humans even more enticing.
[...] For Ignell's recent study, the researchers released Aedes aegypti mosquitoes -- known for spreading yellow fever and dengue -- on 42 women in a lab, to see which ones they preferred. "We have shown that mosquitoes use a blend of odorous compounds (we identified 27 that the mosquitoes will detect, out of the possible 1,000) for their attraction to us," Ignell said. The woman the mosquitoes most liked to bite -- which included pregnant women in their second trimester -- produced a large amount of a particular compound made by a breakdown of the skin oil sebum. That even a small increase of this compound -- called "1-octen-3-ol", or mushroom alcohol -- made a difference came as a surprise, Ignell emphasized.
A range of sensory cues can cause mosquitoes to pick one human over another -- mainly the smell and heat our bodies give off, and the carbon dioxide we exhale. Female mosquitoes -- which are the only ones that bite -- detect these signals with finely tuned receptors, then choose their target accordingly. "We have known for over 100 years that mosquitoes are attracted by the carbon dioxide that we exhale -- this is the first signal that triggers their behavior" when they are dozens of meters away, Swedish scientist Rickard Ignell told AFP. Within around 10 meters, "mosquitoes will start detecting our odor, and in combination with carbon dioxide," this attracts them even more, said the senior author of a recent study on the subject. As they get closer, body temperature and humidity make particular humans even more enticing.
[...] For Ignell's recent study, the researchers released Aedes aegypti mosquitoes -- known for spreading yellow fever and dengue -- on 42 women in a lab, to see which ones they preferred. "We have shown that mosquitoes use a blend of odorous compounds (we identified 27 that the mosquitoes will detect, out of the possible 1,000) for their attraction to us," Ignell said. The woman the mosquitoes most liked to bite -- which included pregnant women in their second trimester -- produced a large amount of a particular compound made by a breakdown of the skin oil sebum. That even a small increase of this compound -- called "1-octen-3-ol", or mushroom alcohol -- made a difference came as a surprise, Ignell emphasized.
Brah (Score:3)
Also, we should find all the genes they use to detect humans and knock them out with GM.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm what you might describe as a 7 out of 10 for mosquitoes. They sure go for me, but not as much as some other people (I might even be a 5-6 nowadays, apparently they're not so bothered about old farts as they are for younger fresher meat?)
Things I've found that help are:
1) Grow lavender, verbena and other things mosquitoes don't like around your house. Fancy hotels are masters of this - go look around their gardens and copy what they do (or if you can't be bothered to do that, try google). The bees will l
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One of the best insect repellants is Avon Skin-so-Soft. The UK Royal Marines use it because the repellant they are issued doesn't stop midges.
DEET does work really well, and I don't know where you're seeing reports of health/environmental issues. So long as you aren't drinking or huffing it, the only health issues anyone has found is minor skin irritation. It's been widely studied and been in wide-spread use for 80 years now.
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DEET destroys plastic, such as.. car upholstery, car interiors, etc.
If it does that to plastic, what is it doing to the wearer?
This is empirical, not "internet" based. The shit ruined the finish on my shooting ear pro, and also ruptured the seam where my DEET-ed back of the knee would contact my car's seat, and the center console where my DEET-ed elbow would contact it.
DEET is yeeted from this house in favor of picardicin (or whatever the correct spelling for that is)
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What's the bat and spider population like near you? Bats and spiders consume tons of mosquitoes. Relying only on birds is insufficient, you need bats and spiders as well, and if you've been chasing those away, then there are no predators.
I'm a bloke... (Score:2)
... and the damn things head straight for me completely bypassing my wife so there's probably not as much female bias this gives the impression of. IMO, YMMV.
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Because we're delicious. (Score:2)
See subject -- that's all you gotta know!
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or build a delicious juicy battleship and watch it go poof in any real war. It is as though la Presidenta will have painted a big "Sink Me" on them when those dumb things get built.
Sugar consumption / Ketogenic metabolism (Score:3)
I'm pretty sure wether you're in ketasis (body produces it's on bloodsugar) or overbooked on sugar (which many often are) is a key factor in wether you're a prime target for mosqitoes. That would also totally make sense for them from a nutrition standpoint. If you're a mosqito magnet, try losing some wait and go into ketasis, perhaps with interval fasting. At least when they're out and about. That's likely do reduce or solve the problem.
*weight (Score:2)
Whoops. That's a bottom-rung typo if I ever saw one.
Re:Sugar consumption / Ketogenic metabolism (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re: Sugar consumption / Ketogenic metabolism (Score:2)
My grandfather was, and my mother is like this. No bites whatsoever.
Re:Sugar consumption / Ketogenic metabolism (Score:5, Informative)
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It certainly does make sense. After all, mosquitoes primarily look for flower nectar and only go after blood for egg production. The two signals getting crossed just makes you look even better to them.
Small blessings (Score:2)
I have the good fortune to be a mosquito repellent, for whatever reason. Not that I don't get bit, but everyone else seems to get a lot more attention.
When I lived in Nigeria ... (Score:2)
Obviously there were not many - and it might have been rarity value.
Or perhaps no one had told them about mosquito coils.
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I'm not white and have been with a bunch of white beer drinking friends on vacation in the Caribbean a few times. I was the only one targeted not only by mosquitos but sandflies and other invisible critters. It is agonizing when you wake up in the middle of the night with your arms and legs on fire! The blisters last for more than a week after returning. Bug sprays on subsequent trips didn't seem to help at all.
I have met a few others (both men and women) who have had similar experiences.
Missing an entire category of people (Score:4, Interesting)
There's also people like me, who are equally delicious as the next guy, but who do not react at all to the bites.
I can see them on me feeding, but I don't get the itchy bite, nothing.
It's as if they were never there.
I think it's almost a better superpower than not getting bit at all.
Re:Missing an entire category of people (Score:4, Insightful)
You can still get one of those yummy diseases from one, and you will have no warning that it has your name on it.
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I am the same way, it goes for poison ivy and chiggers as well. I'll go out in the woods wearing similar clothing to other people and they will come back with all sorts of bites, and rashes etc; while I experience none of it.
My conclusion is it isn't rational I did not come in contact with the same agents, plants / bugs they did. It has to be a difference in immune response.
I expect a lot of people say I don't get bit, but I really find the claim incredible, those chiggers jump on anything warm and moving.
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I have this but not with mosquitoes, instead it's with these bastard ants you find in Panama. They live on specific thorn bushes and their bites raise welts on most people... but not me, I accidentally brushed one and got about a dozen bites and they were nothing, less than mosquito bites.
Alas, mosquitoes adore me.
My solution (Score:2)
Don't go out after sunset.
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That's great for you. In the South, after sunset is often the only time of day that the temperature is bearable to *go* outside.
Please, a little respect (Score:2)
Please treat the state bird of Florida with some respect. When the wingspan casts a shadow on your house, it is hungry, and will feed. By the way, where is your dog - is he outside?
sweat (Score:2)
My typical response as a mosquito magnet (Score:2)
So when I talk to people who don't know about the CO2 thing, I mention that some people emit more CO2 than others, and since we exhale CO2 then it means that I'm just full of hot air.
Can confirm (Score:2)
I am super-lucky (Score:2)
I guess I'm lucky; I hardly ever get bitten by mosquitoes. Maybe one or two bites per year.
When I was living in Newfoundland, though, and we went out into the country for day trips or camping, the blackflies took chunks out of me on a regular basis. Blackflies are truly nasty little beasts.
Can we buy this mushroom alcohol? (Score:2)
Because I can think of a few people I would like to spray it on the next time I go on a picnic.
Namely the ones that tell me to shut up and stop complaining about the bug bites.
market (Score:2)
Mosquito Magnet -- The product (Score:2)
my daughter too (Score:2)
Mosquitos love me. If I drink beer and do anything that makes me sweat I get nearly eaten alive.
I have 3 kids. My middle one gets it bad like me, she doesn't drink or even sweat that much. Something about our body chemistry/genetics makes us really attractive. The rest of the family gets no bites and thinks we're crazy. Here's to saving the you all from bites.
resistance? (Score:1)
When I moved to Japan, for the first year I was bitten by Mosq a LOT. I was bitten in places, the worst places, & the swellings were mutating to those places. (use your imagination)
However, after that it stopped, or I stopped reacting.
17 years later I moved to the UK, I didnt even think the UK had Mosq! but suddenly it started over.
again and again (Score:3)
This is the 200th article claiming to answer this question that I have seen over the past 50 years. Mosquitoes are evolving faster than they can come up with new answers to the question.