Mosquitoes always seem to come exclusively to me instead of my wife. I would love to understand this "preference" but unfortunately the article doesn’t really explain it.
I am skeptical. To figure out the blood type of someone, wouldn’t they need to bite anyway? There are more compelling studies showing effects of CO2 and smells.
I think how much they're attracted to you and how much you react to bites are independent. My daughter and I can be in the same place outside for a while and she'll end up with many welts while I have nothing. I do catch them biting me sometimes but she just gets swarmed.
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.
Definitely seems the case here that hormones play a part. When my wife was pregnant she got 100% of the bites. Now we’re having a son and the bites are even again
I spent some time in the Peruvian Amazon with local medicine families. In some groups they believe that when mosquitos buzz around the ears, some bodies automatically react by sending blood to the skin in preparation for an immune response (possibly a learned response from a past bite or perhaps inherited). A symptom of that response is goosebumps at the sound of mosquitos.
It's either smell, body heat, or easy access to skin. Maybe you sweat more than your wife, or the compounds in your sweat are more attractive to mosquitos, or maybe her hygiene is better.
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 not very tasty to mosquitos to begin with. I used to have the usual reaction to mosquito bites (slight bump, itching). I grew up near a wetland in Minnesota, so I was no stranger to mosquitos, but after getting absolutely mobbed by mosquitos when I took my wilderness survival merit badge course at scout camp, I stopped reacting to mosquito bites.
Though, the downside is that I do have less incentive to protect myself if I'm in malaria/dengue/etc. areas.
They don't bite me at all, even when i am alone (when someone is with me, they curse my existence as they feel all the focus is on them). I am offended, but also happy.
I spend most of my time in the western US, and the mosquitos there never bother me, but they do go after my wife and one of my two sons. Aside from being ravaged by a swarm of mosquitos in a Florida phone booth 40 years ago, I never had a problem. That is, until earlier this year when I spent two months in Hawaii. The mosquitos there were relentless and I always had itching bites no matter what brand of repellent, or how much I used.
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.
I hiked in the Wind River Range (Wyoming) in July and there were massive swarms of mosquitoes. They'd hang around and generally be annoying but I don't think a single one bit me; we were quite bemused. At home in Australia, one mosquito will absolutely bite and create a far greater annoyance.
A lot of people don’t realize just how many mosquito (and closely related) species there are, and how few actually go after humans/mammals. Most just go after birds or reptiles/amphibians exclusively.
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.
I know the Willamette area well. Most people don't realize how quickly pollen levels drop off as you move out of the valley into the Coast or Cascade ranges. It might be worthwhile to relocate a few miles into the hills, and just commute into town when needed.
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.
I like to joke that the first 10-trillion dollar company will be the company that invents how to effectively deal with mosquitos.
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.
We have special power plugs that evaporate a solution that works 100% for us. Whenever we expect or have mosquitos we switch it on. All disturbance gone in 15 min, even with window and door open. The solution is based on something like https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prallethrin
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).
Don't worry, when you get old your high frequency hearing goes and they no longer bother you while you're sleeping, unless if they decide to go right for the ear.
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.
Can confirm on the high-frequency hearing capabilities declining. Kiddo kept complaining that the new Kindle charging docks were squealing when they're plugged in but the Kindle is elsewhere. My wife and I can't hear it, but kiddo can.
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.
I live in a high-mosquito area as well, and we have to worry about EEE, West Nile, and Zika. I'll be traveling to Mumbai soon, and they're just getting through a wave of Dengue Fever. It's time we as a species dealt with the four species of mosquito (out of hundreds) that bite humans.
It may be a grandma's tale but tick and mosquito preferences seem inversely correlated. My girlfriend is loved by mosquitos but I get ticks more often.
For me I seem to have noticed that if you have thicker body hair you sure get bit less. My gf says “they like me”. No babe, just like me they like your shaved legs.
Seriously though. When they land on my hairy leg they are quickly detected and dispatched.
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[ 0.25 ms ] story [ 117 ms ] threadIt'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.
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.
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.
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.
https://ourbloodinstitute.org/blood-matters/mosquitoes-blood...
https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/why_are_some_people_tas...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8906108/
Though, the downside is that I do have less incentive to protect myself if I'm in malaria/dengue/etc. areas.
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
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.
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.
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).
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.
Seriously though. When they land on my hairy leg they are quickly detected and dispatched.
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.)