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Study offers clues into when and why mosquitoes bite
- htk 2y agoMosquitoes 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.
- aeternum 2y agoDo you have o blood type?
- lolinder 2y agoIs there any reason to suppose that blood type plays a role? It'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.
- boomboomsubban 2y ago>Is there any reason to suppose that blood type plays a role? Yes. https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/41/4/796/885285 https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/41/4/796/885285 Hardly conclusive, but there is some reason to suspect it plays a role.
- scruple 2y agoO- here but I very, very rarely get bitten. My wife is A and gets it very badly.
- kergonath 2y agoI 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.
- euroderf 2y agoO+ here and them pesky skeeters ab-so-lootly LUV me. Summer is antihistamine season.
- b0dhimind 2y agoO+ and they bite me a lot too...
- htk 2y agoO+. I didn't know blood type could be a factor, thank you for the tip, I'll look into this.
- markus_zhang 2y agoMe too. BTW I'm A so don't think it is the reason. I also heard that blood sugar plays a hand here, but could also be pseudoscience.
- animesh 2y agoJust one anecdote as a type 2 person: I cannot prove it scientifically yet, but I did notice that on bad diet days, I get bit more than otherwise.
- markus_zhang 2y agoI wish there is some study for that, hmmm. I usually keep the same (bad) diet every day so it's kinda hard to test.
- cortesoft 2y agoI always wonder, is it that some people don't get bitten or that some people don't react to getting bitten?
- kkylin 2y agoPossibly both. I've certainly observed mosquitos biting people who say they don't get bitten -- they just don't notice, which may not be a good thing.
- pests 2y agoThe latter for me absolutely. 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.
- grahamj 2y agoI 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.
- hetspookjee 2y agoDefinitely 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
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- orionsbelt 2y agoI’ve literally seen them chase me and avoid others I am with. I also do react and get welts/itchy, but they 100% are also chasing me more than others.
- thelittleone 2y agoI 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.
- anvil-on-my-toe 2y agoIt'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.
- 486sx33 2y agoBlood type also has an effect https://ourbloodinstitute.org/blood-matters/mosquitoes-blood-type/ https://ourbloodinstitute.org/blood-matters/mosquitoes-blood...
- Centigonal 2y agoHere is some of more pre-existing research about this topic: https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/why_are_some_people_tastier_to_mosquitoes_than_others https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/why_are_some_people_tas... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8906108/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8906108/
- KMag 2y agoI'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.
- modzu 2y agowhat about individual differences between mosquitos? some people taste good to me too but not others. it doesn't implicate humanity lol
- mediumsmart 2y agoIs there information in that article? Layout seems to encourage reading between the lines but they seem to be filled with space.
- anonzzzies 2y agoThey 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.
- skylanh 2y agoThe full article is available as the published Nature version care of Yale's Carlson Lab. 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 https://rdcu.be/dXckk or maybe you can find it via: https://carlsonlab.yale.edu/full-publication-list https://carlsonlab.yale.edu/full-publication-list
- anonymousiam 2y agoI 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.
- prawn 2y agoI 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.
- Modified3019 2y agoA 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.
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- simonebrunozzi 2y agoI 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.
- Gys 2y agoWe 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 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.
- latexr 2y agoThe “Environmental effects” section is worthy of a read, especially if you have pets or care for bees (which you should).
- Gys 2y agoThank you, good to be reminded. 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).
- animal531 2y agoDon'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.
- cranium 2y agoIt 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.
- big-chungus4 2y agoThat is huge, the mosquitoes are panicking right now
- nwellinghoff 2y agoFor 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.
- slowmovintarget 2y agoThe actual study for those wanting to read beyond the fluff: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08047-y https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08047-y 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.)
- markus_zhang 2y agoGood question. But even if it works I'm not sure if I want more bites or more hemorrhoids :D
- slowmovintarget 2y agoThankfully, capsaicin doesn't do that. If you already have them, you can feel the, um, down-stream effects, but it won't give you new ones.
- markus_zhang 2y agoEh I already have them, and I'm scared of the down-stream effects, haha.