Mosquitos can carry some dangerous diseases, including malaria, recently rediscovered in Florida.
Whether you are a target of those pesky insects may depend on an odd array of factors including your your blood type, your body scent, your metabolism, and what you wear.
“Some people are more prone to bites than others,” said Eva Buckner, Assistant Professor & State Extension Specialist at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach. “If you are one of these people you need to protect yourself this summer.”
Mosquito season in the state started earlier than usual this year, in mid-April, and the extreme heat and rain are triggering higher mosquito levels.
“In Florida we get mosquitoes year-round but the numbers are highest in the warm summer months,” Buckner said. “We are in the middle of mosquito season and it’s hot and we are getting lots of rain this year and those two things are promoting more production of mosquitoes.”
What makes you a magnet
Scientists estimate that 20% of people are more likely to attract mosquitoes and thus get bitten more often. Here is why you may be one of them:
- Your blood type: If you have type O blood, you will attract more mosquitoes than people with all other blood groups. Type A is the next most popular for mosquitoes, followed by Type B, according to research published by the US National Library of Medicine.
- Your scent: A new study found that people who are most attractive to mosquitoes produce a lot of certain chemicals on their skin that are tied to smell. Researchers at New York’s Rockefeller University designed an experiment pitting people’s scents against each other, and discovered people who are mosquito magnets had high levels of certain acids on their skin. Those people who attract mosquitos based on smell tend to get bitten over and over. Scientists don’t yet know why mosquitoes prefer certain body scents, just that they do.
- Your metabolism: Mosquitoes can detect…
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