We are not all equal in the face of mosquito bites: factors attract them more than others, such as sweat or certain colors.
- In 2020, 3,578 species of mosquitoes divided into 111 genera are listed worldwide. Only a small part of them attack humans.
- In France, 65 species are listed, including the tiger mosquito which appeared a few years ago.
In the collective imagination, they would be attracted to people with sweet blood, light, or even certain perfumes. But what really attracts our enemies the mosquitoes? We unravel the true from the false.
sweat and blood
Many factors go into the voracious appetite of mosquitoes. Among them, body odors: it is not the concentration of sugar in the blood that attracts them, nor the taste of the skin, but rather the perfume that it releases. According to one study of 2019, female mosquitoes (which are the only ones to bite, let’s remember) detect humans thanks to the lactic acid and ammonia present in sweat. Athletes, you have been warned!
Blood type can also play a role: a study showed that people with blood groups A and O were more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes than those with group B.
The carbon dioxide we release
Another factor of attractiveness: the production of CO2. The presence of carbon dioxide in the breath indeed baits mosquitoes, which detect it over a distance of up to 50 meters. This is the reason why children, who exhale smaller quantities, would be bitten less, for example, and why pregnant women, who reject 20% more than the average, would be more targeted.
But also the colors of the clothes!
According to one study published last February in the journal Nature Communications, mosquitoes even have favorite colors. People who wear dark colors are more likely to be stung than those who wear light colors… Avoid: red colors (their favorites), orange, black and navy blue, because the lengths waves associated with it are similar to those of human skin.
What about light?
Contrary to popular belief, only a few rare species of mosquitoes are attracted to light, including Culex and Anopheles. Tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus), which are proliferating more than ever on the European continent, are totally insensitive to it.
On the other hand, stagnant water is still and always a real mosquito vacuum cleaner.