So, you want to suck my blood. This is something Count Dracula may do. Your typical bat wouldn’t do such a thing. But the same can’t be said for your female mosquito, who’s always on the hunt. Mosquitoes will do their darndest and risk limb and life to take a bite and abscond with your blood.
Mosquitoes not only want your blood; they need your blood.
I’ve always wondered why mosquitoes are attracted to me and not others when we’re outside. Why me? Is it my perfume, bath soap, or lotion?
Why are some people a magnet for mosquitoes?
Here is what the scientists say.
Of course, breathing is an automatic major magnet that attracts mosquitoes.
On a technical note, scientists say humans secrete an oily protective substance or coating on the skin called sebum that produces carboxylic acid. Millions of microorganisms on the skin eat the sebum and produce more carboxylic acid. An excessive amount of this acid creates a smell that attracts female mosquitoes. Individuals with high levels of skin acids are said to be more attractive to these biting females.
Scientists describe the smells as cheese and smelly feet.
The odor attraction discoveries will hopefully lead to the creation of products to mask the smells.
The other day I was in the yard under several trees. It was as if they sounded an attack. Mosquitoes skirted my face and attacked my sweater, and I had to retreat inside.
Like many, I wear long sleeves or mosquito repellent to avoid being bitten by pesky bloodsuckers.
The mosquito mouth is a series of thin needles that pierce the skin, find blood vessels, and siphon off the blood. A clot-reducing enzyme in their saliva is injected to make the blood flow easier.
Mosquitoes only live for a few weeks; what are their blood supply options?
Only female mosquitoes bite and drink blood, not just human blood, and they also bite animals, including snakes, cows, and others.
You might say a meal is a meal. But that’s not the case.
Are we a food source for mosquitoes?
Blood isn’t a food source for the biting female. Mosquitoes feast on the sap of various plants and the nectar of flowers and other sappy liquids to survive.
Why do mosquitoes need blood?
The iron and protein in the blood provide substance for the mosquitoes’ eggs before they lay them. So, the blood helps them reproduce more bloodsuckers. Blood is critical for mosquitoes’ reproductive functions.
What’s an outdoor-loving person to do?
Do what you can to avoid mosquito bites and itchy welts and bumps. But more importantly, mosquitoes carry diseases. Who knows what or who a mosquito bit before biting you? The diseases include West Nile, Zika, malaria, and dengue.
Continue to be mosquito aware. They will be back on warmer days in the fall and winter.
Be safe.