Why do some people attract mosquitoes like magnets, others don't?

Ever wondered why mosquitoes swarm some people and ignore others? It’s not just bad luck—science has answers. This article uncovers the surprising reasons behind mosquito magnetism, from body chemistry to invisible cues, and what you can do to avoid being their next target.

The science of mosquito attractants:

When a mosquito seeks a meal of blood, it uses a three-pronged approach to find us. At first, her sense of smell detects the carbon dioxide (CO2) gas we exhale, and when she follows the carbon dioxide towards us, she uses her sight to observe us (usually within 5-15 meters). Then, at close range, our body temperature and volatile odors are detected as their final approaching signs. All humans emit common mosquito attractants - carbon dioxide, body heat, lactic acid, acetone, ammonia. Hence our relative attractiveness to mosquitoes depends largely on the quantity, type and density of attractants that are naturally emitted from our being. Some human factors will also increase our production of mosquito attractants and can make us significantly more attractive.

Avoid beer and bananas?

An experiment in Burkina Faso found that 15 minutes after consuming beer, the mustache's attractiveness to mosquitoes increases by 30%, and a similar situation also occurs in pregnant women due to increased body temperature. However, it wasn't the heat to blame, the beer drinker's body temperature actually dropped. The scientists hypothesized that mosquitoes may have developed an affinity for beer drinkers for two reasons: (1) a safer target for mosquitoes due to their delayed reaction; and (2) they may serve a tastier meal when the blood is full of alcohol. Believe it or not, banana consumption increased contact with mosquitoes by 165% one hour after eating fruit. The grapes were also tested but there was no increase in gravity. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin conducted 15 experiments over four years, and found in each trial that bananas created a sharp increase in the attraction of two types of malaria mosquitoes – one found in Africa and the other in Asia. Beer and bananas are certainly the only foodstuffs that have been confirmed by scientific experiments, and there is unconfirmed evidence that other foods increase the attraction of mosquitoes but it has not been scientifically proven.

Do we have the final answer?

No not yet. I can list more reasons why mosquito bites are human, but this will only further confuse this problematic phenomenon. One of them is pregnancy, which is a common cause of mosquito attraction in women. A study found that pregnant women are twice as attractive to malaria mosquitoes compared to non-pregnant women. The apparent causes are the increased release of mosquito attractants and increased body temperature.

The most dangerous creatures on earth:

There are approximately 3,500 species of mosquitoes spread almost worldwide, and mosquitoes are one of the well-adapted bloodsucking predators and are the deadliest creatures on Earth. Apart from humans, they are the main vectors of the spread of malaria. Unfortunately, a study in Kenya found that mosquitoes are twice as attracted to individuals with malaria in the transmissible stage of infection as non-infected individuals. Another study determined that mosquitoes infected with malaria become more attracted to human odors. Infected mosquitoes were 240% more attracted to human odors than uninfected mosquitoes. Worse, infected mosquitoes will eat more frequent and larger blood meals than uninfected insects. It is now clear why malaria spreads like wildfire, devastating vulnerable African communities, and making mosquitoes the most dangerous creature on earth.