How Do Mosquitoes Find You?

Whether you are outside your home having a picnic or inside your home relaxing, you will have been bitten by mosquitoes. Most of the time, mosquito bites are just an annoyance. But we all know they can be extremely dangerous because of the diseases mosquitoes can carry.  But how do mosquitoes find you?

Why do mosquitoes bite in the first place?

First, it’s important to know why mosquitoes bite and why you should be concerned. Mosquitoes bite because of one simple reason – they need the protein and other nutrients in human blood so they can produce healthy offspring.

This is also the reason why female mosquitoes are the only ones who can bite humans. In fact, male mosquitoes don’t even have the body parts to pierce through human skin.

Why should you be concerned of mosquito bites?

Mosquito bites look like red and swollen bumps on your skin. Most of the time, they are just irritating and itchy. But there are times where they can be dangerous. They can lead to allergic reactions and diseases, either of which can be life-threatening.

1. Allergic reactions

When mosquitoes bite, they pierce through the skin and inject their saliva into your body. Their saliva has proteins and other compounds that your immune system may find as a threat. As a result, your immune system may act up and trigger an allergic reaction.

Severe allergic reactions, particularly anaphylaxis, are life-threatening. If you break out in hives, find it difficult to breathe, and feel like your throat is swelling, seek medical attention immediately.

2. Diseases

Mosquitoes are some of the deadliest animals in the world. About 700 million people contract mosquito-borne diseases a year, with about 1 million of them ending up dead. Mosquito-borne diseases are transferred from host to host through the mosquitoes’ saliva. And as mentioned earlier, mosquitoes inject their saliva into you when they bite. This introduces parasites and viruses into your body.

The most common mosquito-borne diseases are chikungunya, dengue, malaria, West Nile virus, yellow fever, and Zika.

How do mosquitoes find you?

Mosquitoes find you through the carbon dioxide you exhale, the heat you exert from your body, and your sweat. There are other factors that attract mosquitoes to you, but these are the major ones.

1. Carbon dioxide

Mosquitoes often have a process of finding humans to feed on. First, they try to detect carbon dioxide from far away. They can even detect carbon dioxide that is more than 30 feet away. Second, they approach the carbon dioxide source and look for body heat. Third, they finally land on you, taste your skin, and look for the perfect spot to bite.

You can say that a mosquito’s sense of smell is the strongest mosquito sense that it uses for hunting. It doesn’t help that human breath is packed with carbon dioxide, making humans easy targets.

2. Heat

As mosquitoes smell carbon dioxide, their brains tell them that there is a potential food source nearby. They use their sense of sight to locate the source of the carbon dioxide being emitted. They linger around high-contrast objects to find the source and until they see the human from 16 feet away or more. As they get closer and closer, they develop a stronger sense of their target’s body heat.

Mosquitoes are smart hunters too. They don’t waste time buzzing around high-heat sources. They make sure first that there is a carbon dioxide source nearby. This prevents them from buzzing around useless targets like rocks.

3. Sweat

Mosquitoes are great at detecting humans. They are great because they don’t rely on just two factors (carbon dioxide and heat). They rely on a variety of signals to distinguish their targets. One of the biggest known signals is sweat, primarily because of the lactic acid in it that gives it the distinct human odor.

4. Other factors that attract mosquitoes

Do you notice that some people are bitten by mosquitoes more than others? It’s not just because of their exertion of carbon dioxide, heat, and sweat. There are also other factors around them that make them more attractive targets than others.

Alcohol, dark clothing, and floral scents are claimed to attract mosquitoes, but further studies need to be done on the matter. But it also wouldn’t hurt to avoid alcohol, wear light-colored clothing, and use non-scented hygiene products and perfumes to make yourself less vulnerable to mosquitoes.

How do you avoid mosquito bites?

You can avoid mosquito bites by minimizing the presence of carbon dioxide, heat, sweat, and the other factors in your body and around your property. You can minimize carbon dioxide in your home by improving ventilation and turning on the fan. You can minimize heat and sweat by keeping yourself fresh and taking a bath, especially before going to bed.

Here are other things you can do.

1. Apply a mosquito repellent

Mosquito repellents often come in the form of lotions. They have chemicals that repel mosquitoes, particularly DEET. They are relatively common, so you will not have a hard time finding them in pharmacies and even grocery stores. Just make sure to follow the instructions in their labels to ensure their effectiveness and safety.

2. Cover up

There are two ways to cover up. You can either cover your skin to give no room for mosquitoes to pierce through or cover your sleeping area. Cover your skin by wearing long sleeves, pants, gloves, socks, or pajamas during bedtime. Cover your sleeping area with a mosquito net and close your doors and windows to avoid attracting stray mosquitoes.

3. Get rid of the mosquitoes in your property

Of course, you are more vulnerable to mosquito bites if there are mosquito breeding grounds around your property. Be on the lookout for debris and stagnant water. Give particular attention to your garden, lawn, and yard because these spots often have the debris and stagnant water that attract mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes find you using multiple signals

Mosquitoes are great at finding humans to feed on. They can find you through the carbon dioxide you exhale, the heat your body emits, and the sweat your body produces. Avoid mosquito bites by minimizing these in your body and on your property.