The Weird Consequences Of A Wild Night

Researchers wanted to find out why mosquitoes seem to love some people more than others.

At a music festival in the Netherlands, about 500 volunteers put their arms near boxes of mosquitoes. A screen prevented the mosquitoes from actually biting them, but the bugs could smell each person and choose who they wanted to land near.

They found a few things that seemed to make people more attractive to mosquitoes:

Drinking beer: Beer drinkers were about 35% more likely to attract mosquitoes.

Not showering: More body odor and sweat appeared to attract them.

Skipping sunscreen: People wearing sunscreen attracted fewer mosquitoes.

Having sex the night before: Those participants also attracted more mosquitoes — though that doesn’t necessarily mean sex itself was the cause. It could be related to other behaviors, scents, sweat, or lifestyle factors.

The researchers jokingly concluded that mosquitoes seem to have “a taste for the hedonists among us.”

So the takeaway is: Beer, sweat and body odor may essentially make you easier for them to find.
Lana Backman