7 replies to this topic

[nightingale]

Dear Bioforumers,

hope All are fine ...
reading the reason behind the strange attraction of mosquitoes to some people rather  than others,
here is one :
Why are some people more attractive to mosquitos?

what you think ... ???
and if you were bad lucky to be an attractive object, what do you do ???

heard of some plants to be used to repel these mosquitoes, do you know any ??

Edited by nightingale, 15 September 2010 - 12:23 PM.

[baja]

Mosquitos get attracted to some people. I have personally experienced it. But it changes also. Oneday they feel like killin me, the next day they wont even bite me. I dont really understand.
Regards










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[hobglobin]

One of the few agents reliable repelling mosquitoes is still DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide)...used in many of the products to repel insects. I guess it's still the best.
Wikipedia lists eucalyptus, lemon (lemon grass) and Citronella oil, but less effective and reliable...I'd avoid trying out in a malaria area.
Anyway there are lots of different species of mosquitoes with different behaviour, i.e. times when and habitats where they are active, heights in which they fly, aggressiveness, reaction to the repellents...etc. Therefore you've to try out and a result from a study in Europe may not help you in Africa or in the Mediterranean area...
Therefore avoid the times when they are active, use a net while sleeping (or for the whole house/apartment), wear tight clothes and repellents for the unprotected skin...
Some species (e.g. Aedes) are aggressive enough to attack all individuals running around without repellent and they select not for more attractive people, whereas some species as in Europe the common mosquito (Culex pipiens) are not really aggressive and they wait until it is dark and then they have time to select an "attractive victim".
I've read that apart from CO₂, smelly feet attracts some mosquitoes, i.e. even some cheese; therefore put a used sock in the neighbouring room to get rid of them   (if you don't have a mosquito net).

Edited by hobglobin, 17 September 2010 - 12:52 PM.

[pito]

There are a lot of myths out there..  but this one is the worst according to a professor I once had: some people attract Mosquitos more then others.. This is crap... (at least thats what a professor specialised in Mosquitos once told me...)

The fact is that soms people are more "allergic" to it then others: they get red and swollen "wounds", while other.. well they just dont notice it.. thats what he showed us during a lecture... So I think it might be true..

Any entomologist here?

[hobglobin]

pito, on 18 September 2010 - 06:07 AM, said:

There are a lot of myths out there..  but this one is the worst according to a professor I once had: some people attract Mosquitos more then others.. This is crap... (at least thats what a professor specialised in Mosquitos once told me...)

The fact is that soms people are more "allergic" to it then others: they get red and swollen "wounds", while other.. well they just dont notice it.. thats what he showed us during a lecture... So I think it might be true..

Any entomologist here?

Actually it is not crap, mosquitoes show different prefferences to some part, or the other way round, their host are differently attractive, though several of the mechanisms are still need to be investigated. Anyway, the experiments (that are quite easy with an olfactometer, a standarisied population of the mosquitoes, and  sufficient number of test victims (also cattle and other animal species are possible). Then you just count the mosquito numbers on each side of the olfactometer, i.e. how they decided.
And they do not distrubute themselves randomly between the possible hosts, but show preferrences. The resaons can be various but mostly the victims emit different qualities and quantities of substances that attract mosquitoes. Those substances (e.g. lactic acid) are for example in human sweat...Mosquitoes also prefer species that they already "used" before, as they gained some experience (though this is depended on species, not individuals).
Anyway you can proof this also more humans quite easily and statistically significant...humans who sweated more are more attractive and also pregant women (for whatever reasons).

Edited by hobglobin, 20 September 2010 - 08:08 AM.

[nightingale]

baja, on 16 September 2010 - 11:25 PM, said:

Mosquitos get attracted to some people. I have personally experienced it. But it changes also. Oneday they feel like killin me, the next day they wont even bite me. I dont really understand.
Regards

i am experiencing it too    
all the time they feel like killing me ... and it hadn't changed  
that was the reason for my search !

thanks for passing by baja

[nightingale]

hobglobin, on 17 September 2010 - 12:24 PM, said:

One of the few agents reliable repelling mosquitoes is still DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide)...used in many of the products to repel insects. I guess it's still the best.
Wikipedia lists eucalyptus, lemon (lemon grass) and Citronella oil, but less effective and reliable...I'd avoid trying out in a malaria area.
Anyway there are lots of different species of mosquitoes with different behaviour, i.e. times when and habitats where they are active, heights in which they fly, aggressiveness, reaction to the repellents...etc. Therefore you've to try out and a result from a study in Europe may not help you in Africa or in the Mediterranean area...
Therefore avoid the times when they are active, use a net while sleeping (or for the whole house/apartment), wear tight clothes and repellents for the unprotected skin...
Some species (e.g. Aedes) are aggressive enough to attack all individuals running around without repellent and they select not for more attractive people, whereas some species as in Europe the common mosquito (Culex pipiens) are not really aggressive and they wait until it is dark and then they have time to select an "attractive victim".
I've read that apart from CO₂, smelly feet attracts some mosquitoes, i.e. even some cheese; therefore put a used sock in the neighbouring room to get rid of them   (if you don't have a mosquito net).

i have read about the cheese and the used socks too
so, if i put it ... How can i sleep then ???!!!  
my suffering will change to  mosquitoes + the (verrry)^n nice smell !!!  
thanks Hobglobin ... i guess the net will do

[nightingale]

hobglobin, on 20 September 2010 - 08:07 AM, said:

pito, on 18 September 2010 - 06:07 AM, said:

There are a lot of myths out there..  but this one is the worst according to a professor I once had: some people attract Mosquitos more then others.. This is crap... (at least thats what a professor specialised in Mosquitos once told me...)

The fact is that soms people are more "allergic" to it then others: they get red and swollen "wounds", while other.. well they just dont notice it.. thats what he showed us during a lecture... So I think it might be true..

Any entomologist here?

Actually it is not crap, mosquitoes show different prefferences to some part, or the other way round, their host are differently attractive, though several of the mechanisms are still need to be investigated. Anyway, the experiments (that are quite easy with an olfactometer, a standarisied population of the mosquitoes, and  sufficient number of test victims (also cattle and other animal species are possible). Then you just count the mosquito numbers on each side of the olfactometer, i.e. how they decided.
And they do not distrubute themselves randomly between the possible hosts, but show preferrences. The resaons can be various but mostly the victims emit different qualities and quantities of substances that attract mosquitoes. Those substances (e.g. lactic acid) are for example in human sweat...Mosquitoes also prefer species that they already "used" before, as they gained some experience (though this is depended on species, not individuals).
Anyway you can proof this also more humans quite easily and statistically significant...humans who sweated more are more attractive and also pregant women (for whatever reasons).

i agree with Hobglobin ... this is not a myth, they have prefferences... you can kindly search the net to see the different experiments done by the scientists to see the reason behind this attraction ...