Any new research this year?

  • maniii@lemmy.worldEnglish
    351·
    3 months ago

    Several factors.

    1. Genetic trait that attracts mosquitoes and biting insects.

    2. Dietary sugars including no-sugar supplements.

    3. BO and FO as well as high metabolism that produces significantly higher body temps and CO2 volume in breath.

    BO = Body odour. FO = Foot odour.

  • massive_bereavement@fedia.io
    26·
    3 months ago

    Mosquitoes find their prey using three senses:
    First by CO2, as mammals will be releasing it in big quantities (though they also bite reptiles). Second, by body smell, which as others here have mentioned, diet and genetics may dictate how it is affected. Third by shape (that’s when they are already there) and are trying to figure out where to stick it.

    The first one is hard to fix, so for the second I’ll recommend icaridin or, if not available DEET, and in gel form not spray. DEET can be a skin irritant, hence why is less preferred.

    Spray though is sometimes used when applying it to clothing, as it also may have your smell attached to it.

    For the third one, I haven’t seen conclusive data but a lot of observational studies: from wearing light-colored ample clothing that doesn’t define the limbs to (I guess) wearing stripes like a zebra.

    Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7945690/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4173961/ https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-mosquitoes-detect-people https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-22333-7 https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/the-chemistry-of-mosquito-attraction

    And a lifetime in humid climates like the Bayou.

  • daddyjones@lemmy.world
    172·
    3 months ago

    I was once told by a doctor that everyone gets bitten about the same amount, but some people just don’t get a reaction.

    • sping@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      81·
      3 months ago

      I’m skeptical - I was recently eating outside literally watching three of them come at my ankles while people sitting right beside me were being left alone.

  • Sadbutdru@sopuli.xyz
    152·
    3 months ago

    I’ve definitely heard there’s a genetic element where some people just smell or taste yummy to them. I don’t have any research or anything tho. From personal experience, I think I get bitten more if I’m eating much sugar, or drinking alcohol, possibly because of a slightly higher body surface temp, or smell/taste different with more blood sugar.

  • MelonYellow@lemmy.caEnglish
    9·
    3 months ago

    Anecdotal, but I think there’s some kind of immunity component. My parents grew up in a mosquito infested country. When we visited said country, us kids were bitten up while my parents were fine. If it was genetics, you think it would’ve been passed on to us. The locals commonly joked that mosquitos like “new blood.” You could see tourists with itchy red bite reactions while the locals were fine.

    • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      3 months ago

      I get a welt for about the first half-dozen bites in the spring, then I don’t react for the rest of the year. I think there’s a histamine response that gives up after a while.

      • jerkface@lemmy.caEnglish
        8·
        3 months ago

        I’m confused by your title and responses. Was there some document somewhere that we were to read to familiarize ourselves with what you already know before we post?

  • Ving Thor@lemmy.world
    6·
    3 months ago

    Are you blood group O? Mosquitoes seem to have a preference for certain blood types, specifically group O.

    Seems like the paper was missinterpreted by a news article and by myself.

    source

    • massive_bereavement@fedia.io
      7·
      3 months ago

      (P<0.05; 0.00) seems incidental with the study size and honestly I can’t see how could they smell the blood type.

      (I’m not saying they can’t, I’m saying I would like to know how.)

      I’m saying it may be incidental because the paper doesn’t define if the population from where mosquitoes fed had a higher or lower O-type density, nor their distribution.

      • Ving Thor@lemmy.world
        2·
        3 months ago

        Yes, you’re absolutely right.

        I read the claim about the correlation between mosquito bites and blood type in a news article where this paper was linked as the source. This teaches me (again) to not blindly trust any news articles without verifying the information.

        Thanks for pointing it out.

  • RBWells@lemmy.world
    6·
    3 months ago

    I had a friend who would catch them out of the air and eat them, said it kept them from biting him.

    I don’t know. If I am outside with others (like on the porch or in the yard - not counting wilderness areas where they are aggressive) I don’t get bitten but if I am alone they do bite me.

    I do run cold, can stay cool in warm weather, don’t sweat easily, and I breathe quite slowly. So my money is on warmth and CO2 as the biggest factors. Other people are probably louder and distract them away from me.

    ETA This was interesting too, maybe you really are mosquito bait.

    https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/the-chemistry-of-mosquito-attraction

  • eldavi@lemmy.ml
    5·
    3 months ago

    get tested for diabetes; you’re probably not diabetic but an astoundingly large portion of the population is pre-diabetic.

    • JimmyBigSausage@lemm.eeOP
      1·
      3 months ago

      I have been tested but not diabetic. Not sure there is a correlation there as I have always been susceptible since childhood. I don’t drink either.

  • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
    64·
    3 months ago

    Mostly diet. (update: when I say diet, I mean the last 3 months of diet, not what you ate today)

    Avoid sugars, eat garlic and spicy food.

    There are some genes that affect how you smell, and how you perspirate. But diet dominates

    Update: let me explain diet more, what you eat determines your body’s metabolic state, and the body’s hormones. Both of those have a huge impact on how the body off gases the pheromones released the heat produced the oils manufactured.

    • jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      11·
      3 months ago

      I don’t believe this. My daughter and I get bit as soon as we step outside. My wife and son don’t even put on bug spray.

      We all eat the same

        • jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          3 months ago

          Considering that human diet can modify the metabolic rate and the release of different odor-related volatile metabolites (Havlicek & Lenochova, 2006; Ajibola et al., 2013; Baranska et al., 2013; Zuniga et al., 2017), it is not surprising that some foods and alcoholic beverages can have an impact on the release of kairomones. However, as shown in this section, the literature on these aspects is quite scarce and further studies on the effects of diet on susceptibility to mosquitoes are needed.

          Reading the sections prior to that, it seems metabolic rate and some other factors matter more in the attraction of mosquitos - mostly odors and other stuff influenced by genetics.