# Mosquito preferences for bite victims **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2000, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132 "2000-04-11T03:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lablonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lablonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lablonde)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/1 "2000-04-11T03:26:00Z")
I’ve heard that mosquitos are attracted to fair-skinned people. Based on experience I’d have to agree. What’s the chemistry behind this, or is it just bad charma? ---
**Author:** ![MrWhy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@MrWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrWhy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/2 "2000-04-11T03:45:00Z")
I don’t know the chemistry of it **lablonde** , but my personal observations agree with yours. I am fair-skinned and can end up with 20 or so bites in one night while my olive-skinned SO gets none at all. Consequently I’m in a lot of trouble when I spray insecticide everywhere “for no reason” in the middle of the night. Doesn’t seem fair, does it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![slaveone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slaveone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaveone)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/3 "2000-04-11T04:18:00Z")
I don’t know about mosquitos preferences for fair-skinned people, but I certainly get bit alot when I’m out camping or something. (There really arent many mosquitos where I live). But, whenever I go somewhere that there are mosquitos, if I take an aspirin I don’t get bit… the same works for my friend. Hope that helps! * * * “I usually just sock them in the jaw and yell, ‘Pop goes the weasel.’” ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/4 "2000-04-11T04:36:00Z")
Interesting thought, I AM fair skinned, and always struggled with getting bit like crazy during the summer doing yardwork. ## I had a friend tell me that her daughter gets bit a lot ‘because she has sweet blood’. I never questioned the mother’s account of her daughter’s blood,(\* though I did wonder how she knew this! \*) but is there such a thing as ‘sweet blood’?? Judy * * * “Muck should replace ‘suck’. For ‘muck’ is yucky, while ‘suck’ feels very lucky. So, don’t stay stuck on suck, switch to MUCK, today.” ---
**Author:** ![lablonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lablonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lablonde)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/5 "2000-04-11T04:36:00Z")
Thanks for the aspirin tip! To date the only other alternative has been copious amounts of spray or baby oil. ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/6 "2000-04-11T07:02:00Z")
I am pale skinned, however, I usually get bitten _less_ than those around me. I’ve read that mosquitos are attracted to CO2 in the air, and I’ve also noticed that I tend to breathe very slowly compared to most people. So perhaps that’s a contributing factor. (Aside: Yes, there is such a thing as sweet(er) blood, in a literal sense, though I have never noticed a correlation between this and mosquito trouble) ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/7 "2000-04-11T08:35:00Z")
My sister is a diabetic, and while I cannot speak for mosquitoes (though I suspect it’s the same) I do know that she doesn’t get many flea bites. Before she discovered that great once-a-month flea remedy for her cats, her house could get pretty lousy with fleas. Her roomate, a fair-skinned fellow, was tormented with flea bites…while she got nary a bite. I think her blood was too weird and screwed up for the fleas. (She has trouble with her blood sugar a lot.) * * * * * * Polydactyl Cats Unlimited “A Cat Cannot Have Too Many Toes” ---
**Author:** ![lablonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lablonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lablonde)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/8 "2000-04-11T14:27:00Z")
I’ve heard the “sweet blood” explanation before, but dismissed it. What qualifies as sweet blood? ---
**Author:** ![VileOrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9e8a1a/32.png) [@VileOrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VileOrb)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/9 "2000-04-11T14:41:00Z")
AS someone who is allergic to mosquitos, I read these discussions closely. Between what I’ve learned from others and what I’ve learned from experience, it’s not what color your skin is - it’s what temperature. People who’s external skin temperature is higher than others by even a tiny bit attract more mosquitos. Thus, things that reduce surface temperature, like aspirin and tobacco, reduce bites. * * * Spring Ice: 2 parts gin, 1 part Cointreau, 1 part Midori, 2 parts fresh squeezed lime, 7-up to fill - Garnish: Orange slice in bottom of glass. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/10 "2000-04-11T15:13:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Aside: Yes, there is such a thing as sweet(er) blood, in a literal sense, though I have never noticed a correlation between this and mosquito trouble I think I _really_ don’t want to know how you know this. ---
**Author:** ![Zion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b5e925/32.png) [@Zion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zion)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/11 "2000-04-11T15:15:00Z")
The high tempertaure explanation would be the reason that my whole family, except my Mom gets eaten alive in the summer. I’m the worst in my family. We used to joke around and say that if a single mosquito was in the house, it would find me. BTW, we are not fair skinned. * * * Not a newbie…formerly ARG220 ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2000, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/12 "2000-04-12T05:45:00Z")
From the FAQ at [New Jersey Mosquito Home Page](http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/njmos.htm): [Why are some people more attractive to mosquitoes then others?](http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/mosfaq.htm#q4) > [@](#): > > Scientists are still investigating the complexities involved with mosquito host acceptance and rejection. Some people are highly attractive to mosquitoes and others are rarely bothered. Mosquitoes have specific requirements to satisfy and process many different factors before they feed. Many of the mosquito’s physiological demands are poorly understood and many of the processes they use to evaluate potential blood meal hosts remain a mystery. Female mosquitoes use the CO2 we exhale as their primary cue to our location. A host seeking mosquito is guided to our skin by following the slip stream of CO2 that exudes from our breath. Once they have landed, they rely on a number of short range attractants to determine if we are an acceptable blood meal host. Folic acid is one chemical that appears to be particularly important. Fragrances from hair sprays, perfumes, deodorants and soap can cover these chemical cues. They can also function to either enhance or repel the host seeking drive. Dark colors capture heat and make most people more attractive to mosquitoes. Light colors refract heat and are generally less attractive. Detergents, fabric softeners, perfumes and body odor can counteract the effects of color. In most cases, only the mosquito knows why one person is more attractive than another. ---
**Author:** ![lablonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@lablonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lablonde)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/13 "2000-04-11T18:47:00Z")
Excellent ! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2000, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-preferences-for-bite-victims/10132/14 "2000-04-11T19:46:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve heard the “sweet blood” explanation before, but dismissed it. What qualifies as > sweet blood? Yeah, same here. Until the mosquito bites you, how the hell is it going to know what kind of blood it’s going to find?