Still Waters Posted July 15, 2013 #1 Share Posted July 15, 2013 You come in from a summer hike covered with itchy red mosquito bites, only to have your friends innocently proclaim that they don’t have any. Or you wake up from a night of camping to find your ankles and wrists aflame with bites, while your tentmates are unscathed. You’re not alone. An estimated 20 percent of people, it turns out, are especially delicious for mosquitoes, and get bit more often on a consistent basis. And while scientists don’t yet have a cure for the ailment, other than preventing bites with insect repellent (which, we’ve recently discovered, some mosquitoes can become immune to over time), they do have a number of ideas regarding why some of us are more prone to bites than others. Here are some of the factors that could play a role: http://blogs.smithso...re-than-others/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted July 15, 2013 #2 Share Posted July 15, 2013 So Type O blood is the so called 'sweet blood'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still Waters Posted July 15, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I went camping with a friend once, we had a couple of days off work so decided that's what we'd do. We didn't go too far from home as it was our first time sleeping outdoors and had two sets of anxious parents hoping we'd be ok. Everything was going well, we found our campsite, my friend parked her car in the field and we started to put up our tent. Then I could feel myself getting bitten, (parking under a tree hadn't helped) but my friend seemed to be mostly unaffected. By the time our weekend was over I was covered from head to foot in itchy red blotches from my face to my feet, what a mess I was in.....and to top it all I forgot to pack my toothbrush! Happy days 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted July 15, 2013 #4 Share Posted July 15, 2013 and to top it all I forgot to pack my toothbrush! Happy days Nice story, but are you suggesting mosquitoes are attracted to bad breath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrooma Posted July 15, 2013 #5 Share Posted July 15, 2013 are you suggesting mosquitoes are attracted to bad breath? . they can't be chubb, on holiday in italy, my mum & sister were feasted upon mercilessly, while me & my dad weren't touched, and after a week of pizzas & (what the italians optimistically call) beer, we had breath that could cut through bank vaults! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted July 15, 2013 #6 Share Posted July 15, 2013 . they can't be chubb, on holiday in italy, my mum & sister were feasted upon mercilessly, while me & my dad weren't touched, and after a week of pizzas & (what the italians optimistically call) beer, we had breath that could cut through bank vaults! Lol I was just translating the data rather than making the claim. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rashore Posted July 15, 2013 #7 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Interesting article. I'm one of the folks that skeeters normally ignore. And on the rare occasion I have been bit, I'm not allergic- no swelling or itching at all. But my poor hubby, skeeters love him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielost Posted July 15, 2013 #8 Share Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) In my case, there are two reasons. One, they can't find my blood. Two, I reaslly do have thick skin. But in general it is probable tate/smell I have type o Edited July 15, 2013 by danielost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.United_Nations Posted July 15, 2013 #9 Share Posted July 15, 2013 what about sweat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiffSplitkins Posted July 15, 2013 #10 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Just a single 12-ounce bottle of beer can make you more attractive to the insects, one study found. Wow, sure glad I don't limit myself to just one and don't drink it from a bottle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A rather obscure Bassoon Posted July 15, 2013 #11 Share Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) Unfortunately,I am one of the 20 per cent,and here in Northern Ontario they have a good feast on me every summer.I just have to suck it up, for me personally I take one antihistamine a day,which seems to reduce the itching for me. May not work for everybody though. Edited July 15, 2013 by shaddow134 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrooma Posted July 15, 2013 #12 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Lol I was just translating the data rather than making the claim. . aren't you glad chubb, that we live in a country that's completely mozzy free? i mean, to our right we have mainland europe, where the mozzies hunt in packs & carry flick-knives, and to our left you have the americas, where the skeeters are as big as dustbin lids & carry off untethered children. but us, in the middle, are left to our own devices. mind you, the mosquitos over here would have a hard time flying in wellies and a parka, umbrella in hand..... ;-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielost Posted July 15, 2013 #13 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Packageing a box of skitters to send to th ok. You do know they love water right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted July 15, 2013 #14 Share Posted July 15, 2013 .aren't you glad chubb, that we live in a country that's completely mozzy free? I don't think my other half agrees with this, she is a Mozzi Magnet. i mean, to our right we have mainland europe, where the mozzies hunt in packs & carry flick-knives, and to our left you have the americas, where the skeeters are as big as dustbin lids & carry off untethered children. but us, in the middle, are left to our own devices. mind you, the mosquitos over here would have a hard time flying in wellies and a parka, umbrella in hand..... ;-) God Bless our island. I think they might have got in through that bloody tunnel... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrooma Posted July 15, 2013 #15 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Packageing a box of skitters to send to th ok. You do know they love water right. . they love standing water Dan, and our water doesn't so much stand as usain bolt it down! here in britain we have 'weather', everywhere else has a 'climate' *sob* :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrooma Posted July 15, 2013 #16 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I don't think my other half agrees with this, she is a Mozzi Magnet. . you live 'daan saaf' though chubb, here, 'oop norf' the mossies would get blood poisoning! :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rashore Posted July 15, 2013 #17 Share Posted July 15, 2013 . they love standing water Dan, and our water doesn't so much stand as usain bolt it down! here in britain we have 'weather', everywhere else has a 'climate' *sob* :-) Teehee, we have seasons here, two of them.. Construction and winter. Skeeters are out during construction season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted July 15, 2013 #18 Share Posted July 15, 2013 . you live 'daan saaf' though chubb, here, 'oop norf' the mossies would get blood poisoning! :-) Didn't realise the great North South divide applied to mosquitoes... classic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoIverine Posted July 16, 2013 #19 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I seem to be a blood bank for them. >_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzer1960 Posted July 16, 2013 #20 Share Posted July 16, 2013 My wife used to be bitten by mosquitoes then when she was diagnosed with MS they seemed to leave her alone. Whether its something to do with the MS I don't know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odds Posted July 16, 2013 #21 Share Posted July 16, 2013 They tend to leave me alone, probably for the fact that if they took my blood they'd die of alcohol poisoning, lol. But there is nothing more annoying than trying to fall asleep with a mozzy buzzing you. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashotep Posted July 16, 2013 #22 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I always thought they left me alone and went for others because of my lotion. Wonder if this works with ticks, they are more my problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted July 16, 2013 #23 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Where I live we not only worry about them biting, we worry about how to get the saddle so we can break and ride them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted July 16, 2013 #24 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I was just out messing round under my oak, I kid you not, skeeters out there the size of quarters. They said this was their year to come out. The really big ones cycle about every 10 yrs. It is like being skewed by hummingbirds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Greenman Posted July 16, 2013 #25 Share Posted July 16, 2013 My wife used to be bitten by mosquitoes then when she was diagnosed with MS they seemed to leave her alone. Whether its something to do with the MS I don't know. I have MS they don't leave me alone. I just can't feel them bite on my legs that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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