Why are some people mosquito magnets? Clues are emerging
Baku, May 13, AZERTAC
Ever felt like mosquitoes bite you while ignoring everyone else? Scientists are now making progress in deciphering the complex chemical cocktail that makes particular people more enticing to these disease-spreading bloodsuckers, according to the Straits Times.
“It’s not a misconception – mosquitoes are attracted to some people more than others,” Dr Frederic Simard of France’s Institute of Research for Development told AFP.
“But we are not all magnets all the time,” the medical entomologist added.
A range of sensory cues can cause mosquitoes to pick one human over another – mainly the smell and heat our bodies give off and the carbon dioxide we exhale.
Female mosquitoes, which are the only ones that bite, detect these signals with finely tuned receptors before choosing their targets accordingly.
“We have known for over 100 years that mosquitoes are attracted by the carbon dioxide that we exhale – this is the first signal that triggers their behaviour” when they are dozens of metres away, Swedish scientist Rickard Ignell told AFP.
Within around 10m, mosquitoes start detecting human odour, which combined with carbon dioxide attracts them more, said the senior author of a recent study on the subject.
As they get closer, body temperature and humidity make particular humans even more enticing.
However, some popular theories on this subject do not hold water. The idea that mosquitoes prefer particular blood types “has no scientific basis”, Dr Simard said.
“There have been some studies but involving only very few people,” he said. “Nor is it related to skin, eye or hair colour,” he added.
Odour, on the other hand, matters greatly.
“A soup of molecules produced by our microbiota is more – or less – appealing to mosquitoes,” Dr Simard explained.
Humans release between 300 and 1,000 different odorous compounds, research has shown, but scientists are just only beginning to understand which ones attract mosquitoes.
For Professor Ignell’s recent study, researchers exposed 42 women in a lab to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes – known for spreading yellow fever and dengue – to see who the insects preferred.
“We have shown that mosquitoes use a blend of odorous compounds (we identified 27 that the mosquitoes will detect, out of the possible 1,000) for their attraction to us,” he said.
The women most attractive to mosquitoes – including pregnant women in their second trimester – produced high levels of a compound created by the breakdown of sebum, an oily substance produced by the skin.
Prof Ignell emphasised that even a small increase in this compound – called “1-octen-3-ol” or mushroom alcohol – made a difference, which came as a surprise.
“Mosquitoes are fascinating creatures,” he added.
Drinking beer has also been linked to attracting mosquitoes, because it raises body temperature, increases exhaled carbon dioxide and changes skin odour, according to several studies.
In a standardised research conducted in Burkina Faso, volunteers drank beer and, several days later, water, to see which condition mosquitoes preferred. The Anopheles mosquito, which can spread malaria, was more enticed by the scent of the beer drinkers.
For a 2023 study in the Netherlands, 465 volunteers put their arms in cages filled with female Anopheles mosquitoes. The volunteers who had drunk beer in the previous 24 hours were 1.35 times more attractive to the mosquitoes.
Discovering why mosquitoes prefer particular people has become a more pressing issue as climate change expands the range where they roam.
For example, the tiger mosquito, a vector for the chikungunya virus, is spreading into new areas. In 2025, chikungunya reached as far north as France’s Alsace region for the first time.
“This risk is affecting more and more people,” Dr Simard said.
So what can you do to avoid getting bitten?
Try loose-fitting clothing that covers your skin, mosquito nets and repellent, Dr Simard advised.
“Try to eat light meals – and go easy on the alcohol,” he added.
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