Mosquitoes Must Go

Have you ever hung out with that one person that just won’t stop complaining about getting attacked by mosquitoes? Well for my friends, that person is me. After long summer nights spent outside, I always somehow find myself having (approximately) 70000 more bug bites than I had prior. What always seems to puzzle me is that my friends would come out with one, two or maybe no bug bites at all. I’m sure they are all sick of hearing me complain over getting “attacked”, but it just does not seem fair to me. I mean could these bugs actually be biased?

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Though I would get significantly more mosquito bites than others, I always thought it was just by chance with no reasoning behind it. I had never known that mosquitoes could be so picky when it came to their meal preference. That is why when I discovered the article “Why Mosquitoes Bite Some People More than Others”, I was immediately intrigued. This article posted by Meredith Melnick includes reasons ranging from size to metabolism to even smell. All of these factors play a role in the possibility of getting bitten by a mosquito. It all started to make sense to my 5’8” tall, fast metabolism-having self. What stood out to me the most when reading this article was that mosquitoes also love feeding on people who have just worked out; they are drawn in to the lactic acid and carbon dioxide produced. The reason that this stood out to me, in particular, was because I could recall the countless amount of times that I would go on a run to Beaver Stadium over the summer and return to my dorm with dozens of new bites.

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For me and the many others out there dealing with this annoyance, it has been a looooong summer. Luckily, the cold weather is approaching which means no bugs—at least for a few months. Until then, I guess there is nothing I can really do except continue drowning myself in bug spray and hope for the best. See ya’ next year, stupid mosquitoes.

 

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-mosquitoes-bite-some-people-more-than-others_us_57c9c258e4b0a22de095e6a4?hieqjanjvck1n61or&section=us_healthy-living

Pictures: http://cdn.orkin.com/images/mosquitoes/mosquito-illustration_360x286.jpg

https://vwellhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/bug-spray.jpg

3 thoughts on “Mosquitoes Must Go

  1. Alex Felton

    This article is so relatable especially to me. It always seems as if I am getting bit way more than anyone else even though we are all sitting on the porch for the same amount of time. This post also made me wonder if there are certain spots that are more attractive to mosquitos, like your feet or neck. This article also sparked my curiosity if sprays and citronella candles actually work to protect us.

    This article explains how these odd smelling candles shoo away these pesky bugs:
    http://articles.philly.com/2012-09-11/entertainment/33738497_1_deet-west-nile-virus-citronella

  2. Darby Helen Smith

    I totally relate to this post because every summer I get multiple mosquito bites and I am so curious as to how is happens to me repeatedly. I was not aware that mosquitos flock to people that have just recently worked out, but that would make sense because in the relaxing time of the summer, i use some of my time to work out. I began to research this topic and found that in an article (below) lists that sweat is attractive to mosquitoes

    https://www.mosquitnoband.com/why-do-mosquitoes-like-me-more-than-anyone-else/

  3. Lauren Messing

    I completely understand where you are coming from; I am that one annoying friend too. I never understood why I would be covered in mosquito bites and my friends would be sitting there untouched. After reading you blog, I have come to the conclusion that my smell and height must be exactly what the mosquitoes are interested in. As unfortunate and odd as this sounds, I suppose it could be true. When I get bug bites, they immediately swell up and leave a large, burning, red lump on my skin and it is unattractive and even more uncomfortable. My allergy to the venom they inject into my body has been calmed by some home remedies. I want to show you this article so next time you get a bite, you know how to get rid of it!

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