Getting Irresistible

Zosimo T. Literatus, R.M.T.
Breakthroughs

“PROBABLY the saddest thing you’ll ever see is a mosquito sucking on a mummy,” says Jack Handy, the American writer famous for his “Deep Thoughts” comedy sketches.

Certainly, most of us believe that mosquitoes just bite any skin. But scientific evidence indicates that they too choose whom to flirt with.

Professor emeritus at the University of Florida Jerry Butler observed: “One in 10 people are highly attractive to mosquitoes.” But it’s not for dinner, as Don Marquis erroneously believed. (“To a flea or a mosquito a human being is merely something good to eat.”).

Female mosquitoes bite (males don’t); they use blood to hatch their eggs. And not just anyone’s blood, apparently.

Dinner time. Much of the determinant (a whopping 85 percent) is genetics. Genes can help create in excess or fail to process in full certain chemicals that act as beacons to these minute flyers. Mosquitoes can also smell its “dinner” from up to 50 meters. So what chemicals make humans irresistible to mosquitoes?

l Carbon dioxide! “Any type of carbon dioxide is attractive,” says Joe Conlon, technical advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association.

Larger people tend to give off more carbon dioxide (CO2). Pregnant women exhale more, too. And if your flatulating a lot and just anywhere, you’d be risking a slap as well as many little bites. Movement and heat also attract mosquitoes. The more you move, the more you heat up, and then the more CO2 goes off your skin and breath.

l Certain acids: Such as lactic acid and uric acid. Lactic acid pours out of your sweat glands if you perspire a lot. Uric acid can trigger the sense of smell in mosquitoes.
l Steroids and cholesterol: It has nothing to do with high overall cholesterol level in the body.

If your body can efficiently process cholesterol, nothing will come off your skin. “People with high concentrations of steroids or cholesterol on their skin surface attract mosquitoes,” Butler says.

Solutions. usceptible people can use repellants and traps. The Centers for Disease Control and Protection recommend N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (Deet) and picaridin for repellants. However, both are not safe for children under two months. Chemical traps attract mosquitoes and then trap and kill them. You simply spray around, and voila, mosquitoes will be dropping on your feet. But are there non-chemical-based repellants? Of course, there are but that would be for another time, or another article, so to say.

Meanwhile, the old way can still prove an enjoyable one, as three-time world boxing champion Alexis Arguello noted: “When you see a mosquito fly and you’re able to hit it, you’re able to hit it with a couple of short sharp shots — it’s a beautiful thing.”