Why do mosquitoes love you? Science finally has answers

If you feel like a walking buffet for mosquitoes during the summer, science confirms your suspicion: some individuals are indeed more appealing to these biting insects. Female mosquitoes, which are the ones that bite, use highly sensitive receptors to follow a trail of signals emitted by our bodies, choosing their targets from a cocktail of scents, warmth, and gases.

“

The most important 'billboard' for mosquitoes is the way we smell, and that smell is not just deodorant, but a combination of hundreds of molecules produced by the skin and the bacteria that live on it.

The most significant attractant for mosquitoes is our scent, which is a complex combination of hundreds of molecules produced by our skin and the bacteria living on it. This explains why mosquitoes might relentlessly target one person in a group while leaving another virtually untouched. Contrary to popular belief, mosquitoes don't see you first; they literally 'smell' you.

Carbon dioxide, which we exhale, was discovered over a century ago as a powerful attractant. It creates an invisible trail in the air that mosquitoes can detect from dozens of meters away, guiding them like a "CO₂ highway" to their source. As they get closer, other signals come into play, including the specific scent of a person's skin and, at close range, body heat and moisture. This makes people who breathe more heavily, such as after exercise, or those with slightly higher body temperatures particularly interesting targets.

“

Mosquitoes don't see you first, they literally 'smell' you.

Our skin's microbiome acts like a unique, unremovable perfume. Colonies of bacteria on our skin create a distinct chemical signature that makes us either irresistible or uninteresting to mosquitoes. While humans emit between 300 and 1000 different volatile compounds, scientists are still identifying which ones are most attractive. Recent research on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, known for transmitting dengue and yellow fever, found they react to a combination of at least 27 skin-emitted compounds, with 1-octen-3-ol, a compound derived from skin sebum, standing out. Women, particularly in their second trimester of pregnancy, who secreted slightly more of this compound, were noticeably more attractive to mosquitoes, even with minimal concentration differences. Claims about blood types being a major factor have not been consistently supported by newer research, nor have clear links been established with skin, eye, or hair color.

“

The preference for certain blood types currently lacks solid scientific basis, at least as the main reason why someone is bitten more.