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By Lori PrichardSALT LAKE CITY -- Fair warning: Experts predict there will be a bumper crop of mosquitoes this summer. And as they become the uninvited guest at your outdoor picnic, we wanted to know why mosquitoes seem to bite one person but not the next.
Some people we talked with Monday thought eating garlic keeps mosquitoes at bay but bananas attract them.
Nell Nicholson thought it was scent of something sweet. "Because we have a lot of sugar in our blood," he reasoned.
Dayle Thomas said it's "probably the smells."
Sammie Dickson of the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District says none of those theories are true. "The first thing they're attracted to is carbon dioxide that we breathe out," Dickson said.
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The Utah Health Department is recommending a product that kills mosquito larva safely and effectively in standing water. It's called Mosquito Dunks.He continued, "The wind or the breeze carries that carbon dioxide and in the trail of that carbon dioxide is what mosquitoes follow, much like a highway."
In addition the air we exhale, Dickson says the blood suckers are attracted to sweat. "Anybody that's breathing more or a little bit warmer and a little bit more moist, or perspiring, are more likely to be bitten," he said.
You're even more likely to be bitten if you have smelly feet! "The sweat in our feet tends to be very attractive to mosquitoes. I don't think they've isolated the chemical yet, but dirty socks can be very attractive to mosquitoes. Like your mom always tells you: Change your socks," Dickson said.
Though there's not much we can do to change the things about us the bugs are attracted to, one simple thing will keep them from making a beeline straight to you: deet.
Here's some other things we learned from the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District:
- Only female mosquitoes bite. They need a "blood meal" to lay eggs unlike male mosquitoes.
- Dusk or dawn is when you are most likely to be bitten by a mosquito carrying West Nile.
- The majority of mosquitoes are attracted to animals not humans
CLICK HERE for more information on mosquitoes and mosquito bites.
E-mail: lprichard@ksl.com
