They buzz in your ear, give you relentlessly itchy bites, and they are the world’s biggest killer. Mosquitoes may go down in history as the worst pest of all time, and one study suggests that having a cold one could draw them to you.
Photo by James Jordan
The study, from the Journal of American Mosquito Control Association, used human test subjects to determine whether ingesting alcohol would increase the likelihood of bites. Turns out mosquitoes like getting a little tipsy, because after just one beer, there was a significant increase in mosquito landings. They haven’t determined what it is exactly about the drink that mosquitoes find so tantalising, but if you’re prone to bites, imbibing at your backyard BBQ could up your chances.
It’s possible that other things that sometimes go along with drinking affect are a part of it: movement, an increase in body heat, and carbon dioxide production via burps can increase their draw as well. Be sure to use repellents.
Alcohol ingestion stimulates mosquito attraction [Journal of American Mosquito Control Association via Mental Floss]
Comments
4 responses to “Drink Less Alcohol To Help Keep Mosquitoes Away”
I don not believe this. I do not drink, and any moment i walk outside I am bitten instantly! god forbid if vampires ever existed, I would be one of the first bitten!
You “don’t believe” a study based on your anecdotal evidence and sample size of one? Sigh.
OMG! He doesn’t believe a study performed with 13 subjects and 1 control over his own personal and relevant experience. What a douche! Amirite???
We should all just blindly believe what we read! Even if our own personal experience differs! Science is almost as good as religion that way!
The article says that drinking alcohol increases the risk, not that abstaining removes it!
I haven’t stopped drinking alcohol – good luck to the mozzies if they’re that smart – but I do dose regularly with Multi-vitamin B and with my anecdotal evidence of one, that works !