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Yes, Your Smell Really Does Attract Mosquitos

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2 years ago

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Source: Getty Images

A new study confirms that how we smell can make us more appealing – to mosquitos.

According to the Associated Press, if you find yourself being a mosquito magnet, it could have something to do with your scent.

A study, published in the journey Cell found that mosquito magnets had high levels of certain acids on their skin. The healthy bacteria that live on the skin eat up these acids, which in turn produce part of our skin’s odor profile, making some people irresistible to the blood-sucking insects.

Sixty-four volunteers from Rockefeller University in New York and nearby were asked to wear nylon stockings on their forearms to pick up their skin cells. The Associated Press reports these stockings were then put in separate traps at the end of a long tube where dozens of mosquitoes were released. According to the AP, the mosquitoes swarmed the “most attractive subjects.”

Sadly, mosquito magnets always tend to be mosquito magnets and there isn’t much we can do to change the acids on our skin. Still, it is hoped the research will help find new methods to repel mosquitos in the future.
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