When you’re hanging out outside in the summer, do you feel like you get eaten up by mosquitoes while your friends hardly get a nibble? You’re not crazy, but you may be smelly. Not in a bad way, promise. Every individual has a unique array of bacteria that lives on their skin. It’s sort of like a thumbprint–no two of us are precisely the same, but scientists believe that the particular odor given off by certain mixtures of bacteria can be an attractor when it comes to mosquitoes.
There are other factors involved, too. Some research has shown that mosquitos find people with type O blood more appetizing than other folks–though that has been disputed. But there is little doubt that insects are attracted to heat and CO2, so if you’re carrying around a little extra weight or even exercising hard enough to be breathing hard, you may be in store for a night of scratching.
