The Mosquito Mystery

~ beetleypete

Do you get bitten a lot by mosquitoes, and other biting insects? I do. Do you know people who never get bitten, even when they are in the same place as you, surrounded by hordes of potential biters? I do.

For as long as I can remember, I have been plagued by insect bites. They have ruined holidays, made day trips a misery, and kept me awake at night. In the worst case, they managed to badly infect my legs, and I wanted to return home early from Crete, but couldn’t get a flight.

I have used every repellent known to man, and every after-bite treatment sold on the market too. Even if they reduce the number of bites, they never stop them completely. Yet I was once married to someone who was never bitten at all, in the ten years we were together. She could sit next to me watching them swarming around me, but as far as they were concerned, she didn’t exist.

I found this article suggesting why only some of us are selected by those flying pests. They have been doing some research, and come to various conclusions.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-do-mosquitoes-bite-some-people-more-than-others?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB

It won’t stop you being bitten, but it might explain why.

74 thoughts on “The Mosquito Mystery”

  1. Complaining about mosquitoes…classic Pete😂😂😂. I have been bitten by a numerous amount of mosquitoes. In India, people say a person gets bitten by mosquitoes if they are too sweet in nature and you are so sweet that I am sure the mosquito that bites you will surely bet diabetes😜😝. In India, we eat Ashwagandha and Guduchi. It is clinically proven that these two medicines cleanse the blood and avoids any insect after it’s side effects like itching and rashes. If you find it, you can try it. It is pure ayurvedic. Good for health, body and mind🤗💖

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  2. I am hardly ever bitten. I thought it was diet related, but the article says otherwise. I wonder if it is genectics, for thinking about it, none of us have ever suffered as some friends do. AVON makes “skin so soft” not for insect repellent, but many folks use it and swear by it.

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  3. We had very less mosquitos here this summer. But since i began smoking, they had not bitten me anymore. 😉 Seems the found better victims, far away from me. .-) Btw: The first time i noticed less mosquitos around me was as i started smoking the now since some years no longer produced Gitane cigarettes. Michael

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  7. I was bite free most of the summer, feeling sorry for Zosia who at such a young age was singled out and in turn scratched her bites till they bled, the scares are only just clearing, and then a few weeks ago I woke with bites on the wrist and arms, ankles and stomach!

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      1. Tics a plenty I’m afraid. I have long term Lymes disease (diagnosed a few years ago), thankfully I don’t suffer too much from the many symptoms that can manifest, but I have to keep it in mind if I do feel ill so they can hit me with some serious antibiotics again to keep it at bay.
        I’m extra vigilant checking the children as I don’t want them to get it as well.

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          1. I have convinced myself healthy eating and lifestyle is the key to combatting the worst of it, time will tell I guess, but when I joined a Lyme Facebook group I realised how lucky I am, so I would never complain 🙂 By all accounts its very much like ME (Yuppie Flu) Lots of doctors don’t take it seriously and there is no real cure,

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          1. Thank you for the advice, my problem is that I take the dogs for walks in the surrounding fields, long grass = tics. Mind you chickens around the house may be on the cards again soon (we had them in the past) as soon as my fence goes up and I can keep a dog in with the chickens to stop the buzzards and foxes 🙂

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  8. I found this topic fascinating, mainly because I was unfamiliar with the notion that some people get bitten more than others. I think I fall somewhere in the middle as they seem to harass me a fair amount, but never to the point where I thought of leaving somewhere.

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  13. The only mosquitoes around here are mostly confined to Clark County Wetlands Park and Lake Mead. I’ve never been bitten by a mosquito in the city or on a desert hike. Years ago, my wife and I went on a hike in the Sierra Nevada (California mountain range), and we ended up begging for some repellent from some other hikers because the mosquito attack was apocalyptic. My wife suffered a lot more than I did.

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  15. It’s your sweet chemistry! Over here, there’s an oil that women use called “Skin so Soft”. One day up in northern Wisconsin where the mosquitoes are the size of bumble bees with Viking-sized appetites, a fisherman and his wife were out on a lake. She had put the oil on before they left the house as an act of her beauty regimen. The fisherman couldn’t figure out why his wife was left alone and he was attacked by them. That started a billion dollar product since. If you can order some, try that!

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      1. I was bit by flies this summer on a camping trip. It ruined the trip for me. I scratched my calves for weeks and they left scars. I’m becoming more of a winter camper simply because it’s quieter, no bugs, and no people!
        I go for the camp fire anyway. Can’t make a fire in the summer/early fall over here.

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  18. I am one of the fortunate ones that mosquitoes avoid like the plague. My wife and I will go for a walk and she will be covered in bites while I have none. I guess I just have toxic blood. Thank you for the interesting information. Take care.

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  21. Well…guilty as charged…I’m in your club as well Pete😊 I hate flying insects, and I hate it even more when they keep me up at night. The most frustrating part is when they buzz around your head, you switch on the lights and try to find the beast and can’t find it. Then you switch off the lights and lo and behold, two seconds later the buzzing starts again….AAARGGGGH!!!😂😂😂

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  23. A friend did her PhD on whether or not it was blood types which made a difference but her research was inconclusive. I always try to remember to wear light coloured clothing since hearing they are attracted to dark clothes. It’s probably a combination of all sorts of factors. Maybe you should try sleeping under a mosquito net.

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  24. Mosi’s love black it attracts them…my son sits surrounded by mosi coils, sprays himself and they find the tiny bit he has missed…me..they land on me sometimes and fly off they don’t like me at all…we sit outside most evenings for a sundowner and he is the one they aim for..I feel sorry for him…He eats lots of garlic and chillies as I do so we can’t work out why he is a magnet for mosi’s they just love him

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    1. Nothing I have tried has left me totally unbitten, Carol. Some pleasant summer evenings are wasted for me, as I cannot possibly sit outside and enjoy them without being constantly bothered by insects..
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  25. They seem to be attracted to sweat or the saline in sweat…at least around here in the South…..so that could explain why Sue seldom gets bit….she does not sweat which is dangerous down here…..chuq

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  26. Have you tried Aloe Vera, Pete? That’s my remedy for all minor skin problems, including mosquito bites. It cools, heals and relieves.
    I have experienced many summers in Norway with lots of mosquitos and found it tolerable. Then one summer I brought a friend from Germany with me and she was so badly bitten we could hardly believe our eyes. Arms and legs went wobbly swollen and she was littering crying with pain, poor girl. I have read the article, but I’m not sure which category would apply to her. I looked like an allergic reaction to me.

    Grey and overcast and not as warm as hoped for in Cley today. We will stay warm cutting the hedge, I suppose. 😉
    Best wishes to you all,
    give Ollie a big pat from me. x

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    1. I have used aloe vera in the past to soothe large areas where I was bitten. Many repellent products reduce the number of bites, but I always get some. And horseflies seem immune to any repellent, seeking me out like dive-bombers. 🙂
      Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. X

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