Why do mosquitoes eat me alive and leave others alone?Edit: Looking for NEW information! Not the same ole.

Mosquitoes generally feast on dweeb lords.

Several factors.

Genetic trait that attracts mosquitoes and biting insects.
Dietary sugars including no-sugar supplements.
BO and FO as well as high metabolism that produces significantly higher body temps and CO2 volume in breath.

BO = Body odour. FO = Foot odour.

Mosquitoes find their prey using three senses:
First by CO2, as mammals will be releasing it in big quantities (though they also bite reptiles). Second, by body smell, which as others here have mentioned, diet and genetics may dictate how it is affected. Third by shape (that's when they are already there) and are trying to figure out where to stick it.

The first one is hard to fix, so for the second I'll recommend icaridin or, if not available DEET, and in gel form not spray. DEET can be a skin irritant, hence why is less preferred.

Spray though is sometimes used when applying it to clothing, as it also may have your smell attached to it.

For the third one, I haven't seen conclusive data but a lot of observational studies: from wearing light-colored ample clothing that doesn't define the limbs to (I guess) wearing stripes like a zebra.

Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7945690/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4173961/ https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-mosquitoes-detect-people https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-22333-7 https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/the-chemistry-of-mosquito-attraction

And a lifetime in humid climates like the Bayou.

Do you have any experience using some kind of zapper or lamp or some other tool?
- Some insects are attracted to light sources, but not mosquitos. They seek out the things our bayou friend already mentioned.
Nothing really new here. Thanks though.

I was once told by a doctor that everyone gets bitten about the same amount, but some people just don't get a reaction.

I'm skeptical - I was recently eating outside literally watching three of them come at my ankles while people sitting right beside me were being left alone.
What I heard

I've definitely heard there's a genetic element where some people just smell or taste yummy to them. I don't have any research or anything tho. From personal experience, I think I get bitten more if I'm eating much sugar, or drinking alcohol, possibly because of a slightly higher body surface temp, or smell/taste different with more blood sugar.

I remember hearing a story where the person was going hiking or camping or something with their family. Everyone was getting bitten by mosquitos, except for the mother who had recently gone through chemo and was left completely untouched the whole time
Not really new info.
- please accept my humblest of apologies 🤗

Anecdotal, but I think there's some kind of immunity component. My parents grew up in a mosquito infested country. When we visited said country, us kids were bitten up while my parents were fine. If it was genetics, you think it would've been passed on to us. The locals commonly joked that mosquitos like "new blood." You could see tourists with itchy red bite reactions while the locals were fine.

I get a welt for about the first half-dozen bites in the spring, then I don't react for the rest of the year. I think there's a histamine response that gives up after a while.
Not really new info. Heard this before.
- I'm confused by your title and responses. Was there some document somewhere that we were to read to familiarize ourselves with what you already know before we post?

Veritassium did a quit good video on this here

I had a friend who would catch them out of the air and eat them, said it kept them from biting him.

I don't know. If I am outside with others (like on the porch or in the yard - not counting wilderness areas where they are aggressive) I don't get bitten but if I am alone they do bite me.

I do run cold, can stay cool in warm weather, don't sweat easily, and I breathe quite slowly. So my money is on warmth and CO2 as the biggest factors. Other people are probably louder and distract them away from me.

ETA This was interesting too, maybe you really are mosquito bait.

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/the-chemistry-of-mosquito-attraction

holy shit your buddy sounds unhinged
- Which is why he is left alone and hence is a relevant answer.

The most recent research I can find is from 2019 that showed significant preferred on O type.

https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/aje.20190302.13/5027f7c4-a753-4b62-84fa-4962a2831d76/nny6

I am O+ and have heard this but also seen studies that proved it was unrelated.
- Studies newer than this 2019 one?

get tested for diabetes; you're probably not diabetic but an astoundingly large portion of the population is pre-diabetic.

I have been tested but not diabetic. Not sure there is a correlation there as I have always been susceptible since childhood. I don’t drink either.

~~Are you blood group O? Mosquitoes seem to have a preference for certain blood types, specifically group O.~~

Seems like the paper was missinterpreted by a news article and by myself.

source

(P<0.05; 0.00) seems incidental with the study size and honestly I can't see how could they smell the blood type.

(I'm not saying they can't, I'm saying I would like to know how.)

I'm saying it may be incidental because the paper doesn't define if the population from where mosquitoes fed had a higher or lower O-type density, nor their distribution.
- This guy mosquitoes.
- Yes, you're absolutely right.
  
  I read the claim about the correlation between mosquito bites and blood type in a news article where this paper was linked as the source. This teaches me (again) to not blindly trust any news articles without verifying the information.
  
  Thanks for pointing it out.

There's some reports that the interaction of soaps and shampoos influence how tasty a person smells, so it might be worth trying different products.

https://www.prevention.com/health/a43863971/different-soaps-may-make-you-more-attractive-to-mosquitoes/

Interesting article. Not sure about the soap thing as I have a coconut body wash and they still love me. But I have used all kinds of soaps over the decades (I’m old) and they have always bitten me. Going to try some new soaps.
- There's definitely the genetic component too, but the scents from soap is an interesting thing to test out.
  
  And for what it's worth some types of oil of lemon eucalyptus works reasonably well, if you don't want to use DEET. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/insect-repellent/oil-of-lemon-eucalyptus-insect-repellents-a7989538414/
  
  Some friends really like this stuff "Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent2 Pump" and consumer reports also thinks it works pretty well.

Completely anecdotal but one summer I took B vitamins and they left me alone. Maybe not new info, and I've never bothered to try again, however my BO did smell noticeably different. I too am a mosquito magnet for life. B vitamins are water soluble to I THINK, so kind of no harm in them.

Thanks. Very interesting.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2023&q=mosquito+preference&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5

Not sure what you're looking for with 'new information', but here's a link to a Google Scholar search with a variety of articles published in the last year.

Just skimming it, gut microbiome, surface temperature, and age are all factors.

Mosquitoes literally when they suck my blood. It doesn't happen often but I make sure to let them bite me so I can watch them suffer.