Mosquitoes are a common pest for homeowners. They can quickly ruin picnics or other outdoor events and can easily find their way into your home. In addition to being a nuisance, mosquitoes carry significant health risks. Bites can easily become infected and transmit a variety of potentially serious diseases. At Pointe Pest Control, our pest professionals can help you eliminate this annoying and potentially dangerous problem. The following highlight some surprising ways you may be attracting mosquitoes to yourself and your home.

Five Ways You Could Be Attracting Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are a fact of life in the warm weather months. However, you may have noticed that you seem to be a particularly common target. If it appears mosquitoes pass by others in favor of biting you, it may be more than a mere coincidence.

There are several common characteristics that individual humans may exhibit that could serve to attract mosquitoes. These include:

Heavy breathing: When humans breathe, we exhale carbon dioxide. Mosquitoes are attracted to it and can detect it from more than 50 yards away. Some people breathe heavier than others, giving off more of the substance. Pregnant women often are heavy breathers, as are people who smoke or are overweight. If you are a runner or engage in other vigorous outdoor physical activities, you may notice more mosquitoes near you as a result of your panting.

Movement and sweat: In addition to heavy breathing, the increases in body heat as a result of physical movements and the perspiration you give off can also be attractive to mosquitoes. If you plan on engaging in hiking, jogging, swimming, or any other type of outdoor activities, be sure and use mosquito repellant.

Alcohol use: Perhaps you are in the habit of having a glass of wine on your patio after work or drinking a few beers with friends during a picnic. Unfortunately, studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicate that drinking increases the amount of ethanol in your sweat and can attract mosquitoes to you. A mosquito’s tendency to bite drinkers appears to be even more common after dark.

High cholesterol: Mosquitoes feed on blood and target victims using their sense of smell. People with high cholesterol appear to give off a scent that these pests find particularly appealing. Even eating spicy or pungent scented foods, such as garlic, can increase your likelihood of being a target.
Lack of podiatric care: According to the Spruce, there may be multiple benefits to taking care of your feet. Strangely enough, people who wear day-old socks or have problems with foot odors are more likely to be targeted by mosquitoes.

Even something as fundamental as your blood type may be making you a more likely candidate for mosquito bites. The National Library of Medicine reports that people with type O blood are among those most commonly bit.

Is Your Home a Haven for Mosquitoes?

Some of the qualities that attract mosquitoes to you are within your control while others are not. The same is true in terms of factors that may be attracting mosquitoes to your yard or home. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that mosquitoes are naturally drawn to wooded areas, waterways, and other wet, outdoor surroundings. If you live near these types of environments, mosquitoes are likely going to be a fact of life.

Regardless of where you live, mosquitoes can transmit a variety of different diseases. As a result, the CDC advises staying on top of simple tasks to keep them from invading areas in or around your home. Areas that could provide a haven for mosquitoes include:

Still, stagnant water in ponds or other yard water features;
Old tires, pots, and other debris, which can collect moisture and provide fertile mosquito breeding grounds;
Clogged gutters, which prevent rainwater from draining;
Heavy mulch and other trimmings that are allowed to accumulate around your home;
A lack of screens in windows and gaps in doorways, which allow mosquitoes easy entry inside.

Our Pest Control Professionals Help Eliminate Mosquito Problems

Mosquitoes can pose a significant health risk to you and your loved ones. At Pointe Pest Control, we can take the actions needed to keep your home and yard free of this nuisance. To discuss your options, call or contact our local mosquito control specialists online and request a free consultation today.