Research reveals why some people are constantly under attack from the bloodsucking insects, while others walk free.For those unfortunate enough to feature highly on the mosquito hit list, summer nights aresynonymous with mosquito bites. Yet others hardly ever get bitten. So how do the bloodthirstyinsects select their victims?The mosquito season gives rise to countless speculations about possible solutions to the age-oldmystery of mosquito preferences.

The insects’ tastes may seem arbitrary. However, research reveals that when mosquitoes maketheir choice between potential victims, it all comes down to scent.Mosquitoes are attracted by carbon dioxide and heat, which everyone gives off. But mosquitoesare also attracted by certain scents.Karl-Martin Vagn JensenAccording to Jensen, it has not yet been established exactly what the scents in question are. Butresearch does indicate that some scents are more attractive to mosquitoes than others.“All the lab employees rubbed petri dishes against their stomachs. In that way, their scents weredeposited on the dishes, which were then put in an enclosure full of mosquitoes,” he says.“The mosquitoes repeatedly landed on some of the petri dishes, but didn’t go anywhere near theothers. “The experiment is one of several to squash one of the many myths concerning the unfortunateart of mosquito attraction.The theory about vitamin B has been tested very, very thoroughly, and it doesn’t hold.While some believe that it is in fact sour blood that keeps the insects at bay, or that themosquitoes can detect blood disease, others are convinced that vitamin B provides protectionagainst mosquitoes.The only reliable method of protection against mosquitoes is to use one of the effective repellentsthat are sold over the counter.Mosquito repellent contains some smells that confuse the mosquitoes. The first thing a mosquitodoes when looking for prey is to see if there are any animals or people in the vicinity.