Dutch scientists have discovered that mosquitoes prefer the blood of people who have knocked back a few brews. A team of researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands set out to see why some people attract more mosquito bites than others. To get to the bottom of the insect’s apparent preference for red ale, researchers brought thousands of female mosquitoes to a music festival and set up a pop-up lab. After recruiting 500 revelers from the event, they asked questions pertaining to diet, hygiene and behavior. The human guinea pigs then placed their arms in a custom-made box full of bloodsucking mosquitoes that had tiny holes so they could smell but not bite. Researchers then used cameras to record how many mosquitoes landed on the arms of the volunteers and how long they stayed there, compared to the sugar feeder on the other side of the cage. The results were then analyzed against the volunteers’ questionnaire answers. Researchers found that those who drank beer were 1.35 times more attractive to the vampiric critters than those who didn’t. It’s not the alcohol that appeals to the mosquitoes — their attraction is purely rooted in scent. That’s why things like sunscreen and body odor also make people good targets. Studies have shown that the pesky creatures are so drawn to body odor that they can find people from 350 feet away once they get a whiff. So, if you plan to be outside and want to enjoy a mosquito-bite-free day, shower, skip the sunscreen, and drink soda.
