Are you a mosquito's favorite food? Why some people get bitten more often than others

No backyard Texas barbecue is complete without them: grilled burgers, cold, juicy watermelon, and probably a few itchy, red mosquito bites. But if you're something of a “mosquito magnet,” you may find that you get more bites than others.

If this sounds familiar, rest assured that it is not all in your head. Science says that some people really more attractive to mosquitoes than others for a various reasons.

Sonja Swiger, a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University, spoke to the Standard about how mosquitoes choose their dinner and why some humans are tastier than others. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity:

Texas Standard: Well, first of all, we should remind people that only the female mosquitoes bite. They need those blood meals to lay eggs. But can you explain how these girls find us? Do they smell us or do they have some kind of heat vision?

Sonja Swiger: Well, it's something like that, isn't it? They have a way of knowing if a host is nearby. It's a kind of sensory perception that's similar to the sense of smell.

But a lot of it has to do with CO2 production. That's the first thing they look for. And of course humans and other mammals give off CO2, and that's what they detect. And then temperature plays a role too.

So what does science say about why some people are more susceptible to mosquito bites than others? Am I breathing harder or is my body temperature higher?

You know, possibly. I don't know if we've directly tied it down to why you're more attractive and why you're not. We can just sort of find a solution to why some people can be more attractive than others.

I'm also someone who's really attractive, so am I one of those people who emits more CO2? Possibly. Maybe it is. Maybe I have a nice scent that they really want to chase.

In fact, there is still a lot to discover to find out what exactly it is that makes them desire you more than another person.

» BUG BITES: More insights into the world of creepy crawlies we know and love

I've heard that it could be a matter of blood type – there are actually types of blood that taste better. Have you ever looked into this?

I don't personally. But there are researchers who did this study and they found that people with blood type O were bitten more often than others. But it was only a little bit more often than if you had blood type B or blood type A/B. You know, there are all these different interactions.

However, they found the Type A group the least attractive. So does that mean that if you're Type A, you won't get bitten? Probably not. It may just mean that someone around you who is Type O gets bitten more often than you.

I also feel like I'm living proof that this isn't true because I'm type A. Well, I love bananas, and I've heard that could be a factor too – what you eat. Is that something I should change? Does diet contribute to what attracts mosquitoes?

You know, there are studies that show that your diet can play a role in this. It's always been kind of like, “Oh, if I eat this, they won't come and bite me.” But it's unique in that bananas may make you more attractive.

Personally, I wouldn't give up bananas because of this. There are other things we can do to avoid mosquito bites, so we don't have to give up healthy foods or things we really like. However, there is evidence that even people who eat more garlic than others can repel mosquitoes better than people who don't eat much garlic. But again, there are so many factors at play here.

So if you're already very attractive and you're eating all these things, is that enough to make up for the fact that you're already attractive to mosquitoes? Or not? I can't say 100% that if you eat more garlic you won't get bitten anymore, but there may be things that make you more attractive to mosquitoes.

Of course, there are ways we can all protect ourselves from mosquito bites. There are mosquito repellent products, you can wear long sleeves and long pants – loose clothing. You should avoid the hours when mosquitoes are most active. What else should we recommend? Should we go out and get garlic pills?

If you want. I don't know if I'll jump on that bandwagon because I don't want the garlic smell around, but there are other things you can do.

Prevention is of course the most important thing. Avoid being outside during the times when mosquitoes are most active. And of course that is not always easy. But if you have the opportunity, definitely do it.

Make sure you close your doors and windows at night and put up screens if you leave them open, because mosquitoes will always come into your house. And sometimes you know they're there, sometimes you don't, and they'll bite you later. So you don't want that either.

But there are so many repellents on the market. Deet and Picaridin are the most effective at keeping the mosquitoes away from you. And then there are a lot of products these days that you can take outside on the porch that are supposed to keep the mosquitoes away from you, or they're some sort of trap that leads the mosquitoes to the trap and not to you.