Mosquitoes Use Their Noses For Eyes!

We know that mosquitoes are attracted to human odor, but did you know that female mosquitoes actually have a second sensor that enables them to identify the difference between us humans and animals? Here’s an article on the study.

For female mosquitoes, two sets of odor sensors are better than one

Biologists who study the malaria mosquito’s ‘nose’ have found that it contains a secondary set of odor sensors that seem to be specially tuned to detect humans. The discovery could aid efforts to figure out how the insects target humans and develop a preference for them.

Researchers are still unsure as to why mosquitoes prefer our blood than that of other animals. Perhaps we just taste too good! There is however, some theory surrounding why mosquitoes like some of us more than others.

Body odor being the main attraction to these pests is cause for us all to disguise our own personal smells. Even if we can’t actually smell it ourselves, a mosquito sensor can pick us up from quite a distance.

Mosquitoes Use Smell to See Their Hosts

On summer evenings, we try our best to avoid mosquito bites by dousing our skin with bug repellents and lighting citronella candles. These efforts may keep the mosquitoes at bay for a while, but no solution is perfect because the pests have evolved to use a triple threat of visual, olfactory, and thermal cues to home in on their human targets

These critters use their noses for eyes!

With warmer weather on the horizon and the desire to spend more time outdoors, why not invest in mosquito control for your back yard, so that you can spend those summer evenings and weekends enjoying the open air buzz and bite free.