By Erika Baltrus/Special to e-KNOW

Maybe it’s just me but this seems to be one of the worst years for mosquitoes that I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t help that I apparently smell delicious to the blood-sucking creatures. My friends joke that they don’t need to wear the foul smelling DEET repellant when I’m around because the mosquitoes seem to only want to devour me. I’ve spent most of my summer (and I use the term summer loosely since I’ve barely been able to catch a glimpse of the sun this season between thunderstorms and torrential rain) flailing about, smacking myself in an effort to stop the mozzies from sucking me dry. I wouldn’t mind borrowing an extra arm or two from Vishnu.

I try not to complain too much. This is just my lot in life, being irresistible and all. But then I read a study conducted by scientists at the IRD Research Centre in France, and now I’m mad.

Let me backtrack a little. I like beer. A cold beer after a long day of work, while flipping burgers on a barbeque outside, is one of the best parts of a Canadian summer (again, see aforementioned comment about our current lack of summer).

When I’m outside having a delicious barley sandwich, I barely even notice that high pitched buzz of a female mosquito scoping me out. But this study has found that the very beer that makes me less concerned about being eaten alive, is actually attracting more mosquitoes.

The study, published in Plos One, found that the insects are 15% more likely to fly towards humans after they have consumed a pint or two. The scientists gave one litre of their local brew to 25 males from West Africa, before seeing how many mosquitoes would fly upwind towards them. The insects were given the option of flying towards open air or the human odour of the participant. Before participants drank the beer, only 50 per cent of mosquitoes flew toward the participant’s odour. After a beer, the number rose to 65 per cent.

The funny thing is that my decreased reaction to mosquitoes after a pint or two may be part of the reason they go after me. The researchers wrote, “Mosquitoes may have evolved preferences for people who recently consumed beer – possibly due to reduced host defensive behaviours or highly-nutritious blood-meals.”

So, what are my options to avoid being a mosquito’s next meal? I can stay inside all summer, or soak myself in DEET and not drink beer. I choose neither. I suppose I will just have to get used to being a live blood donor. Circle of life, and all.

Erika Baltrus is a displaced person – a B..C native who currently is living in Calgary but her itchy feet don’t let her stay in one location long. To date she’s visited 28 countries and has moved at least 25 times in her short life. Being a transient vagabond has also led her down several career paths. To name a few, she’s worked as a lifeguard, swimming instructor, marketing coordinator, event manager, scuba dive master, waitress, barista, college sports coordinator, and journalist. Currently she works as both a sales manager for a microbrewery and a Primary Care Paramedic; the randomness of this doesn’t escape her. Her wandering ways have given her a little bit of knowledge about a lot of things, but not a lot about anything, as her articles will likely show.

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