Some people are bitten more often than others during mosquito season in Virginia

MosquitoPhoto bylalit sehgalonUnsplash

The standard timeline for mosquitoes in Virginia is April to late September or early October, depending on when temperatures turn cooler.

There is nothing Virginians can do to keep mosquitoes from coming into their state. However, some things can be done to help control mosquitoes and keep them from biting.

This Week lists five things that make mosquitoes bite some people and not others.

1. Avoid alcohol

Consuming alcohol may make a person's blood tastier to mosquitoes.

2. Exercise

Susan Paskewitz, a University of Wisconsin-Madison entomology professor, tells the New York Times:

"The main things are how you smell and how hot you are. Body temperature, carbon dioxide in the breath, and chemicals like lactic acid all serve to paint a big, blinking arrow that tells mosquitoes exactly where their next meal is going to be."

3. Blood type

People with type O blood are much more susceptible to mosquito bites than other blood types. About 83% of the insects are more likely to quietly land on someone with type O blood than someone with type A, B, or AB.

MosquitoPhoto bySyed AlionUnsplash

4. Being a man

A report in the Annals of Internal Medicine discovered that men are more likely to be attacked by bugs than women are. The study states:

"Larger persons tend to attract more mosquitoes, perhaps because of their greater relative heat or carbon dioxide."

5. Pregnancy

A 2000 study in the Lancet found that women attract twice as many mosquitoes than women who are not pregnant.

To control mosquitoes

• Apply mosquito spray to your body in the morning or evening.
• Get your yard treated by a professional mosquito exterminator.
• Eliminate containers with water in them from your porch and patio.