![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mosquito_on_skin_(1).png\")
<\/p>\nTurns out, mosquitoes are attracted to bacteria on your skin<\/p>\n
Amelya Willcocks has no mosquito bites yet this summer.<\/p>\n
The 14-year-old told CBC Kids News it’s thanks to the fact that she’s been hanging out with her friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“She’s a mosquito magnet,” she said from Canada’s Wonderland, in Vaughan, Ontario.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Have you ever wondered why some people get bitten more than others?\u00a0<\/p>\n
To hear about how many times other kids visiting Wonderland have been bitten this summer, check out our video, then keep reading to find out why you might be a mosquito magnet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watch the video here:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Getting bit has to do with bacteria on your skin<\/p>\n
There are more than 80 species of mosquitoes in Canada, according to the government of Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only female mosquitoes bite people, according to Ben Matthews, assistant professor in the zoology department at the University of British Columbia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That’s because they need blood to nourish their eggs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“No blood, no eggs,” Matthews told CBC Kids News.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Female mosquitoes use blood as a source of protein for their eggs. (Image credit: Jack Leonard\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Female mosquitoes use sensory cues to find people. They’re attracted to carbon dioxide, a gas that humans exhale, as well as the heat our bodies give off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But if you’re standing next to your friend, why might the mosquito choose to bite you and not them?<\/p>\n
Mosquitoes start to pick up other smells that come from your body as they fly closer.<\/p>\n
They are especially attracted to odours produced from the bacteria on your skin, said Steve Whyard, a professor in biological sciences at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone has millions of bacteria living on their skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whyard said some people naturally give off scents that mosquitoes find more appealing than others.<\/p>\n
However, mosquitoes don’t have a sweet tooth for “sweet blood” \u2014 that’s a myth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Matthews, there is no link between the chemistry of your blood and whether a mosquito is going to bite you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They don’t reach your blood until after they’ve landed on your skin and started to bite you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“By that point, they’ve already decided that you’re a particularly tasty victim based on your smell,” said Matthews.<\/p>\n
How you can stay bite-free this summer<\/p>\n
There are a few things you can do to make sure mosquitoes buzz off.<\/p>\n
Both Matthews and Whyard recommend using insect repellent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Repellents containing chemicals such as DEET or picaridin are the most effective, they said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Mosquito](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mosquito_repellent_image_(1).png\")
<\/p>\n
Spraying yourself with mosquito repellent before going outside is an effective way to protect yourself from mosquitoes. (Image credit: Miguel Schincariol\/Getty Images).<\/p>\n
They also suggest wearing loose-fitted clothing that covers your skin, especially if you’re spending time outdoors around dawn or dusk, when mosquitoes are most active.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Matthews, mosquitoes aren’t strong flyers, so if you’re sitting outside, having a fan near you can keep them away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fortunately, mosquitoes in Canada don’t spread serious diseases, according to Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at the Toronto General Hospital in Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although some mosquitoes can carry the West Nile virus, Bogoch told CBC Kids News most people who become infected won’t develop any symptoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Check out these other videos:<\/p>\n
\ufeff\ufeffHave more questions? \ufeffWant to tell us how we’re doing? Use the “send us feedback” link below. \u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f<\/p>\n
TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Luis Robayo\/Getty Images, Kevin Naulls\/CBC, with graphic design by Krishen Persad\/CBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Turns out, mosquitoes are attracted to bacteria on your skin Amelya Willcocks has no mosquito bites yet this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":820822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,84],"class_list":["post-820821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=820821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/820822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=820821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=820821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=820821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}