Smelly feet could be attracting mosquitoes
JACKSON, Tenn. — Mosquitoes are common in the summer, but experts say if you’re smelly, you’ll actually attract more of them. “They’re attracted to smells, and that can be all kinds of smells coming from your body,” said Scott Stewart, entomologist with the University of Tennessee. This includes the odor of sweating feet. Science tells us there are about 600 sweat glands on our feet, and that’s more than the human armpit. “There’s a lot of bacteria that live on your body,” Stewart said. “When you excrete chemicals and sweat, those bacteria grow and feed on it and all of those different bacteria have their own smells.” That is exactly what makes mosquitoes zone in — the excess smells on those stinky feet. Whether one is clean or dirty, not everyone notices a difference in the amount of bug bites they get. “I haven’t really noticed it, especially here at the park,” said Jeromy Edwards. “If you go fishing or at the ball park or something like that, it seems there are always mosquitoes there, so I guess it’s possible.” “Usually I get bit more by mosquitoes when I’m just standing out here not really sweating, just chilling,” Kaya White said. “I get them on my legs and on my arms.” Smells are not the only thing that attracts mosquitoes. “They’re also attracted to movement,” Stewart said. “They’re attracted to heat. They tend to be attracted to dark colors.” He said the most effective way to prevent mosquito bites is to use repellents. Mosquitoes are most active early in the morning and late in the evening.
