Fun Facts About Mosquitoes

WikiImages, Pixabay, Pixabay License

1. Only female mosquitoes bite people

Male mosquitoes can live off of plants, but females need to proteins in blood to help them prohduce eggs.

2. Their spit causes us to itch

The saliva from the mosquito when it draws our blood triggers a response from out immune system, giving us bump on our skin that's really itchy.

3. They LOVE carbon dioxide

Mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide. It is how they locate more bodies to bite.

4. There's a lot of them

There are 3000+ species of mosquitoes out in the world. But don't worry, only a couple hundred bite humans. Other species may bite other animals.

5. The CDC lists 6 chemicals that can be used to prevent mosquito bites

When getting insect repellent, make sure it contains one of these chemicals: DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), Para-menthane-diol (PMD), 2-undecanone