Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- This article suggests armpits - but more so - feet & even your footwear could be the main attraction. Even in your home, if mosquitoes can get in, you may do well to keep your feet clean and your dirty socks locked up tight (or at least away from you).
Cheesy feet aren’t just an embarrassment – understanding the stench could save lives. David Robson delves into the strange ecosystems between your toes.
- by David Robson - BBC Future - 31 July 2015
Excerpts:
. . . Dutch scientist Bart Knols was one of the first to notice that certain species of malaria-carrying mosquitoes are attracted to the smells wafting from our feet.
His work has since inspired many of Smallegange’s latest studies at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
She has found, for instance, that the malaria parasite seems to alter the mosquitoes’ sense of smell so that they are even more attracted to smellier feet, swarming to worn socks like bees to a flower bed. . . .
. . . It’s a devious mechanism that leads the malaria’s host to home in on potential victims . . . .
. . . Smallegange has also examined whether the particular combination of smell-producing bacteria on feet can alter your chances of being bitten; as you might expect, those hosting more Staphylococcus tend to be more attractive.
Attempts to combat those bacteria could therefore offer some protection against the deadly disease. . . .
. . . Alternatively, the siren call of the odour could be used to bait mosquito traps. One idea has been to bait traps with used socks; they seem to maintain their allure for at least 8 days after wear. . . .
[Full article at link above.]
[ 08-02-2015, 03:18 AM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
Excuse me, just so we are clear, my feet don't stink. They are sometimes black on the bottoms from going barefoot all the time, but no smell.
Not so with some of my family members though. Ewwwwwwwweeeeeeee!
But, they don't get eaten alive by mosquitoes, and I do! Either their feet smell so bad even a mosquito turns up its nose, or mine do smell and I can't tell!
Thanks for giving me something else to worry about Keebler!
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