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‘Think mozzies don’t like you? Time to think again!’

Published: December 4, 2017

With plenty of rain in many parts of the country and summer upon us, the endless grey nomad battle with mosquitoes is about to ratchet up another gear.

While being infected with a disease like Ross River fever may be the major fear, the prospect of having to end an idyllic campfire evening early due to the buzzing hordes is a major irritation factor for caravanners and motorhomers.

It often seems that some people are much more susceptible to mozzie bites than others, but – according to the experts – it’s simply that they have a lesser reaction to them.

“When a mosquito finds the person or animal to bite, she will inject saliva and we all react to that saliva differently, the same way we react to chemical or food allergens,” said Dr Cameron Webb, a clinical lecturer at the University of Sydney.  “People who don’t react badly may think they haven’t been bitten as much as their friends, but they actually have.”

Dr Webb told the ABC that even people who didn’t think they were a magnet for mosquitoes, needed to take precautions to avoid bites.

“As a long-range attractant, mosquitoes can smell the carbon dioxide we breathe out, and if you think about it, that’s the one common denominator between warm-blooded animals — whether it’s a bird, a cow or a kangaroo,” he said. “Research of lactic acid in sweat shows it’s a key mosquito attractant, particularly for a human-biting species.”

And Dr Webb told the ABC that, other than using repellent, there’s not a great deal that travellers can do to protect themselves from mosquitoes … and there is no evidence that proves there’s something you can eat or drink to stop being bitten by mosquitoes.

“No, not even eating garlic, or swallowing vitamin B supplements,” he said.

• How do you deal with the mozzie menace on the road? Comment below