You are not imagining it: mosquitoes hunt by chemical signature - carbon dioxide output first (bigger bodies, exercisers, pregnant women draw more), then skin-bacteria compounds, blood type (O beats A in studies), and even beer and sweat.
The trait is stable - the same person gets targeted year after year - and no diet reliably changes it. In disease regions it raises the stakes for repellent discipline: EPA-registered DEET or picaridin, long sleeves at dawn and dusk, no standing water where you stay. Pymander's escalation routing is built and tested specifically for this class of decision; see the safety architecture working paper .
What to do
Common questions
Why do I get bitten by mosquitoes more than others?
You are not imagining it - mosquitoes hunt by chemical signature, and some people's signature is simply louder. The documented attractants: carbon dioxide output first - mosquitoes track CO2 plumes from tens of meters, so bigger bodies, exercisers, and pregnant women (higher output) draw more attention; then skin chemistry - the specific bacteria living on your skin produce compounds that species like Aedes find irresistible or repellent, and your microbiome is not interchangeable; blood type plays in (studies find Type O bitten more than A); and the wild cards - beer drinking and active sweat raise attractiveness measurably. The practical reads: "mosquito magnet" is a stable trait, not bad luck - the same person gets targeted year after year; nothing dietary reliably changes your signature; and the trait matters more in disease regions, where being the magnet raises your stakes for repellent discipline. The defense that works is unglamorous and proven: EPA-registered repellent on exposed skin (DEET or picaridin), long sleeves at dawn and dusk, and eliminating standing water where you stay. Your magnetism is chemistry, and chemistry can be covered.