Warmer weather means more time outdoors for a lot of people, and that includes hosting outdoor gatherings and dining on restaurant patios. But if you plan to imbibe while you’re outside, you might want to bring some extra mosquito repellent. Turns out, those little blood suckers love beer as much as you do.
Drinking beer attracts mosquitos, and there’s not a whole lot you can do about that other than load up on bug spray.
Why exactly do mosquitos love beer, though? According to a study in the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, the ethanol contained in beer draws mosquitos to you and the beverage. Yes, they’re attracted to the beer itself, but once you start drinking beer and sweating (after all, it’s hot outdoors), the ethanol comes out through your sweat making you seem like a beer-drenched feast.
The worst part of all this? You don’t even need to consume that much beer for it to happen. While you might think you’d have to down a couple of bottles to draw mosquitos, it takes just one 12-ounce beer to increase the number of mosquitos coming your way.
Yes, you can always choose not to drink in order to avoid the pests, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, it’s probably best to grab some mosquito repellent and create an environment that makes them unwelcome. Mosquitos hate fans so keep one running nearby, and they’re also not fans of the scent of lavender so keep the essential oil close or plant lavender in your garden.
If you do happen to get bit, yes, it’s an itchy pain, but grab this handy bug-bite zapping tool to alleviate the itch.
