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These 7 things make mosquitoes bite you more

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sookie/Flickr

Does it seem like mosquitoes search you out specifically, maniacally biting you just to make you miserable?

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Blame your genetics.

And your smelly feet.

Basically, mosquitoes choose their prey (you) based on a whole bunch of factors.

Many myths exist, for example, the idea that eating bananas can repel the bugs doesn't hold up.

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But, scientific research has found evidence supporting the following:

These studies were on several different kinds of mosquitoes, so the actual things attracting mosquitoes to you may vary, depending what species are near you.

There are actually over 3,000 species of mosquito, and some of them can transmit deadly diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue, Chikungunya, and West Nile, which combined kill more than 700,000 people a year worldwide.

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Currently, the West Nile virus kills about a hundred Americans a year, and Chikungunya and dengue were passed from person-to-person in the US (by mosquitoes) for the first time in 2014.

So while it's nice to avoid the bugs because they're extremely annoying, and their bites are itchy and can get infected, avoiding them can also help slow the spread of deadly diseases.

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