Blotto on beer? Then you had better watch out for mosquitoes.

According to several international studies, drinking beer can make you more susceptible to mosquito bites — and it’s not because the loathsome summer suckers are itching to imbibe.

“Alcohol tends to warm your skin and mosquitoes are very attracted to warmth,” James Heal, a researcher with the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Sciences, told CTV Kitchener.

“That’s how they find the landing spot where the blood is.”
But that’s not the only reason they’re abuzz for boozers, Heal says.

“Beer is putting out bubbles of carbon dioxide and that’s what attracts mosquitoes to us, because we breathe out carbon dioxide.”

Carbonated alcoholic beverages like cider and sparkling wine also have the same effect, and according to Heal, mosquitoes can detect carbon dioxide from up to 50 metres away.

Boisterous boozy behaviour, the researcher adds, only promotes the pesky problem.

“Mosquitoes are attracted to movement. I mean, they don’t want to suck on a rock. They’re not going to get any blood, right? … So they find you by your movement.”