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There is nothing worse than sitting in the garden of a summer evening to find that you have been half eaten by mozzies.
You do not want to cover yourself in the DEET and you do not want to stay choked on the inside.
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So what are you supposed to do?
Scientists suggest that there might be a mild solution for retaining bloodthirsty mosquitoes without having to spray a lot of harmful chemicals.
According to a new study, sugar could actually be beneficial for health because it keeps parasites away.
The pbadion of mosquitoes for blood has had devastating effects on the human populations of many developing countries – from malaria to zika to yellow fever.
Only female mosquitoes feast on blood
Richard Halfpenny, a lecturer in biology at Staffordshire University, writes in The Conversation that "only female mosquitoes feed on blood because they provide the essential nutrients for their eggs."
Scientists involved in the new study found that "feeding sugar solutions of young tiger mosquitoes provoked a physiological response similar to that achieved after being fed blood".
"It's important to note that this later delayed their search for the red velvet blood of a human host," he explained.
Sugar makes them lose interest in the man
Interestingly, the researchers found that eating sugar increased the levels of protein called vitellogenin in mosquitoes.
"Vitellogenin is an important component in the production of egg yolk that provides nutrients to the offspring of the unborn mosquito.
"Normally, vitellogenin is produced when receptors detect specific nutrients that mosquitoes collect in blood meals."
As the protein increases, mozzies become less attracted to humans – and this discovery could lead scientists to come up with stronger deterrents.
Richard quickly points out that there is still a lot of work to be done.
"The mosquito sugar diet alone can not be used as a control method in the real world.
But only young mozzies love sugar
"There are many reasons for this, but the most important is that the effects of sugar on mosquito behavior can vary considerably, even within this single species."
Younger mozzies were less attracted to humans, but older women fed on sugar remained strongly attracted to human blood – which is not ideal.
When it comes to DIY prevention, it's up to you.
Sugar strengthens older mozzies
Richard says, "Leaving the sugar aside for mosquitoes can deter young mosquitoes from biting you, but this will make older mosquitoes stronger and could weaken the defenses of other mosquito species."
But he says scientists could possibly be able to genetically alter or treat tiger mosquitoes with hormones to increase their levels of vitellogenin.
And that could see sickness levels drop dramatically.
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"Since in most cases mosquitoes catch pathogens on their first meal, such control methods could significantly delay the mosquitoes' first blood meal, making them infective for a shorter period of time."
In the meantime, keep using the mosquito spray and wear long sleeves when going out in areas known to have whiskers.
Oh, and always check with your doctor if you need to take medicine to avoid problems like malaria while on vacation.
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