Myth No. 1: If you eat bananas, you’ll attract more mosquitoes. (吃香蕉會(huì)吸引更多的蚊子)

Not True (錯(cuò)):? According to entomologist Taz Stuart, bananas will likely not have any effect on your attractiveness to mosquitoes, unless your body reacts to all of the potassium in the bananas by making lactic acid. Mosquitoes can sense lactic acid, so they feast on tired and sore muscles.

Myth No.2: If you wear the colour yellow, you’ll attract more mosquitoes. (穿黃顏色會(huì)吸引更多的蚊子)

Not True (錯(cuò)): Mosquitoes can’t see colour, but they can pick up on shades of grey, said Prof. Andrew Hebda. Generally they look for darker colours because dark colours absorb heat and they are constantly monitoring for heat-emitting objects, like delicious warm-blooded humans. Wearing a light colour like yellow will actually help keep them away. However, some species of mosquitoes don’t care what colour you’re wearing.

Myth No.3: Some people are immune to mosquitoes. (有些人被蚊子咬沒(méi)有反應(yīng))

True (對(duì)): When a mosquito bites, it injects an anticoagulant, which is in its saliva, into your blood so it doesn’t clot. In most people, the immune system will respond to the mosquito’s saliva, which is what makes the bite itchy, but some people’s immune system doesn’t do that. If you’re bitten enough, you can eventually build up a mosquito resistance and stop reacting.

Myth No.4: Mosquitoes like to congregate near cedar trees. (蚊子喜歡在雪松旁邊聚集)

Maybe True (有可能是對(duì)的): This is unlikely since cedars produce smells that generally repel insects. But Mr. Stuart says that some species (there are about 200 different kinds of mosquitoes in Canada) do have specific breeding habits. All mosquitoes breed in the air, he pointed out, and it is possible that some like to mate near cedars.

Myth No.5: Ingesting vitamin B12 helps repel mosquitoes. (吃維他命會(huì)幫助防蚊子)

Not True (錯(cuò)): Taking B12 does nothing to change the amount of carbon dioxide you’re exhaling, and that is the main thing attracting mosquitoes.