Drink Less This Summer in Montana and You Won’t Get Eaten Alive

MAN, AM I ITCHY. I navigated my way through a couple of swarms of mosquitoes over the weekend. I am surprised I am alive to tell the story. It is the time of year we spend the most amount of time outside. Unfortunately, nature's biggest killer also enjoys summer days.

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If you are like me, you enjoy a cocktail around the campfire. And, you always wonder "Why am I being bombarded by mosquitoes and nobody else is?" I always joked that I must be the "sweetest person" because of how I attract bees and mosquitos. But, no one ever believes me. Maybe it is simply because I reek of booze. Maybe mosquitos have a taste for "bloody marys?" The Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association did a study that was covered on Lifehacker.com on the effects of alcohol and mosquito bites.

According to Lifehacker.com:

Turns out mosquitoes like getting a little tipsy, because after just one beer, there was a significant increase in mosquito landings. They haven't determined what it is exactly about the drink that mosquitoes find so tantalizing, but if you're prone to bites, imbibing at your backyard barbecue could up your chances. Things like movement, an increase in body heat, and carbon dioxide production—burps—can increase their draw as well.

Less beer and fewer burps? That could be a tough one, especially with the temperatures getting hotter. The wet spring we experienced here in Montana has resulted in the perfect breeding conditions for those little bloodsuckers, getting so bad that visible clouds of skeeters can be seen floating on the wind.