Researchers Discover Link Between Beer Consumption and Increased Mosquito Bites

[Article initialement
publié le 15 septembre 2025]

The effects of alcohol on our body

It is known that the consumption of alcohol, including beer, has several effects on our body. The brain, the liver, or even the heart, all can be negatively impacted by alcohol.

But it turns out that drinking beer regularly has an unexpected effect: that of a mosquito magnet. Indeed, Dutch researchers have highlighted, in a study published on August 26, 2025 in the journal bioRxivthis alcoholic drink has the particularity of making our blood sweeter.

To do this, the research team from Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, decided to bring female mosquitoes, more precisely Anopheles, a genus of mosquitoes from the family of Culicidae, at an annual music festival held in the Netherlands (Lowlands).

Mosquitoes are attracted to beer…

Phys.org reports that researchers have installed a pop-up laboratory in connected shipping containers in 2023. Inside, almost 500 people took part in the study, completing a questionnaire about their hygiene, diet and behavior during the festival.

The scientists then placed their arm in a cage filled with the mosquitoes mentioned above. Using a camera, they were able to observe the number of mosquitoes landing close to the skin compared to a sugar dispenser located on the adjacent side of the cage.

The results of this study showed that people who consumed beer in the 12 hours before the event were 1.35 times more likely to attract mosquitoes than those who did not consume beer, or 35% more.

…but not only

If the study showed that your beer consumption, remember, is a particularly popular drink in summer, it also revealed that other behaviors or habits could increase or decrease your chances of being bitten by a mosquito.

“Using our custom-made experimental setup, we found that mosquitoes are attracted to those who avoid sunscreen, drink beer and share beds. They simply have a soft spot for the hedonists among us.”the researchers said in the conclusion of their study.

While the consumption of other alcoholic beverages, such as wine, has not been linked to increased mosquito attraction, the fact that beer is may be explained by the effect it has on our skin.

“I think drinking alcohol can generate a stronger heat signature (due to dilation of blood vessels in the skin) or a stronger odor signature in the CO2 plume (not in the CO2 plume, but in the skin), which makes you an easier target for mosquito bites,” said Nigel Beebe, a mosquito expert and associate professor at the University of Queensland's School of Environment, in comments reported by New Atlas.

Sources: Phys.org/New Atlas