The Colors That Make You a Mosquito Magnet in Minnesota

I don’t know about you, but it feels like mosquitoes are extra relentless this year. I was sitting at the the Riverside music series over the weekend, and you could actually see swarms of the little buggers hovering in the air.

Even armed with a citronella candle and enough bug spray to fumigate a small cabin, I still felt like I had an “All You Can Eat” sign taped to my back.

There’s a reason for that: this summer, Minnesota is dealing with one of its worst mosquito seasons in years. The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District says cattail mosquitoes, the ones that LOVE people, are flying around at nearly four times last year’s numbers - a five-year high, according to FOX 9.

Not only have they been thicker than usual, but MMCD warns that Minnesota and much of the Midwest face an elevated risk for West Nile virus this year. And that risk tends to increase in late summer.

So besides slathering on bug spray, lighting citronella, and setting up fans, what else can you do? Believe it or not, your wardrobe might be part of the problem. Research shows mosquitoes are drawn to certain colors more than others, so what you wear could be making you a bigger target.

Check out this gallery to see the hues mosquitoes flock to... and more importantly, the ones they avoid:

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But wait, there's more, keep scrolling to see what plants are natural mosquito repellent.

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