Ever since I was a little girl, I seem to attract insects like flies to horses. My parents would pack up my siblings and I, along with a camping trailer and boat, every weekend during the summer to water ski on a private lake. By Monday morning I would be covered with bites from mosquitoes, horse flies, deer flies, and ants. Now that I am living in the south, there are still more insects to contend with. My encounter three weeks ago, with chiggers, has been exacerbated by things I have yet to identify. I keep waking up each morning with new bites. I have even had bites on my bites. I have not been able to determine if they are fleas, or more chiggers, or ants, or spiders – or heaven forbid – bed bugs. Worse still, I do not know where they are coming from. Is it the bed? Are they lurking in my new rugs? Did they hitch hike in on my clothes? I have had some bites from mosquitoes and gnats that have found their way into the house. A few of them met their demise beneath the weight of my hand.
Clearly, these insects do not discriminate by age or gender. Some people will swear that if you eat garlic and onions, or rub eucalyptus all over your body before you head outdoors, the insects will leave you alone. I have found the only way that I can prevent (most) bites is to cover myself from head to toe, tuck my pant legs into my socks, and avoid standing water. In spite of that, they will often bite me through my clothing.
Why is it that some people are hardly bothered at all by insects? I have a new theory. If blood was your only diet, might your taste buds be more selective? Human beings can have as many as eight different blood types. They can be A, B, AB, or O. They can also be either RH negative, or RH positive. Would each of these taste differently to a blood sucking connoisseur? Is it possible that people with certain blood types simply taste yummier to insects? Do you suppose that there has ever been a study to support my theory? If my theory is correct, then there is little I can do to discourage insects from dining on me since I am stuck with the blood type that I was born with. We live in a world where we either eat – or we are eaten. Frankly, if I am going to become a meal, I prefer to be eaten by a large carnivore that can finish me off in one sitting, rather than by an insect enjoying a blood tasting.
