We were visiting with neighbors up at the cabin in St. Louis County, Minnesota this last week. It was the holiday week of 4th of July, and the lake had tons of people at cabins visiting. Our neighbors had family from out-of-state and they commented on how badly they'd been swelling up from mosquito bites.

They said, "These non-natives just react so strongly to mosquito bites!" What normally would be a small itchy bite on a person born in Minnesota turns into a large red welt. How could this be?

Well, there's science behind it. It's probably why your young kids get so large bumps from skeeter bites.

When a mosquitoes bites you, it injects chemicals to numb the area where it's going to feed off of you. It also helps keep the blood flowing so they can fill up. The chemicals aren't what causes the itching.

Mosquito on human hand.
Jonathan Austin Daniels
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It's your body's immune system response and overreacting to the allergen. Just like if you suffer from pollen, it's your body's immune response that's giving you uncomfortable symptoms.

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YouTube channel Sci Show actually says it's possible to become immune to mosquito bites. It requires you to get bit thousands of times, but eventually, your body will adjust and no longer be allergic to it.

globalmoments
globalmoments
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Using that science, then it would make sense that people who are born and raised in Minnesota are likely less affected by mosquitos than someone visiting from a region that doesn't have them. (Lucky).

SciShow YouTube
SciShow YouTube
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Comments on the post support the theory and share their own immune history.

SciShow YouTube
SciShow YouTube
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So the bottom line is if you want to no longer get reactions from mosquito bites, just let them bite you and eventually, they won't bother you anymore. On the flip side, you'll still be susceptible to any diseases they might carry. Fortunately in Minnesota, we don't deal with too many deadly mosquito diseases.

Quiz: Do you know your state insect?

Stacker has used a variety of sources to compile a list of the official state insect(s) of each U.S. state, as well as their unique characteristics. Read on to see if you can guess which insect(s) represent your state. 

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