When infection alters host behaviour such that the pathogen benefits, the behaviour is termed a manipulation. There are several examples of this fascinating phenomenon in many different systems. Vector-borne diseases are no exception. In some instances, as the term implies, pathogens directly interfere with host processes to control behaviour. However, host response to infection and host physiology are likely to play important roles in these phenotypes. We highlight the importance of considering host response and physiology from recent work on altered host-seeking in malaria parasite-infected mosquitoes and argue that this general approach will provide useful insights across vector-borne disease systems.