Have you ever been downwind from someone applying a mosquito repellent spray? Catching a mouthful of chemicals is never fun. While chemical repellents are pretty effective, you may be wishing for a natural mosquito repellent for your yard.
Ditch the Chemicals
While chemical mosquito repellents disperse mosquitoes, they don’t exactly attract humans. It is easy to see how they are effective, as their pungent chemical smell can be quite deterring to us humans as well. On the other hand, some plants produce natural aromas through essential oil dispersion that can help mask your scent to mosquitos and confuse them. Most of these plants will also come with added benefits. Your yard will smell great, your food will taste great, and these plants can also help give your yard a beautiful natural aesthetic.
12 Plants that Deter Mosquitoes:
- Floss Flower
- Citronella Geranium
- Peppermint
- Citronella
- Lavender
- Basil
- Catnip
- Lemon Balm
- Citrosum
- Mint
- Sage
- Marigolds
These plants have been proven to emit smells and oils that can either mask your scent or are unpleasant to mosquitoes. Your current mosquito repellent spray may contain some of the natural oils secreted from these plants. Extracts from citronella are a common ingredient for commercial chemical repellents.1
Most of these plants have additional characteristics that can be of further use to you:
Natural Beauty
Give your yard a beautiful natural appearance. Floss flowers, citronella geraniums, lavender, and marigolds can brighten up your yard with beautiful hues of purple and yellow.
Natural Perfumes
Plants such as lavender can give your yard a wonderful aroma, which mosquitoes happen to hate. Lavender gives off a soothing scent to humans, but this same smell is a natural deterrent to mosquitoes, flies, and moths.
Culinary Uses
Other plants mentioned above, including basil, mint, peppermint, and sage, are multi-use plants. These not only deter mosquitoes, but they can even garnish and season your food in the kitchen!
Treat Your Pet
We all know cats love catnip. This plant produces a chemical called nepetalactone that attracts cats and repels insects. Be careful, though, as your cat may never want to leave your yard.
Invasive Plants
While most of these plants provide multiple benefits, it is important to note that one of these species is invasive and should be planted carefully. Lemon balm is this species. It can be hard to limit this ever sprouting plant to one spot of your yard. If you decide on including this in your mosquito-repellant endeavors, you may want to consider planting the lemon balm in containers to limit spreading.
Further Steps
Adding these plants to your garden will have a noticeable effect on the mosquito population outside of your home. If the problem persists, you can take an additional step by removing certain plants that attract mosquitoes. Mosquitoes love dark, humid areas and may take refuge from the sun underneath trees. We recommend consulting with a certified arborist who can advise you on the trees in your yard that may be harboring mosquitoes. You may opt to remove such trees. A less drastic solution to consider besides tree removal is tree pruning services to limit mosquitoes gathering underneath your tree’s foliage. Contact us today for further help in pest removal or general lawn care and design inquiries.
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