Mosquitoes suck, literally! Let's get rid of them with these natural ways to control mosquitoes and make your yard and garden a more pleasant place to be.
One of the unfortunate realities of a balmy summer night is mosquitoes. Their buzzing and biting can ruin a great barbeque and you may not want to or may be unable to wear the store bought chemical laden aerosol that promises to ward them off. There are some plants you can set out and several things you can do to cut down on their numbers and keep your skin clear of their big read welts.
Natural Mosquito Control
Here are a few ways to reduce mosquitoes in your yard. All are natural and enhance your landscape and gardens.
Citronella
The most popular and well known plant for deterring mosquitoes, Citronella belongs to the geranium family. Contrary to common belief the plant itself does not deter mosquitoes but when the leaves are crushed and oil released they are most effective and when rubbed on the skin they provide a gentle and mild deterrent.
Herbs
Basil, Lemongrass, Lemon Balm,Rosemary, and Catnip are reported to be an effective repellent. They are also all fantastic container plants so they can be moved easily to wherever you are. Set big pots out on the table and all around your patio area. Not only are they effective they are pretty, and delicious, their strong scents that we love are what make them so unappealing to mosquitoes.
Marigolds
Many know that planting marigolds in a vegetable garden will help avoid pests, but the plant is also good at detracting mosquitoes from surrounding areas.
Geraniums
Pretty and heavily scented Geraniums are one of the main ingredients in over the counter sprays. Plant throughout your garden and in pots around your porch.
Garlic
The strong smell of this tasty cooking ingredient deters buzzing pests. As a bonus you have the benefit of fresh garlic in your garden.
Bats
Consider installing a bat house or two, bats eat mosquito's and can significantly cut down their population numbers. Call your co-operative extension office, sometimes they sell them for a very reasonable price.
Clean Up
The number one thing you can do to cut down on mosquito's is to clean up a few areas on your yard. Mosquito's love moisture, so make sure that you have no standing water- buckets near the shop, baby pools not in use but full of water, stopped up gutters, old tires etc. This is a breeding ground for mosquito's and where they lay their eggs.
If you have standing bodies of water like ponds that cannot be emptied you can pick up BT-Baccilus thuringiensis israelensis, it is a natural bacterium that kills the mosquito larvae but is nontoxic to people and fish. You can find it at home improvement stores in the garden department.
Another place ideal for mosquitoes is tall grass, bushes, and weed patches. These areas tend to also hold water and moisture making them a perfect hideout for them. Keep your grass cut short and all weeds and bushes trimmed well to make them feel unwelcome in your yard.
I hope these tips help, enjoy your summer.
Mel says
Great tips! We live on a lake, so it's hard to control the mosquitoes by us, but I bet these ideas will at least help somewhat!
Kelsey Apley says
Thank you!! I will have to try some of these, I hate mosquito's! We have them pretty bad most years!
Sandra (at) Coasahmom (dot) com says
I honestly didn't know that about Marigolds and I love them! Thanks for the tips!
Theresa @ Faith and Family Reviews says
Great tips! I have to remember these when and if we have time to plant "extras" after our CSA obligations.
Hanan says
I didn't know certain flowers helped repel mosquitoes. Good to know, thanks!
annie says
I love these ideas! All except....the bats. I don't know if I could invite bats to live at my house.....*shiver*
HilLesha says
It was good not being bothered by these pests for a few years (I thought they had somehow disappeared, lol). However, last year was the worst! Thanks for the wonderful tips.
Beth says
We need to hang the bat house for sure. Mosquitos love me the most it seems :/
Karen Coutu says
What great tips! I get bitten by mosquitoes more than anyone else in my family, so I'll have to try a few of these tricks. 😀
Donna says
Oh, thank you for these! I detest mosquitoes and was looking for some natural ways to control them.
Lisa says
I'm going to have to try this
Toni says
I am going to have to do a lot of these. We get mosquitos pretty bad here in florida.
Ashley - Embracing Beauty says
What great tips!! I hate those little critters!
furpurr says
WONDERFUL, natural tips!! Thank you for these!! ~ I do want to mention something seen throughout the post, which is a super "pet peeve": inappropriately putting an apostrophe before an "s"!! Unless it is to show possession, or the word is a contraction, there should be no apostrophe. In this case, the "s" denotes the plural, so just mosquitoes. 😉 ~ But otherwise... as i said, terrific post!!
Robin Gagnon says
Oops, the editor should be fired... lucky for me I'm the editor. Thanks for the heads up, can't believe I didn't notice that when proofreading (it was all over the place).
StacieinAtlanta says
I hate mosquitos. My husband would like to declare war on them with a flamethrower, standing in the backyard like some kind of warrior holding back the mosquito apocalypse. I think we will try the natural repellants first though....I'm not sure how well the flamethrower thing would go with the neighbors lol.
Liz Mays says
I didn't know that about geraniums and marigolds. That is good, good news!
Tammy Litke (@threedifferent) says
Thanks for that list. I knew about citronella but not about the others. We are looking forward to entertaining on our back deck this summer and I need some good ways to keep the mosquitoes at bay!
Shell Feis says
We don't have mosquitos here, but I am sending this to my sister who lives in the midwest &definitely has them!
Anne - says
Thanks! I'm going to get some of these plants to place around my patio!
Michelle says
Thanks for this! We definitely live in mosquito land and just moved into a place with a really nice back yard so I'm going to have to use some of these tips for sure.
Jen - Life With Levi says
Living in the land of 10,000 lakes means lots of mosquitos. Bookmarking this list!
Angela says
Thanks for these ideas for mosquito control. They'll be out in full force soon.
Sheri says
Great tips! They really can make it miserable to be outside if they're bad.
Marcie W. says
I feel like mosquitoes are not a big issue here in Las Vegas due to our desert climate and lack of water, but I always like learning natural solutions to common problems, even if it is just to pass on to friends.
Penelope Guzman says
I think I need to plant a lot more basil, and get some rosemary out there in my yard too!
Robin Gagnon says
I just put in rosemary & geranium on the side of my gazebo. I'll be filling the planters with marigolds soon.