“What are plants mosquitoes don’t like?”
As a pest control company that provides mosquito control services, we like to equip our clients with as much knowledge as possible to get rid of mosquitoes. This can be a difficult task as these flying insects can travel from a neighboring property to yours. This impacts your efforts to control them. As with any pest management strategy, a holistic approach is best. This means a strategy that not only uses control materials for insects, but also addresses surrounding conditions and tries to naturally remedy as many factors as possible. This often called “Integrated Pest Management” or IPM, and you can read more about it here.
As a company that does both pest control and landscaping, we are also interested in finding mosquito-repellant plants. It doesn’t take long to find dozens of plant suggestions when reading magazine articles or perusing the web. Be wary of ads or articles that promise to send mosquitoes packing, never to return. Although there are many plants that can repel mosquitoes, it may not be as simple as you would hope. If mosquito control is one of your top priorities on your property, be sure to consult with a landscape contractor whose landscape designer knows how to position these plants. You’ll want them planted near where you will be spending a good amount of time outdoors.
How does landscaping help?
Some plants can repel mosquitoes, yes. How does this work? This happens effectively when large quantities of their leaves are crushed to release the substances within. That’s the stuff that mosquitoes detest. If feasible, you can crush these leaves on your skin and clothing to discourage these insects and avoid mosquito bites. Be sure when selecting plants you know what hardiness zone you live in, as many of the suggested plants you may find won’t survive the winter outdoors if you live in colder regions. These plants could be planted in pots and brought indoors over the winter, or planted each season.
The Plants Mosquitoes Don’t Like
Here are a few suggestions of mosquito repellant plants:
Basil: This culinary annual herb has been used as a medicinal remedy for thousands of years and will discourage mosquitoes.
Rose-scented monarda: This colorful perennial smells similar to roses and is highly repellant to mosquitoes. The essential oil within this plant is actually used in some commercial mosquito repellants on the market.
Catnip: This perennial mint has been concluded by some research facilities to be more effective than DEET. Some cats love catnip so if you have some neighborhood cats visiting your property, you may want to construct some wire exclusions to keep them from eating all of this plant.
Thyme: This common herb is used in cooking. It has also been alleged to repel mosquitoes as well or better than DEET.
Marigolds: These annuals do more than keep mosquitoes away! They can discourage other pests in the garden with their natural insecticides.
Lemon Grass: This medium-sized grass is sometimes used in cooking and will be helpful with controlling mosquitoes.
Rosemary: Varieties of Rosemary vary in growing characteristics and size but this culinary herb is not something mosquitoes like.
Next Steps
Using these plants in your landscaping design or in pots may give you some relief from mosquitoes. Be sure to eliminate standing water and excessively moist areas wherever possible as they are conducive environments for mosquito breeding. If mosquitoes are a big problem outdoors on your property also consider having a pest control company to spray for mosquito control.
Our Tick & Mosquito Control program can help to reduce this pest’s populations as it will address these breeding areas as well as treat vegetation where mosquitoes often rest. Applying mosquito control products around your property can help, and the more neighboring properties you can get to address this issue, the better shape you’ll be in. If you’d like to learn more about killing mosquitoes on your property, we’d love to talk with you more about these pest control services.