Plants for a Mosquito free Yard

 Plants for a Mosquito free Yard!

If you want to control mosquitos so you can cut down or eliminate using dangerous poisons look no further than nature to do so. As you choose which plants to use, consider placement, putting them where you are more likely to hang out such as doorways, near windows and near outdoor seating.
A lot of the plans do double duty as they’re actually edible and can be used in culinary dishes such as lavender in ice-cream or basil and garlic in your marinara sauce. Plus they look interesting and aren’t’ usually that hard to grow or take care of. 

Basil is great for cooking too!

BASIL

You can make your own natural mosquito repellent with dried basil very easily. Simply steep a cup of dried basil in 1/2 cup of filtered boiling water, kind of like you would make tea. In fact you can use a tea ball to help make this a neater job. Add in a little basil essential oil and about 1/2 cup of some sort of alcohol that is safe for the skin.

CATNIP

There are some studies that show that catnip oil is better at repelling mosquitoes than harsh chemical insect repellants. If this is true, you should try it. You can buy it already made catnip oil repellent or make your own catnip mosquito repellent. It works on other types of pests too. (note to Kim: the catnip oil is my amazon affiliate link just to make it easy so please change it out for yours)

You may not have realized that Citronella is a plant!

CITRONELLA

This lemony plant is the most popular known plant to help keep mosquitos away. You’ve likely seen citronella candles that work too, but why not just plant this pretty grass like plant. You should plant it in large containers that can be easily protected during frost and place strategically around when guests are visiting.

Garlic blended with water keeps mosquitos away!

GARLIC

The bulb of the garlic plant’s amino acid make up coverts to a substance called allicin once you crush it, blend it or chop it. You can actually blend the bulbs with water and water other plants and foliage (and humans) with it to help repel insects. Here are a few recipes you can try.

GERANIUM

 Plant scented citronella geraniums to help control mosquitos in pots to put around your patio and in areas that you and your guests might want to sit without being bothered by mosquitos. You can also crush the leaves and add to lotions to help the repellent work even better.

LAVENDER

Growing lavender is fun and has many uses including as a mosquito repellent and it’s a lot more plant to smell than some of the other options. If you don’t want to grow it you can purchase lavender soaps, essential oils, and lotions to use as mosquito repellent.

LEMON BALM

This also smells a lot better than citronella or garlic and works well too. All you have to do is take the leaves and crush them and rub them on your body where skin will be exposed.

MARYGOLDS

Most people who grow vegetables tend to plant marigolds within, and for good reason. These magical flowers help banish many types of insects including mosquitoes. Of course, the smell is usually not that pleasant to humans either, but they’re not hard to look at or grow.

PEPPERMINT

This delicious tasting and smelling plant is a great mosquito repellent. Bugs hate the smell and the flavor of them. You can either crush up the leaves or rub on skin or you can use an essential oil infused lotion. Thankfully, peppermint is easy to grow because you’ll want to use it for mosquito repellent and for your mojitos.
We plant ours in a container because it can really spread in your garden.

Rosemary can grow into a wonderful shrub. Great for cooking too!

ROSEMARY

You can boil a cup of dried rosemary in a quart of filtered water for 20 minutes, and then strain into another quart of filtered water. Pour intoindividual spray bottles, to use when going outside where mosquitoes might be. Be sure to store unused portion in the fridge.

Keep your yard and garden mosquito free! Here are 10 plants that will help keep those pesky insects away naturally.

These plants that keep the mosquitos away are much better to use than chemical bug compounds that contain DEET which is not only bad for you but the environment.