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Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes, Go Away!

By Jim & Maria Hart

Real Estate Agent with Brand Name Real Estate

July 05, 2009 09:45 AM

I love summer! I love being outdoors and enjoying the sunshine and fresh, warm air.

But the one (huge) drawback to summertime is the eminent presence of mosquitoes.

I'm really not a huge fan of bug sprays and things like that because I hate smelling like it for hours. And it never seems to really work all that well.

So I wanted to check out a few other possible deterrents for those menacing insects.

Citronella is the most commonly used and known plant used against mosquitoes. It does work, but it lasts a very short time. So there has to be other options.

There are other plants that have naturally repellent properties. And they are pretty easy to find as they can be found in gardens or farmers markets or bought as essential oils.

Eucalyptus, cedar, geranium, peppermint, lemon grass, fennel, catnip and rosemary plants in addition to tea tree, castor and soybean oils are all readily available natural repellents. Lemon eucalyptus and soybean are often considered the most effective of the bunch, and peppermint oil is reported to also kill mosquito larvae. At least one study found catnip to be 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET!

So that would be a great solution to enjoiying a mosquito-free evening, but what about a more long-term plan of attack? For that, there are several things you can do:

Incorporate repellent plants into your landscape.
Make your house and your neighborhood home to animals that eat mosquitoes. Purple martins, frogs, bats, guppies and dragonflies all feast on mosquitoes.
Get rid of standing water. Clean gutters, tip over buckets, bowls and anything else that collects water.
Don't use pesticides or bug-zappers. These indiscriminant killers are likely to kill more beneficial, mosquito-eating animals than mosquitoes.

One of the best things about summer is being outside, so don't let those pesky mosquitoes keep you from enjoying one second outdoors!

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We proudly serve and sell real estate in and around all of Charleston, SC. If you are thinking about purchasing or selling your home in Charleston, Johns Island, James Island, Folly Beach, Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island, West Ashley, Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, Sullivans Island, North Charleston, Hanahan, Summerville, Goose Creek or other surrounding areas, and more importantly, want to work with a local area expert, contact us at your earliest convenience.

Jim and Maria Hart
Realtors®/ AgentOwned Realty
(843) 364-9845
hart@agentowned.com

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Paul Campbell Realtor Lexington

Rector Hayden, Lexington, Ky - Lexington, KY

Kentucky Homes for Sale

Awesome post! I was just telling my wife their must be natural ingredients to ward off those pests. Thanks for sharing.

Jul 05, 2009 09:52 AM

Tammy Lankford,

Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA

Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

My cats will love you. I always plant them some cat nip. I dry some to add to their toys, but they also get the occassional treet of getting to waller on and then eat a stem from the plant. Now that I know it will help keep the pesky mosquitoes away, I'll be planting LOTS more of it.

Jul 05, 2009 09:55 AM

Elaine Stewart

Elaine Stewart is the #1 Individual RE/MAX Agent for 13 years straight in the Coachella Valley. (760) 668-2399 - Palm Desert, CA

RE/MAX All-Pro

Good tips...we have a problem out here with swimming pools left full on abandoned foreclosed homes, finally they are going after the banks to get them cleaned up.

Jul 05, 2009 09:58 AM

Jim & Maria Hart

Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC

Charleston, SC Real Estate

Paul: There are natural ingredients that work for almost everything. We just have to re-figure them out :)

Jul 05, 2009 10:05 AM

Tammy: I love planting fresh catnip, but between our five cats, it never lasts too long. This is definitely a great reason to plant a ton of it!

Jul 05, 2009 10:06 AM

Elaine: That sounds awful! I can only imagine the swarms from all the standing water...

Jul 05, 2009 10:07 AM

Bob & Carolin Benjamin

Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ

East Phoenix Arizona Homes

And be careful of west Nile also -- a problem in areas where there are a lot of "green pools".

Jul 05, 2009 01:30 PM

LLoyd Nichols

Premier Florida Realty of SWFL - Fort Myers, FL

Southwest Florida Homes By The Sea

Top notch post. I really enjoy the tips, specially about the plants which can be use as a sort of repellent...great tips. Living in FL we face the same type of problems that time of year.

Women tend to hate the smell of these repellents. They probably terrible on a first date.

Jul 05, 2009 02:36 PM

Bob and Carolin: Thankfully we have not had too much trouble with West Nile, but you never know when it will show up.

Jul 05, 2009 02:46 PM

Lloyd: I can definitely say that I do not enjoy the smell of most sprays, but the natural repellents, including citronella, don't really bother me. But if these are included in a first date, then that's probably not a good sign :)

Jul 05, 2009 02:48 PM

Mary Strang

Viroqua, WI

Amazingly our area has few mosquitoes because the streams are cold spring streams. Unless you hike into deep woods you don't have to worry much about using any repellent.

Jul 08, 2009 12:45 AM

Michael and Cheron Lange

Solutions Real Estate - Chandler, AZ

Associate Broker, GRI

You certainly did your homework...Thanks for the reminders! We don't get too much mosquitos this time of year, surprisingly...this weekend we are suppose to be 116+. Fun stuff!

Cheron Lange

Jul 08, 2009 04:04 AM

Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes, Go Away!

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