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

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 catnip by pawpaw67 on Flickr.comoils. 

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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12 Comments on Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes, Go Away!

JUL
05
2009
179,750 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Awesome post!  I was just telling my wife their must be natural ingredients to ward off those pests.  Thanks for sharing.
4:52pm • #1
1,113,246 Points 101 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

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.
4:55pm • #2
298,728 Points 3 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

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.
4:58pm • #3
622,403 Points 4 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Paul: There are natural ingredients that work for almost everything.  We just have to re-figure them out :)
5:05pm • #4
622,403 Points 4 Featured Posts Outside Blog

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!
5:06pm • #5
622,403 Points 4 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Elaine: That sounds awful!  I can only imagine the swarms from all the standing water...
5:07pm • #6
650,191 Points Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

And be careful of west Nile also -- a problem in areas where there are a lot of "green pools".
8:30pm • #7
392,866 Points 5 Featured Posts Outside Blog

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. 
9:36pm • #8
622,403 Points 4 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Bob and Carolin: Thankfully we have not had too much trouble with West Nile, but you never know when it will show up.
9:46pm • #9
622,403 Points 4 Featured Posts Outside Blog

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 :)
9:48pm • #10
JUL
08
2009
254,733 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog

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.
7:45am • #11
250,417 Points

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
11:04am • #12


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