The best way to keep mosquitoes away from your house is to eliminate their breeding ground- eliminate all standing water, even in small amounts. There are, of course, citronella candles and torches, wearing light colored clothing, and keeping your grass neatly trimmed. What I didn’t know was that you can grow certain plants (besides the obvious citronella grass) to repel mosquitoes as well. I was reading up on marigolds last night and found that they have mosquito and other bug-repelling properties. I got to wondering if other plants had the same qualities, so I did some research and found a few.
Marigolds- the plant that started it all for me. It must be the scented kind of marigolds, like French marigolds or Mexican marigolds. The French marigold variety is pictured at right.
Catnip- According to ScienceDaily, nepetalactone, the essential oil that gives catnip its scent, is ten times more effective than DEET for repelling mosquitoes. Of course, it’s good for repelling mosquitoes, but would it attract every cat in the ‘hood? I don’t know, but I’m about to find out. My cats LOVE catnip and it gets really expensive buying it all the time, so I’m going to grow my own.
Rosemary- I don’t have a good source like ScienceDaily for this one, I’ve just read that mosqitoes hate rosemary. It’s worth a shot, and besides, you can always make a fab rosemary chicken with your fab new herbs.
Ageratum- Funny name, great mosquito repelling capabilities. It is a source of coumarin, which is the ingredient in Skin-So-Soft that makes it so fabulous for repelling bugs. Putting Ageratum directly on your skin can be dangerous, so stick with the Skin-So-Soft.
Citronella Geranium- And, of course, no list of mosquito repelling plants would be complete without the citronella geranium. There is also citronella grass, which is completely different as the plant pictured on the right. Both have mosquito repelling properties that are well known, hence citronella candles.
Technorati Tags: ageratum, catnip, citronella, marigolds, mosquito repelling plants, rosemary, Science DailyAdd to:
From Annals of Internal Medicine (http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/128/11/931):
"Plants whose essential oils have been reported to have repellent activity include citronella, cedar, verbena, pennyroyal, geranium, lavender, pine, cajeput, cinnamon, rosemary, basil, thyme, allspice, garlic, and peppermint."
These are discussed as topical applicants, but it may be reasonable to assume their properties may have repellent effects on mosquitos when planted nearby.
On a related note, I found an article on plant-based mosquito repellents that mentioned soybean oil (http://www.pesticide.org/pubs/alts/mosquitoes/mosquitorepellents.html), which made me wonder if you could simply swipe soybean oil on your skin for some mild protection. Cheap and safe homemade alternative to Off, perhaps?
Anyway, I've really wanted to make this work for some time now. I have catnip, rosemary, and marigolds planted in my yard but have seen no noticeable decrease in mosquito activity compared with any other outdoor area. I've started to get the feeling that if there is repellent value to be gained from the presence of these plants, that they must be in mass plantings. And the problem with mass plantings is that that large clumps of plants can harbor moisture and actually encourage insect residents (possibly even mosquitos).
On the other hand, who cares? These are gorgeous plants. Time to plant more catnip and rosemary, and slather on the soybean oil.
Posted by: Kate O' | July 31st, 2007 9:14 am |
Wow! I had no idea all those plants and flowers could help with the mosquitoes. That is a great post!
Posted by: Kristen | July 31st, 2007 10:11 am |
Thanks for the reminders. I love gardening…now I just have to master doing it in the desert environment.
Hugs,
Holly
Posted by: Holly Schwendiman | July 31st, 2007 10:58 am |
Over here, mosquitoes are a real bane once the warmer weather arrives – usually about the time the strong sun has faded. Interesting about the catnip in particular. Giving lemon balm a go.
Posted by: Adekun | July 31st, 2007 9:45 pm |
What about recipes? I've read a few involving immersing the fresh herbs in different types of oil or alchohol yet I'm interested in finding a way to make some sort of "spray-on" repellant (the oil and alchohol base doesn't seem a pleasant "solution"). I have growing in my garden right now rosemary, lemon geranium and catnip, so I'm all set except for a recipe. Can someone help out?
Posted by: Elona | July 24th, 2008 2:30 am |
I sprayed the garlic spray that I ordered on-line…..I cannot tell that it has helped. I did spray Ortho yard guard and it seemed to help for awhile.
I have been told to drink cider vinegar, take B1 pills….and plant garlic plants….
So cedar trees count as heavy vegetation and harbor mosquitoes?
Posted by: shay | July 30th, 2008 10:53 am |
Great blog post! I love learning about this online as gardening/landscaping are not only hobbies of mine but I actually do a little bit of work like that during the summer months as a second job. I appreciate your content in your blog and wish that you would keep up the good work!
Posted by: Garden Tools | August 11th, 2009 12:25 pm |