The Battle With Mosquitoes – Do Plants Work as Repellants?

the battle with mosquitoes

Every summer mosquitos take over my backyard so bad that we can no longer enjoy playing outside. At the beginning of this summer, I decided that I wanted to set out to take my yard back this summer. The mosquitoes were not going to win the battle this year! I did my research and decided to buy a variety of plants that are supposed to repel these blood suckers, I also got some plant caddies for them. I ended up buying 9 different plants to fight the mosquitoes.

Do you think I won the battle with the mosquitoes? Read on to find out what I bought and if it worked.

Lavender

I love the smell of lavender so I figured this plant was sure to be a win all the way around. Mosquitoes supposedly don’t like it, it beautiful and has a beautiful smell. The results: I have a beautiful thriving lavender bush that the mosquitoes love to hang out around.

Citronella Plant

Citronella is in every mosquito repellant you buy in the store. Surely this plant was bound to work. As I was putting this plant into the ground the mosquitoes were landing on me and the plant left and right. No joke. I can’t make this stuff up.

Marigolds

Not my favorite flower in the world, but I read they are supposed to do the trick with mosquitoes. I guess my mosquitoes like yellow and orange because they seem to have no problem breeding among these flowers.

Peppermint

One of my friends swears by peppermint. I like the smell of peppermint so I figured I would give this plant a try. This area of my patio smells great now, so great that the mosquitoes seem to love it too.

Geraniums

See the marigolds results. Exact same results, different color, and different flower.

Rosemary

Not a fan of the taste or smell of Rosemary so I thought maybe the mosquitoes would feel the same way. Nope. Now I have a herb I will never use.

Basil

I will at least use this herb in my cooking. But so will the mosquitoes apparently. Are you starting to see the trend here? Two more plants to go.

Bee Balm

I don’t know what this herb is used for but it’s certainly not mosquito repellant.

Thyme


Nope.


So some money down the drain with some plants I have no interest in. While some money was well spent on plants I actually like. So far the mosquitoes are winning the battle to the point I’m thinking about giving in and calling the exterminator.

I want to hear from you all. Have you battled with mosquitoes? Please tell me your stories of how you won your battle. What worked for you?

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