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?
Mosquitoes are so annoying, but this experiment was really cool to read about. I hope you find something that works !
– sincereleeni
I have a lavender plant as well and I still had mosquitoes visiting my terrace this summer. I don’t believe in natural plant repellent, if you want not to get bitten you have to use chemicals.
Funny, as I read this I am scratching the heck out of bites! Thanks for sharing!!
I tried citronella plants before with the same results as you. It was quite frustrating. We are rebuilding our back porch and will screen it in to give us some relief from the mosquitoes.
I love that post and can also attest that citronella can be a repellant. I have it in my backyard and no mosquitoes.
I love Lavender! I may have to get some more Lavender lotions and scents so I can ward off the mosquitoes found at work. (Japan doesn’t have chemical sprays for mosquitos, so we have a bunch of these critters at work).
I swear I have tried everything, even an exterminator really doesn’t do the trick, because even if you manage to get them off your property for a little bit, they’ll just fly over from somewhere else. 😩
Oh no! Sounds awful! I was so hoping you won the battle… The only thing I can think of, is for you to buy a seating area outside that you can put a mosquito net around, so you can enjoy your garden. Hope people have better suggestions for you!
Great discussion. I am sure using plants oppose to traditional mosquito repellent is a lot better.
Ah I was really hoping this was going to work. Tbh I love all of those plants so it would have been a win-win for me. In Spain we suffer terribly with mosquitos in gardens but we live in an apartment (mosquito free!). When we do decide to move I will be checking back as hopefully you’ll have had success by then 🙂
I have not had a battle with mosquitoes but I feel your pain! I would be searching far and wide for a way to get rid of them.
I was like no, at least one of them should work. I am telling you, the mosquitoes are dominating our world. Ugh, they love biting me.
I love that we can have natural mosquito repellant through plants. It can also serve as a decorative addition to any home .