Summer is approaching and it’s time to BBQ and enjoy the outdoors. While we want to spend more time outside with our loved ones there’s often that one uninvited guest that leaves you itching to go back inside. How exactly do you keep those pesky mosquitos at bay without having to douse yourself, and your garden, in chemicals? Here are 11 plants that are here to do the heavy lifting for you.

1. Mint – Mint is delicious in your tea or water, and it’s also a nontoxic option to keep mosquitos away. The stronger the aroma, the less mosquitoes you will have, so grow mint in pots on your patio and keep them close so you can dry them and use them as natural pest control inside the home as well.
2. Basil – Basil is a versatile herb that can be used in a variety of delicious ways for your dinner table. Besides being a gastronomical delight, this versatile herb gives off a pungent smell that keeps pests at bay. Basil likes damp areas with good drainage.
3. Lavender – Lavender oil is rumored to hinder a mosquito’s sense of smell. That same essential oil in the lavender plant that fills our nostrils with the lovely fragrance, protects the plant from insects and rabbits decimating it. Despite its light and beautiful fragrance, the lavender plant is tough and drought-resistant once established as long as it has full sun and good drainage. It’s perfect for the San Joaquin Valley as it thrives in warmer areas.
4. Rosemary – Rosemary is built for hot and dry climates and is able to be pruned into all sorts of shapes and sizes. They are useful in a variety of containers and for a variety of uses including cooking. The aromatic woodsy scent keeps mosquitos as well as other annoying pests away.
5. Bay Laurel – Bay leaves have a pungent aroma that mosquitos hate! It does double duty as a culinary herb and useful insect repellent.
6. Lemongrass – Citronella is the essential oil that is found in lemongrass and what you commonly see used in candles, sprays and lotions commercially used to deter mosquitoes. Lemongrass is said to musk scents that attract mosquitoes to humans.
7. Scented Geraniums – Due to their lemon scented fragrance they are reminiscent of citronella grass and these beautiful blooms keep a variety of pests away, including mosquitos. Geraniums are fast growing and like warm, sunny and dry climates primarily.
8. Thyme – Thyme is another plant with that villainous lemon smell to mosquitoes. It can be crushed and rubbed on the body if your skin can tolerate the oil.
9. Sage – This plant smells wonderful while it is burning. It has been used throughout history for religious ceremonies and air purification. That same scent can be used to ward off bugs and dried and used as in natural homemade bug sprays.
10. Nepeta (aka Catnip) – Catnip is something we love to watch our cats ingest and then become amused by their behavior. That same plant repels those pests we hate! Bonus = pest-free cat videos!
11. Oregano – That same herb that is delicious in your Italian cooking is also considered to be a natural insect repellent. To ignore all the science-y words it has some active ingredients that make those mosquitoes buzz for the hills.

We are happy to help you with your war on mosquitos! Give us a call and we’ll get you connected with the best plant for your needs.