What plants scare mosquitoes?
Fighting insects can turn into a real disaster, but not always chemicals can solve the problem. An alternative to you can be frightening plants, with the help of which you can get rid of pests in the cottage and in the apartment. For more information on what herbs and flowers are afraid of mosquitoes, you can find a review of natural repellents.
Herb Overview
Mosquitoes in the house, apartment, at the cottage can turn into a real nightmare. Pesky pests not only annoy you with their presence, but also leave painful bite marks, interfere with normal sleep, work in the garden or territory. Constant use of repellents is not too good for human health. But you can without restrictions use natural analogues – plants, the smell of which is not liked by insects. Your list is quite wide, some can be planted on the plot, others chase away bloodthirsty pests in the house and apartment.
Consider the main types of herbs that can be used to repel too pesky mosquitoes in the garden and vegetable garden. They are good both in plantings and as cuttings.
It is extremely rare to cause individual allergic reactions.
Melissa
This relative of mint with a fresh lemon aroma fits well in the composition of plantings in the garden in the vegetable garden. Small bushes of the plant overwinter far under the snow in the middle belt, in colder areas it is better to transplant them into a pot. Keep in mind that molasses is a honey-bearing plant – its smell attracts bees.
Tanzania
A plant with a spacious scent of leaves and flowers is one of the best natural repellents. Tanzania is able to repel almost all blood-sucking insects and strive for growing conditions. It can be used to make bundles in the form of cutting sticks, the smell of which lasts a long time.
One of the most popular natural repellents. Swamp and pepper varieties of the plant are most commonly used to repel mosquitoes. You can hang bundles of this plant fresh or dried in the house and on the porch. The essential oils in the leaves can be used to make your own homemade cosmetics.
basil
Growing this plant in the garden can be beneficial not only as a refuse. In cooking, the leaves, which are rich in essential oils, are common in making sauces and dessert dishes. The variety of colors makes basil a great addition to the design of your yard. It can repel insects and keep them away from the house up to 2 meters away.
Cycadia
Despite the usual status of the weed system, this type of natural repellent can become a decoration of the yard area. Especially decorative species of wormwood Silber, having a variety of colors and leaves. The plant not only affects blood-sucking insects, but also gives a good effect in protecting plants from most garden pests.
It is not necessary to plant vermwood in the beds, it can be removed away from them, and the cut stems with leaves to let the rays on the veranda or in the pergola.
Yarrow
This medicinal plant is well known to landscape design lovers. Modest flower screens look spectacular in flowerbeds and squares, suitable for decorating stone gardens. When planted in flowerbeds, they get along well with members of the Creutzblutler family. Shabar’s sap not only repels pests, but also relieves itching from their stings.
What garden flowers help?
Flower plants, known from garden landscaping, can also be an effective means of controlling mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects. The main thing is to place flower beds with them so that residential areas and recreational areas are protected. Edges and thorns from such flowers will be a good solution. The most popular natural remedy for mosquitoes in this category is worth considering in a little more detail.
Maternity plant.
In horticulture, it is better known as dalmatian chamomile. It comes in all varieties, from golden globe to troubadour, is very ornamental and is a natural insecticide. Pyrethrum is the basis for most modern synthetic preparations, which are used for insect control in agriculture or in the home. Depending on the species, the height of dalmatian chamomile discs varies from 5 cm for dwarf varieties to 1.5 m for taller ones.
The advantages of this natural remedy include:
- harmlessness;
- ornamental qualities;
- frost resistance;;
- prolonged flowering;
- unpretentiousness in care.
Mother-oil-hemp grass is suitable not only for protection against mosquitoes, but also for protection of crops from various pests.
Insects have no natural protection from their characteristic aroma, they simply do not occur in places where this plant is planted.
lavender
Luxurious, demanding planting conditions, this plant is most comfortable in Mediterranean climates. Flowering lavender has a unique fragrance that not only repels insects, but also improves sleep and relieves excessive nervousness. In central Russia it is recommended to grow it not in the field, but in flower pots and remove it for the winter. In southern regions it feels comfortable in the open ground and becomes a real decoration of the landscape in landscape plantings.
Velvetveteen
These flowers can be called frequent guests of garden beds. Brilliant buds with a lively color appear on the shoots until late autumn. The essential oils in the stems and leaves act as protection against mosquitoes. Ringworm flowers are used for other purposes as well. Their flowers are used to make marinades that are added to tea and other drinks. The plant has a pronounced antibacterial effect, cut stems can be added to bouquets of flowers to repel insects in the house.
Trees and shrubs
Many garden plants have the ability to repel mosquitoes. But they are not decorative. In recreational areas – the pergola, the hammock, the porch, the front yard – you can use and combine beauty by planting trees and shrubs that are considered natural defenses. These include the following species.
Old
The black variety of this plant is especially ornamental, gorgeous during spring blooms and in the fall, when fruit appears on the shrub. Elderberry is well suited for growing in hedges, it lends itself well to shearing and allows you to create an almost impenetrable protective barrier around porches, pergolas and terraces. Mosquitoes do not prefer this plant; they tend to avoid areas where it grows.
castor oil
This plant is difficult to recommend for cultivation because of the high toxicity of its seeds. The plant is used to produce castor oil and its shoots with large umbrellas are very ornamental. It is better to plant castor oil around the perimeter of fences, near ponds and trenches to reduce the growth of the mosquito population. Harmful insects do not tolerate its scent, they try to stay as far away as possible.
Bird cherry
Luxurious, lush brushes, bright floral fragrance, tasty berries – this plant has many advantages. Natural protection properties are also on this list. It is better to plant the tree in the open ground – in the corners of the plot, near resting places. Here it will be most useful.
Trees and shrubs with repellent properties are widespread in garden plots. The only thing you should think about: the precautions of selection. For example, it is undesirable to breed the tickweed in places where there are children, or in areas where farm animals graze. Contact with its fruits is deadly.
What houseplants are mosquitoes afraid of?
In the apartment, the emergence of mosquitoes also causes certain inconveniences. Especially suffer from their invasion residents of the first floors above the basement. For them, the opportunity to plant plants on the windowsill, capable of repelling bloodsucking insects, can be a real salvation. In rooms where certain types of indoor flowers grow, mosquitoes become extremely rare guests.
Pelargonium
This type of flowering plant is better known as the house geranium. It is suitable for growing in pots, buckets, and in summer it can be planted outdoors. The plant is extremely unpretentious, pleases with lush blooms and a pleasant fragrance. The high content of essential oils in the leaves and discs makes pelargonium an excellent insect repellent.
The plant is available in a variety of colors. You can choose the right kind for a well-lit window or a shady corner. There are drought-tolerant varieties that rarely need to be watered. The only thing to consider when growing pelargoniums is the acidity of the soil.
The plant prefers weakly acidic and neutral types of soil.
Plectranthus .
This plant, also called house mint, is well suited as a house protector. Its leaves exude a pleasant fresh fragrance, rich in valuable essential oils, which not only refreshes but also disinfects the air. Compact bushes do not get higher than 80 cm and branch strongly.
The plant does not make great demands on growing conditions, but develops best at temperatures up to +21 degrees. Plectranthus likes partial shading, but tolerates scattered light well, as well as contact with direct sunlight. An important condition is regular watering, it is not allowed to dry out more than 2 cm from the surface. In case of heat, additional watering is required, spraying with water.
Growing a room mint requires some experience. In the first 4 years, the plant needs annual replanting, it can be increased by cuttings or division of the roots of the bush. The upper parts of the shoots should be pruned during active growth, spring pruning to 1/2 length is also recommended.
Citronella
A plant with a strong citrus fragrance belongs to herbaceous species and is not complex ornamental. In summer, flower spots and pots become a balcony, veranda, which is used in garden landscaping. In winter, only interior cultivation is possible. In addition, citronella must be disposed of at 2/3 the length of the shoots.
The second name of this plant is lemongrass. It is suitable for use as a raw material for preparing tonic infusions. Leaves can be brewed, infused, it is an effective immunostimulant, restorative and disinfectant.
When growing citronella is not too demanding, a novice florist can easily cope with its cultivation.
Named 7 garden plants that really repel mosquitoes
Most mosquito repellent plants do so because of their natural scents. Check out our helpful list of wrapping plants, learn how to make your own essential oil and your own sprays, and enjoy a mosquito-free summer!
Mosquitoes love the smell of carbon dioxide released when we breathe and the smell of our later individual compounds. Mosquitoes are also attracted to warm bodies, making humans a better choice for the holidays. If you don’t want to flood yourself or your garden with chemical sprays, you can grow some of the plants enhanced to repel mosquitoes naturally.
How do sorelias help?
Simply incorporating insect repellent plants into your landscape won’t help you with mosquito control. The concentration of essential oils in the garden is not high enough to provide reliable protection. Insect repellent plants reinforce plants in areas where guests frequent, near a seating area or door. Some plants work better if their leaves are rubbed directly into the skin, but this is not recommended for all plants. Below we’ve figured out which plants are safe. Check with your doctor or dermatologist to find out what works best for you and your skin.
Natural repellents can be arranged in the garden
Some of these systems work best in pots because the plants can be easily moved around the house. On the other hand, many plants work better in the garden because they repel many kinds of insects (and therefore work as a natural insecticide for their beds).
There are no open studies yet on how effectively plants planted so close together kill insects. The best thing you can do to deter mosquitoes is to eliminate any standing water in which mosquitoes breed. If necessary (for example, if you have a bird bath), you should empty and clean it at least once a week.
We are not sure if all the plants listed in all areas act in a similar way. So we’d love to hear your opinion in the comments.
Common thyme is a recognized reinforcing plant
Top 7 Real Plant Wraps
1 plant wrap: lavender
Have you ever noticed that insects have never destroyed your lavender plant? This is due to the excellent scent that comes from the essential oils found on the leaves of the plant. Scientists say that lavender essential oil is similar in mechanism of action to Det repellent – it overwhelms the olfactory organs of mosquitoes. The commercial repellent Det (N, N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) has been used for over 50 years, and millions of people around the world use it to reduce the risk of complications from mosquitoes. It has actually passed clinical trials. Therefore, if we talk about the effectiveness of the plant against mosquitoes, it is compared to a medicine (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2518096/).
Sachet with lavender helps against moths
Lavender essential oil defeats moths both indoors and outdoors. This power quality can be traced to the high concentration of linalool, which can sometimes be as high as 25%, depending on the composition of the oil.
Лаванда – очень выносливое и засухоустойчивое растение, но в средней полосе первые годы нуждается в защите от морозов — замульчируйте его осенью. Какие виды выбрать и как вырастить из семян вы можете узнать из этой статьи >>>>.
How to make your own lavender oil
You can also make your own essential lavender oil from lavender plants that grow in your garden. Follow the following preparatory steps:
- Prepare 1.5 cups of olive oil.
- Add 2 cups of lavender (buds and stems) and boil for 30 minutes.
- Cool and strain twice – once through a colander, another time with a coffee press.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container until the mixture is cloudy. Pour into convenient donors. By the way, a few drops of lavender oil can be dripped on the bag in the vacuum cleaner – a pleasant smell quickly spreads around the house during cleaning.
The pack contains two plants: Velvets
Organic gardeners know that sea flowers adjacent to plants help protect against pests. Now chemists have figured out the reason – velveteen flowers are among the fast-acting insecticides. This discovery has far-reaching implications, since velvet flowers are particularly toxic to mosquitoes that carry malaria and yellow fever. A team of scientists led by C. Wells of the University of Alabama studied three species of velveteen. They prepared extracts from the roots, leaves, and flowers and then separated the individual chemicals using gas chromatography. Wells and his colleagues found that marigolds do indeed contain insecticides, and that the flowers are the most potent part of each plant.
All but to varying degrees, marigold flowers protect the garden from pests.
The little marigolds contain the most powerful insecticide.
Chemists have found that some compounds in plants contain insecticides, including transient chemicals called thiophytes. Thiophytes have killed larvae and adults of the malaria-carrying mosquito and the mosquito responsible for carrying yellow fever (Read more https://www. newscientist.com/article/mg13918823-200-science-could-marigolds-slay-killer-mosquitoes/#ixzz6vr8yT856 )
Grow marigolds not only in the garden and vegetable garden, but also in pots and place them near the patio or entrance to the house to prevent insects. You can not only repel mosquitoes, but also prevent aphids, thrips and whiteflies.
3 Reception with plants: catnip
The active ingredient Cat Mint (Nepeta Cataria) drives big and small cats crazy. This ingredient, known as Nepetalactone, has an attractive smell, especially for cats. As it turns out, this same active ingredient can also prevent mosquitoes if distilled in an essential oil medium.
This was the conclusion of a 2010 study that examined the effects of Dr. Coin’s cat oil on various flying insects. If used in areas where flies and similar insects are abundant, the wax from cat doctor oil could chase away about 99% of the observed flies within about three hours. Although this study was not tested exclusively on mosquitoes, the findings suggest a noteworthy result that is relevant to researchers of natural mosquito rejection.
Research conducted by the University of Iowa Unbenomology in 2001 showed that mosquitoes were ten times more sensitive to CA T-Münzhöfen than to a commercially available detergent.
Fly Mint is a very unpretentious plant, growing abundantly as a cultivated plant and as a weed. It is very easy to care for and can even begin to make its way into other areas of your garden.
4 plant guide: mint
Many species of mint (both in form and in essential oil form) have been found to act as an effective deterrent against pests such as wasps, hornets, ants and cockroaches.
Studies on a particular species of mint, peppermint (mentha spp. M. piperata), have shown that it can effectively repel mosquitoes for up to 45 minutes when applied topically as an essential oil. The essential oil is almost 100% effective in preventing the bite of one type of pathogenic mosquito.
Peppermint
Not all members of the Peppermint family are certainly as repellent against mosquitoes. One plant in this family to avoid is Zephyrus (Mentha Pulegium). This plant has no toxicity to its composition at any level of concentration.
Mint is prized in backyard pots, where you can easily get it for afternoon tea if you want to toss a leaf or two. You can even dry the leaves and use them in the house as a natural pest control method.
How to make a peppermint spray yourself
Some peppermint lovers have also found that its odoriferous properties are easier to apply with a spray. A peppermint spray can be made by following these steps:
- Grind a few handfuls of mint leaves, preferably in a mortar and pestle.
- Mix with alcohol in a ratio of 5: 1. Allow the green mass to settle and strain.
- Pour into a sprayer – shake well before using.
5 LECTURE: Basil.
The pungent smell of basil leaves deters pests. And since all types of basil help drive away flies and mosquitoes, they are not afraid to explore and find resistant basil species to add to their gardens. In particular, the repellent properties of woodland basil are fairly well researched (you can read more yourself: https://iopscience.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1467/1/012014/meta).
Thai queen basil is one of the prettiest varieties with a cinnamon and anise scent
This plant likes damp floors and needs good drainage and sunlight. Basil can be planted in tubs or in the garden, alone or with other flowers if the accompanying plants meet the same requirements. Basil is poisonous to mosquito larvae, so it can be planted near standing water to keep mosquitoes from laying eggs.
How to make homemade basil spray
Alternatively, you can mix a handful of fresh-cut basil leaves and half a cup of water in a bowl to make a great mosquito spray. Let it work for three hours, squeeze the leaves and pour the green water into a spray bottle. You can also mix a handful of basil leaves with a quarter cup of water, then strain and add more water. Pour the green water into the spray bottle, add half a cup of vodka and shake well to mix. You can apply it by spraying internally and on the skin.
6 Protective Plant: Monarda
This colorful perennial plant smells quite strong (especially the leaves) and has a strong mosquito repellent effect. Monarda essential oil is used in some commercial mosquito repellents.
In an ongoing research program to identify active mosquito repellents, Monarda bradburiana and Monarda fistulosa essential oils showed a good protective effect at the lowest effective doses. Carvacrol, thymol, eugenol and carvacrol methyl ester proved to be repellent compounds among the isolated compounds.
7 plant protection agents: thyme
In a recent human forearm bioassay study, five compounds found in thyme (carvacrol, p-cymene, linalool, alpha-terpins, and thymol) that come from the essential oil of thyme (thymus vulgaris) were shown to repel mosquitoes. . Alpha-terpins and carvacrol showed significantly stronger rejection than commercial deet. The duration of the protective effect after application of all these monoterpenes was the same or longer than that of the commercial deet. These data suggest that an aerosol solution with 2% alpha-terpenes may serve as an alternative mosquito repellent.
Thyme is a recognized part of Mediterranean cuisine
You can also throw thyme leaves into a smokehouse and light it up. Studies show that burning thyme leaves for 60-90 minutes provides 85 percent protection.
Aromatic plants that don’t protect against mosquitoes at all
1 does not protect against mosquitoes: rosemary
The woody scent is exactly what keeps coal moths and carrot flies away. While rosemary remains a great herb to use in the kitchen, it is likely to be useless if you are looking for a natural mosquito repellent. The general lack of testing for the use of rosemary in this area makes it a questionable option, especially when widely tested options such as lavender are available. Unless new evidence emerges soon, other natural remedies might be a better choice.
Rosemary is effective in cooking but powerless against mosquitoes
In fact, one of the few studies based on these analyses on the use of rosemary as a natural mosquito repellent came in the form of a safety assessment of the essential oil concentration. An analysis of that 2011 study found that rosemary was safe for human use when concentrations were up to 36%, and the active methylevenol was identified as a carcinogen in the rosemary oil profile. Therefore, please be careful.
2 no protection against mosquitoes: Lemon pelargonium (pelargonium citrosum).
This type of lemon pelargonium resembles the grass citronella. These fast-growing plants like warm, sunny and dry climates; in areas with colder climates, they are grown in indoor culture in a cachet with constant pruning. In the past, the Internet has reported in all respects that Argonium limonium (Plant-Komar) is very effective at repelling mosquitoes. The University of Gwalffe tested the work to corroborate said claims.
The researchers introduced people to a wooded area where there were many mosquitoes. They then counted the number of mosquitoes each group of people received. The people were divided into 3 groups. One group tested the data another control group used as a repellent and the third group used water and sat next to a lemon fur argonium system.
The experiment had many built-in controls to ensure that men and women of different heights were tested. Tests were repeated to get statistically valid data. Over 90% protection after 8 hours. People sitting next to Pelargonia received the same amount of mosquitoes as people treated with water. That means the system didn’t work.
The researchers found that “although field studies regularly observed mosquitoes ending up on the plant and resting, that indicates a lack of rejection.” The results were pretty clear: Lemon pelargonium doesn’t work (Read more:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/14479676_Essential_oil_analysis_and_field_evaluation_of_the_citrosa_plant_’pelargonium_citrosum’_as_a_repellent_against_populations_of_AEDES_mosquitoes#:~: Text =%20the%20plant%20frequently%20injected%20into, aromatic%20-derivative%20citronella%20oil).
3 No protection against mosquitoes: Petunia
If you know that petunias help, thanks to their multi-colored color and richness of color, repel mosquitoes, zucchini, earworms and aphids – just plant them next to cabbage (cross – cooked vegetables), beans, basil, tomatoes, grapes, corn and peppers.
Roses also feel good with petunias sitting next to them. By the way, talking about “fear” in relation to the Petunia is not quite right. Rather, it attracts to itself and thus protects more valuable plants. To this end, the rose is planted on top of a row of vines to see when it is time to treat the plantings for mold and other diseases.
