There are many benefits to gardening. Besides making your garden look stunning, growing some certain plants are believed to have an extra advantage because some of the plants are known to have the ability to repel mosquitoes naturally at home.
Although many popular believe that certain plants could be an effective solution as a natural home mosquito repellent, yet there is no scientific proof and detailed discussion to the truth how these popular beliefs are so highly adapted by people around the world.
In this article, Rentokil will briefly elaborate on how effective are certain plants to help repel mosquitoes at home? Let’s scroll down to find the answer!
How do plants repel mosquitoes?
Mosquitoes rely on several cues through its decent sense of smell to locate human presence from a distance. These pesky pest are found attracted to certain scents such as lactic acid in the human body sweat.
Just as mosquitoes are attracted to some scents, they are also known to hate and avoid some scents! The good news is these scents come from some natural things like leaves, flowers, or plants that we love to have in our garden.
Some of these plant scents are found incredibly unpleasant and strong for their sensitive sense of smell; and more importantly, it could also disguise human odor due to its strong scent.
What plants will repel mosquitoes?
Here are the top 5 mosquito repelling plants:
But before we begin to discuss the list of plants that repel mosquitoes above, we have to warn you that: although some species of plants can repel mosquitoes, to some extent, they are not guaranteeing total protection from the mosquito bites in the long term.
1. Citronella
Citronella is one of the most popular plants that repel mosquitoes among others – because of this plant is the main component in anti-mosquito products you see in the market. The strong scent from citronella is have an ability to mask the strong attractant when a mosquito is trying to locate us.
2. Lavender
Lavender is another popular garden plant that some people use to repel mosquitoes and other unwanted insects infestation at home such as flies and moths. For centuries, people widely growing lavender plants for medical and aromatherapy uses. It is simply because lavender has calming and soothing fragrances to alleviate anxiety.
In contrast, mosquitoes will stay away from the strong scent of lavender because this plant is believe to hinder their ability to smell.
3. Marigold
Marigold is a type of flower that can be easy to grow in a wide range of soil types and conditions. In addition to its beautiful blooms and vibrant colour, did you know that marigolds have a strong scent that can keep mosquitoes away effectively?
Many people argued that marigolds contain a natural compound that can be useful for protecting homes or gardens from mosquitoes, as well as from aphids that generally attack nearly all types of plants in the garden.
4. Catnip
Catnip plants are part of the mint family that consists of the chemical substances called nepetalactone, which is believe to be far more effective than DEET in the most mosquito repellent in the market.
5. Rosemary
Many people probably use rosemary as the additional herbs for seasoning in many delicious dishes such as roasted chicken and salad. But who would have thought that rosemary also works well against mosquito problems at home?
Rosemary have a woody scent that mosquitoes don’t like. What you have to do is to toss some rosemary into the fires to remit repellent fumes in the garden.
Does mosquito repellent plant work?
Getting rid of mosquitoes with plants seems too good to be true. This natural way may look easy and cheap, but its efficacy is certainly still questionable.
First, although plants do have the ability to repel mosquitoes to a certain extent; they are not a solution to your mosquito problem. You must transform your garden into a jungle full of mosquito repellent plants in order to fully protect yourself against mosquito bites.
Second, just planting repelling plants in your garden will not effectively keep mosquitoes away unless you extract the leaves as an oil and rub directly on your skin to activate the mosquito repelling effects.
Lastly, some recent studies that measured the usability of mosquito repelling plants mostly show the results that plants are practically ineffective and also not last very long to keep mosquito away.
What is the most effective way to get rid of mosquitoes?
While all these beautiful plants give you many benefits to your garden, yet we can assure you that getting rid of mosquitoes is not one of them!
In fact there is a far more efficient way to prevent mosquitoes at home which we highly recommend, such as:
- Eliminating any stagnant water around your property
- Install insect screens to windows and doors
- Trim your lawn regularly
- Keep your gutter clean and free from debris
In the end, the most effective way to get rid of mosquitoes is by enlist the help of an experienced mosquito control company. Rentokil offers a range of solutions tailored to your needs to effectively control mosquitoes.
Contact us today for your mosquito control requirements.
Leave a Reply