5 Mosquito Repellent Plants

Everyone would agree that there are many benefits to gardening. In addition to making your garden look stunning, planting certain plants is believed to have other benefits, as some plants are known to have the ability to be natural mosquito repellents at home.

While many people believe that certain plants can be an effective and inexpensive solution for natural mosquito repellents at home, there is no scientific evidence or detailed information on the truth of this.

In this article, Rentokil tried to briefly outline some examples of mosquito repellent plants that many Indonesians believe are effective as natural mosquito repellents at home.

Is that correct? Read and see the full mosquito repellent plant image below!

How do I repel mosquitoes with plants?

Mosquitoes are attracted to certain scents, such as the lactic acid contained in human body perspiration. They also use their excellent sense of smell to ‘sniff’ the presence of humans from a distance through the scent of human body heat and carbon dioxide we exhale.

Just as mosquitoes are attracted to certain scents, there are also some scents that mosquitoes avoid and hate! The good news is that the scents come from some natural things like leaves, flowers, or plants that we generally love and want to have in the garden as ornaments.

Some of these plants are known to have very strong, unpleasant scents for sensitive mosquito senses of smell, and more importantly, they are able to mask human odours due to the scent of these very strong plants.

What plants can repel mosquitoes?

Of the tens or even hundreds of different types of mosquito repellent plants used by many people in the world, here are five examples of the most popular mosquito repellent plants to eliminate mosquitoes in Indonesia:

1. Fragrant lemongrass
2. Lavender
3. Marigold
4. Catnip
5. Rosemary

But before we start discussing some of the most effective mosquito repellent plants above, we must warn you that although some types of plants can repel mosquitoes to a certain extent, they will not guarantee maximum protection from mosquito bites in the long term.

1. Fragrant lemongrass

Fragrant lemongrass, or citronella in English, is one of the most popular mosquito repellent plants among other plants. These plants are also often found to be a key ingredient or component in many of the most widely sold mosquito repellent products on the market.

This is because fragrant lemongrass (Cymbopogon nardus) has a very strong scent and is able to cover some of the things that attract mosquitoes to come in and bite people, such as carbon dioxide.

2. Lavender

Lavender is a type of mosquito repellent for ornamental plants and other unwanted insects at home, such as flies and moths. Over the centuries, many people have planted lavender plants to take advantage of the substances in them, from medical needs to key ingredients in aromatherapy.

For humans, lavender has a calming and relaxing aroma or fragrance for anyone who smells it. In contrast, for mosquitoes, the scent of these distinctive lavender plants is very much hated by them, as it is believed to inhibit their ability to smell the smell of the human body.

3. Marigold

In addition to being a beautiful and bright colour, marigolds are a type of mosquito-repellent flower that is easy to grow in a variety of soil types and conditions. This is why many Indonesians are interested in owning this one mosquito-repellent flower!

Many people think that marigold contains natural compounds that can be useful to protect a home or garden from mosquito disturbances as well as from aphids that commonly affect almost any kind of plant in the garden.

4. Catnip

Catnip plants are part of a family of mint-type plants that contain a chemical called nepetalactone. This substance is believed to be 10 times more effective when compared to DEET, or the active ingredients that are widely used in most mosquito repellent products on the market.

5. Rosemary

Many people may be more familiar with rosemary as an additional herbal spice in many delicious dishes, such as grilled chicken and salads. But who would have thought that rosemary would turn out to be one of the most suitable mosquito repellent plants for the home?

Just like pine trees, rosemary emits a strong woody scent and is one of the odours that mosquitoes hate! You only need to burn some rosemary to create a natural mosquito repellent that is either burned or smoked from this plant.

Are mosquito repellent plants proven to be effective?

Repelling mosquitoes with plants seems too good to be true. This natural way may seem easy and cheap, but using plants to repel mosquitoes is still questionable as to their effectiveness.

First, there are some types of plants that do have the ability to repel mosquitoes to some extent, but they are not the solution to the problem of mosquitoes. You must transform your home or garden into a ‘forest’ full of the types of mosquito repellent plants mentioned above to truly protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites.

Second, many researchers argue that just planting a few types of mosquito repellent plants at home doesn’t mean you’ll be mosquito-free. These plants are much more effective when you extract them and use the natural oils of the extract to be directly dispensed to the body’s skin to activate scents or odours that mosquitoes dislike.

Finally, most recent studies analysing the usefulness of mosquito repellent plants have shown that they are less effective as a way to repel mosquitoes.

What is the most effective way to repel mosquitoes?

Even though all these beautiful plants mentioned above can provide many benefits to you at home, we can assure you that they will not keep mosquitoes away in the long run!

When we talk about mosquito prevention at home, there are actually much more efficient ways to prevent mosquitoes that we highly recommend, such as:

• Remove standing water from the property
• Declutter the lawn or garden regularly
• Keep the sewers clean and free of waste

Read more: 7 ways to keep your home from mosquitoes

Ultimately, the most effective way to eliminate mosquitoes is to seek assistance from a professional mosquito control service.

Rentokil offers a range of solutions tailored to your needs to effectively control mosquitoes. If you are concerned about mosquitoes on your property, contact Rentokil today.