7 Plants That Actually Repel Mosquitoes

If you don’t want to put on bug spray every time you go outside, you’ll want to ensure your garden has some amazing plants that actually repel mosquitoes.

Forget the chemicals and let some beautiful and fragrant plants help you have the natural repellant required to keep the blood-sucking mosquitoes away. When you grow some of these plants, you can enjoy a quiet evening on the deck without being bothered by these annoying bugs. A few pots or flowerbeds filled with these plants add beauty and functionality to your landscape.

Lavender

Most animals won’t bother your lavender plants at all because of it’s strong and wonderful fragrance. The essential oils from the lavender plants are known to hinder a mosquito’s ability to smell, which means they won’t bother you. This plant is easy to grow and handles tough climates with ease. All it really needs is a location with full sun and good drainage. If you live in a warmer climate, lavender is necessary for your backyard or garden when you want to keep mosquitoes away. Let these wonderful purple flowers give you the peace you’re looking for.

Marigold

One of the most common annual flowers gardeners love to plant is the marigold. This pretty yellow flower is easy to grow and has a smell that keeps mosquitoes at bay. When you’re looking for plants that actually repel mosquitoes, you’ll love the natural look and repellant nature of marigold flowers. These flowers can bloom throughout the growing season from late spring until you experience your first frost of the year. Marigolds are so good at keeping bugs away that you should think about growing them with all of your plants.

Citronella Grass

Citronella grass is also known as lemon grass, and it’s one of the most common ingredients in bug spray. This is a great plant to keep mosquitoes away and give you a wonderful look around your garden and seating area. This grass is a low-maintenance plant and can easily withstand frost. You can put lemon grass in planters and place them around your seating area or put it directly in the ground when you live in a warmer climate and have more sun than in most cooler areas.

Catmint

Catmint is also known as catnip and thrives in nearly every climate. This plant is from the mint family and grows extremely well as a weed or commercially to ensure bugs will stay away. Catmint has been found to be ten times as effective as DEET in repelling mosquitoes. If you want to avoid the chemicals, plant this impressive item that actually repels mosquitoes. This perennial grows pretty purple flowers, giving you a lovely garden to enjoy during the summer and fall.

Bee Balm

Here’s an interesting plant. If you want to attract good bugs like bees and butterflies while deterring the bad ones, you’ll want to plant some bee balm. This plant is also known as Monarda and horsemint. The plant produces fragrant red, pink, lavender, white, or purple flowers that bloom all summer long. This is a great way to have some added color in your garden and enjoy some of the friendly insects that you want to come and spend time around your garden area. Of course, if you have family members allergic to bees, you won’t want to plant bee balm.

Floss Flower

While most plants on this list are perennials, the floss flower is an annual, much like the marigold. You could have a wonderful array of purple flowers to go with the yellow marigolds in your garden. This flower contains coumarin, which is a chemical that repels mosquitoes. The only challenge with this flower is that it can be harmful to pets and children that might try to eat it. Still, you could put this plant that actually repels mosquitoes somewhere that your pets and children don’t go and spend time.

Sage

If you’re tired of mosquitoes bothering you while sitting around the fire pit, grow some sage nearby. All you’ve got to do is pluck a few leaves and toss them in the fire. The smell will ward off any bugs in the area. You can also dry out the leaves and use them to make a homemade bug spray that works great whenever you go outside. Sage is also an herb that you could use in your kitchen for some recipes.

These seven plants actually repel mosquitoes, making them great choices around your backyard area where you love to spend time and enjoy relaxing evenings all year long.