Knowing how to get rid of mosquitoes, prevent them from hatching, or keep them from recognizing you as a food source are all vital for making your garden safer and more comfortable. Here are some top tips for backyard mosquito control.
What Keeps Mosquitoes Away?
Mosquitoes are inevitable to some degree, but you can take measures to keep them at bay if you understand them better. First, mosquitoes need water to complete their life cycle. Eliminating standing water in your yard is essential for prevention.
Mosquitoes are drawn to people mostly by scent, although they also use temperature, visual cues, and movements to target you. What keeps mosquitoes away from you is anything that disrupts these cues. Bug sprays, for instance, interfere with a mosquito’s ability to smell you.
How to Keep Mosquitoes Away Naturally
These home remedies for mosquitoes and other tips and tricks will help you clear these annoying pests from your yard and garden, making it safer and easier to enjoy.
1. Grow Citronella Grass
Citronella is a powerful smell and has long been used to keep mosquitoes away. While you can find all kinds of citronella products at the store, why not go straight to the source? Citronella is a grass that is easy to grow as an annual. Keep it in containers for the summer to protect your patio and other areas.
2. Add Lemon Thyme to Your Herb Garden
Citronella is one of the strongest aromas that confuses mosquitoes seeking a human snack, but any strong, citrus-scented plant should provide some benefits. One option is delicious lemon thyme herbs. Grow it in containers to manage mosquitoes and to enjoy the smell yourself.
3. Get Rid of Invasive Honeysuckle
Bush honeysuckle species are common and invasive in the U.S. They outcompete and crowd out native plants that are better for wildlife. Studies have shown that bush honeysuckle plants attract mosquitoes by creating an ideal environment of standing water and leaf litter that attracts mosquitoes more than other plants. It’s just another reason to pull out any invasive honeysuckle in your yard.
4. Don’t Let Bird Baths Become Stagnant
Bird baths are good for wildlife and bird viewing, but they can also harbor mosquito eggs and larvae. You can safely enjoy a bird bath with a few measures. Replace the water every few days while also giving the bath a good scrubbing. Alternatively, you can place an agitator in the bath. It will attract birds, and the moving water prevents mosquitoes from laying eggs.
5. Invite Bats Into Your Garden
Make your yard a friendly place for bats, and you’ll have fewer mosquitoes because bats eat them. You can attract bats by installing bat houses and growing native flowering species that they feed on.
6. Use Your Leftover Coffee
Coffee in standing water has been shown to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs. Whether the smell of coffee grounds left outside may be strong enough to deter or confuse mosquitoes is less clear. It’s certainly worth trying if you have used coffee grounds on hand.
7. Give BTI a Try
Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) is a subspecies of bacteria that affects mosquitoes, gnats, and black flies. It does not harm people and many other pests, so it provides a safe and natural way to kill mosquitoes. You can use BTI in standing water and in various areas of the garden where mosquitoes gather and breed.
8. Protect Rain Barrels From Pests
A rain barrel is a useful element in the garden, but it can also be a source of mosquito eggs and larvae. BTI is one option for mosquito control in rain barrels. Add it to your rain barrel to kill any mosquitoes that enter it. Add a natural soap product to create a slick surface mosquitoes can’t land on. Vegetable oil on the surface has a similar effect.
9. DIY Mosquito Repellant Bug Spray
Bug spray is often the most effective way to avoid getting bitten when outside, but the ingredients aren’t always safe or environmentally friendly. Make your own natural spray with ingredients like citronella, mint, lemon balm or verbena, garlic, fennel, marigold, and other stinky items. Boil them in water and let it cool to create a natural repellant.
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