Mosquitoes Love Hiding in These 6 Types of Plants During Summer Heat – How to Keep Your Yard Bug-Free If You Already Grow Them

Here’s a typical scenario. You worked hard to create a beautiful outdoor space to enjoy in the summer. You set up an area to enjoy the evening in the garden only to hear a buzzing in your ear. Next, you’re slapping your neck, your arm, and running inside to avoid the mosquitoes that are plaguing your yard and garden.

Mosquitoes can absolutely ruin your outdoor peace. Not only are they a nuisance, but they are also a health risk, carrying diseases that can harm both humans and pets. Successful backyard mosquito control includes several key elements, including proper plant choice.

You might not have realized it, but there are some types of plants that actually attract mosquitoes. Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to make your outdoor space less welcoming, even if you already grow some of these plants. Here are a few of the most common culprits that could be harboring mosquitoes in your yard and what to do if you grow them.

1. Bromeliads

Bromeliads are colorful air plants that lend a tropical feel to the garden. They can grow outdoors year-round in warm climates or as houseplants that you move outside in summer in cooler climates.

Either way, if you have them in your garden, these delightful plants create cups of standing water, which is how they survive without soil. But the water, unfortunately, can become an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. They look for still water like this to lay eggs, which can hatch in a matter of days.

There is a solution, though. Add a little oil or dish soap to the standing water to break the surface tension, so mosquitoes can’t land on it.

2. Dense Ground Covers

Ground cover plants play a very useful role in the garden, creating lawns of green where grass won’t grow or where you don’t care to mow. Many ground covers do their job well, creating dense mats of low-growing plants: pachysandra, spurge, deadnettle, and sweet woodruff, just to name a few.

But these ground covers create an ideal environment for mosquitoes who love shade, cool temperatures, and moisture. You might even get standing water under these plants that helps skeeters breed.

To manage mosquitoes in these areas, trim the plants with a string trimmer to improve airflow – here's a list of our experts' top tested trimmer tools – and inspect regularly for standing water that should be drained. Rake out any leaf litter that gets trapped under the plants, as mosquitoes love this kind of environment, too.

3. Bamboo

Bamboo can be a fun plant to grow. It’s easy, forgiving, and grows very quickly to create privacy borders and living fences. But your bamboo plants might be harboring a secret: standing water in the hollow stems that attracts mosquitoes and protects their eggs and larvae. Additionally, bamboo grows quite densely in moist conditions that mosquitoes love.

Thin out crowded bamboo canes to reduce localized moisture and improve airflow. Keep the area around the canes clear, too, by weeding and raking up fallen debris.

Remove damaged canes regularly, as these are more likely to contain standing water. When you trim canes, cut them at an angle to help water drain out. Use a sharp, clean pair of loppers, like these ones from Fiskars, to make easy cuts.

4. Hostas

Hostas are extremely popular bedding plants for several reasons. They’re easy to grow, thrive even in the deepest shade, and come in a variety of sizes and shades of green. But the issue, when it comes to mosquitoes, is that these beloved plants create the perfect environment for unwanted pests under their broad, overlapping leaves.

Although mass plantings of hostas look nice, you can minimize the ideal mosquito conditions by spacing them out. Allow for a little airflow between each plant. Also, be sure to regularly rake out debris from under the leaves.

5. Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses have become very popular in landscaping because they are generally easy to grow, offer a unique texture and look, and offer visual interest year-round. Unfortunately, when grown close together, these grasses can attract and harbor mosquitoes.

The dense growth of closely packed grasses creates areas of shade, stagnant areas, and moisture that mosquitoes love. Also, the dense grass makes it more difficult for natural predators of mosquitoes, like birds or dragonflies, to find and eat the pests.

Avoid planting ornamental grasses too close together and thin out those you already have. Trim away dead growth as it develops – a handheld hedge trimmer like this one from Amazon makes it easy – and divide mature clumps every few years. It also helps to plant ornamental grasses in areas where a breeze naturally passes through them.

6. Overgrown Shrubs

Any shrub can become a haven for mosquitoes if it becomes overgrown. Some types of shrubs are especially likely to create dense cover that provides these pests with the moisture and cool temperatures they love: boxwoods, hollies, viburnums, for instance.

The easy fix is to keep your shrubs trimmed. Prune them every year to open the canopy. Remove interior branches to reduce density. Clean up the area under shrubs to remove mosquito-harboring debris.

While certain plants tend to be very attractive to mosquitoes, you don’t have to avoid them altogether. Typically, it’s more the environment than the plant itself that causes the issue, so you can take steps to enjoy these plants while eliminating pests. Trim regularly, space plants adequately, check for and remove standing water, and you can naturally get rid of mosquitoes in your yard.

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