Which Plants Repel Mosquitos?

As the weather starts to warm up and we spend more time outdoors, pests like mosquitoes return in droves. Using specific plants in your garden can be a natural way of repelling them, allowing you to enjoy the outdoors.

Some plants that repel mosquitoes are:

• Catnip - easy to grow and low maintenance, is a member of the mint family and produces purple flowers during Summer and Autumn.

• Rosemary - also easy to grow and low maintenance, is an edible herb and produces pale blue to purple flowers in Spring and Summer.

• Basil - as well as repelling mosquitos, basil has many uses in the kitchen including topping pizzas and making pesto and produces white flowers in late Summer.

• Lavender - easy to grow, many different varieties of flower types and colours to choose from and the scent is calming.

• Marigolds - most popularly used as a companion plant to attract bees, marigolds come in a variety of colours and give off a sweet scent to the human nose.

• Lemongrass - the citronella oil extracted from lemongrass is commonly used in mosquito repellents and candles, lemongrass does double duty by repelling mosquitoes and being used as an aromatic herb.

• Garlic - its strong scent repels mosquitoes and is commonly used in cooking.

• Mint - also has a strong scent to repel mosquitoes and is used in a variety of ways in the kitchen, including in drinks, in desserts and as a garnish.