Plants that repel mosquitos?
I've got a small off grid place near a pond. The pond is nice to ponder at, but also a lovely breeding ground for mosquitos.
Therefore, I keep the door to the cabin usually closed.
But, as temperature is rising, I'm wondering if a screen door + some naturally mosquito repelling plants near the entrance might do the trick as well. So I can get some air flow at night.
Are there any such plants you know of? Preferentially perennial.
Plant plants to attract birds that eat mosquitoes- where I live, that’s hummingbirds. They eat their weight in insects daily, not just nectar. Sages are a good choice. Add a bat box to your property- bats also eat mosquitoes. Put some fish in your pond that eat mosquito larvae. Also add more aeration to your pond to discourage breeding, I like solar powered aerators.
Mint, lemongrass, lavender… nothing works as far as I’m concerned (Ontario, Canada). Same with ultrasonic repellants, burning coils, torches, TiO2 bulbs, taking vitamin B or garlic.
What does work for me are devices like the mosquito magnet: they burn propane to produce humidity and CO2 and use a fan to blow that through an optional chemical attractant like octanol while using the use the suction of the other side of the fan to draw the little bastards into a mesh basket where they are trapped until they desiccate.
These machines serve two purposes: they take care of the mosquitoes today and over time they break the reproductive cycle of the mosquitoes in the area which after ~6 weeks DRAMATICALLY reduces the problem for the rest of the season. A 20lb tank of propane lasts about a month. The downside is that these machines tend to be VERY finicky and you have to futz around with them after the first season to get them working again. Not great for a $500+ device.
Additionally, building bat houses and encouraging swallows to nest in the area also do wonders: both of these creatures are voracious mosquito hunters (and barn swallows are my favourite bird).
I am lucky enough that there's a lot of bats already.
I worry about poison, because I fear it might kill other insects, too. The place is one of the only places I know of that still has fireflies for example.
Thanks for letting me know not to bother with the ultrasonic gadgets and other gizmos.
Not exactly what you asked, but.. I use: Culinex tabs against mosquitos.
You put it in a bucket or other body of water and will kill the larvae before they hatch.
I use this with moderate success. I think my limited success is the nature of the creek constantly cycling out water.
In the US they can be bought as mosquito bits/dunks https://summitchemical.com/products/mosquito-bits/
It is important to note this is not a poison. It is a naturally occurring bacteria that is harmless to the food chain (Bacillus thuringiensis). That is important to me and, I think, a lot of others.
Lemongrass in large quantities supposedly helps. About 2/3rds as effective as Deet based on one study.
I planted some along my driveway two years ago, but I still got bit a lot. I'm the mosquito whisperer so they will bite me even when not biting others. YMMV.
Zone, soil type, and sun would help narrow things down.
Lemongrass did well for me, but that won't survive most winters. Unless you're okay with keeping things in pots and wintering indoors
You're right! Climate zone is cfb. The place is shaded by trees.
Wintering indoors is sadly not possible, as there's no climate controlled indoors nearby.
Thanks
Mint
That sounds too good to be true.
It's also impossible to stop once it starts spreading
It is not the best but it does help
Corymbia citriodora is supposed to work very well for repelling mosquitos. In my experience, it does nothing whatsoever, but I've also never seen a healthy tree, so your experience may be different.