Mosquito-Repelling Plants | Fact or Fiction

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Summer means bloodthirsty mosquitoes will be ruining our backyard hangouts and outdoor adventures. This weekend we noticed that fragrant leaves mosquito-repelling plants are available at gardening centers and nurseries. We saw a couple with at least such plants hoping to keep their back porch mosquitoes free. We did some research on the different types of reliant plants. Are the claims true? We found good news and some bad news.

Mosquito Plant: This plant is a tropical plant with green lacy leaves. These plants are engineered to produce citronella. Simply adding this pretty plant to your patio area won’t stop the mosquitoes from biting.
Lemongrass: Lemongrass is a pretty tall, grassy plant considered a natural source of citronella – it won’t repel mosquitoes as the leaves need to be crushed to release the mosquito repelling oil.

Two other plants aren’t often associated with providing mosquito protection that may even work better. Lemon Thyme or “creeping lemon thyme seems to do better than Lemongrass or mosquito at fending off mosquitoes. Lemon Balm contains more citronellas, as much as 400 times more than the fancy leaf mosquito plant. Both the lemon balm and lemon thyme are less expensive and easier to grow. But like Lemon Grass and Moquitoe Plant, the leaves need to be caused to release the oils.

We found a video that may help us keep these fun-sucking pests at bay allowing you more time to enjoy spring and summer!

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