Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……. Ahhh – those blood sucking flying nuisances are back in action now that warm weather is out in full force. Dang mosquitoes, how you drive me up a wall!
Lucky for me, I am not very tasty. I get a bite or two each summer but nothing like Rasta Daddy experience. Poor guy gets eaten alive.
So of course, I set out to find a natural way to keep mosquitoes out of our outdoor living space. I found some pretty slick tricks! (Product links take you to Amazon, my affiliate partner).
7 Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes
1. Use yellow lights (like these), not white lights in your outside fixtures. Insects are more drawn to the bright white light than they are to yellow light. While yellow lights won’t keep every mosquito away, they will certain not create an environment mosquitoes are more drawn to.
2. Wear dark clothing, use dark tablecloths, and have dark patio furniture cushions. Mosquitoes are drawn to bright colors and tend to pass up darker colors.
3. Spray the area you are in with neem oil (I like this brand for outdoor use) mixed with water (about a 50/50 ratio). Mosquitoes hate neem with a passion and will steer clear of it. You can also use Neem oil on your body as well as use Neem oil shampoos on your pets.
4. If you’re using the barbeque, throw a bit of sage or rosemary on the coals to repel mosquitoes.
5. This sounds obvious but remove standing water! If you have a pond or fountain, plant rosemary, garlic, catnip, or marigold around it. Mosquitoes are not a fan of these plants.
6. Plant Thai Lemon Grass around your outdoor living spaces. It is a natural and effective mosquito repellent. It contains the natural oil, citronella, which is safe and effective. Lemon grass citronella is considered more effective than true citronella as an insect repellent. You can also take the stems at the base of the plant and mush them between your fingers. Rub this on you and mosquitoes will look elsewhere for their meal.
7. If you want to take things to an extreme crunchy level, you can hang bat houses like this one around your yard. Best. Mosquito. Control. Ever. Not to mention the added bonus of guano fertilizer. Come on – you know you want to!
Minus the bat house, I have had great success with these 7 natural ways to get rid of mosquitoes!
What about you? What has worked in your home and yard? Be sure to check out all my other great natural pest control posts as well. I will teach you how to get rid of ants, keep earwigs at bay, stop slugs from nibbling your garden, keep moths out of your pantry and closets, prevent a spider invasion and more!
DoReGaMa says
May 27, 2014 at 11:46 PMsuperb tips , i want to use these tips to avoid mosquitos ,thanks for sharing this information
Ben says
May 31, 2014 at 5:05 PMMosquitoes make up only a VERY tiny fraction of a bat’s diet, because bats fly higher than mosquitoes. They don’t prefer them and this will not impact a mosquito problem in any noticeable way.
Try making a simple spray from vinegar (white or apple cider) and garlic. It smells but it keeps them off you. Also try eating more garlic, and mix two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar into a glass of water and drink every day.
Also mosquito rings in your bird baths/fountains won’t hurt the birds but will keep eggs from hatching.
joyce gonzalez says
June 1, 2014 at 9:53 AMI have been wanted to buy lemon grass but can not find nothing at all no store nothing can you help me buy some somewhere thank-you
Jennifer says
June 8, 2014 at 8:48 PMHi Joyce,
I order them online. This one has been great! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PXZCUA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000PXZCUA&linkCode=as2&tag=hybrasmam-20&linkId=LU2MAP5S7G3WJ73Q
Steve says
December 15, 2015 at 10:52 PMGreat, the post is highly appreciated. This will help a lot in killing and keeping away mosquitoes from our houses without having so many efforts. I am looking for natural ways of home pest control against rodents. If you have any tips for rodent control, kindly share it with me.