Catnip Bush
Benefits of Professional Landscape Design
Designing you landscape with certain plants will have some effect in repelling mosquitoes from areas of your home and garden.
Here are five of the most effective mosquito repelling plants which are easy to grow in most regions of the US:
1. Citronella is the most common natural ingredient used in formulating mosquito repellents. The distinctive citronella aroma is a strong smell which masks other attractants to mosquitoes, making it harder for them to find you. Although citronella is used in many forms, such as scented candles, torches and citronella ‘scented’ plants, the living plant is more effective because it has a stronger smell.
2. Horsemint is an adaptable perennial plant which repels mosquitoes much the same as citronella. It gives off a strong incense-like odor which confuses mosquitoes by masking the smell of its usual hosts.
3. Marigolds are commonly grown as ornamental border plants, marigolds are hardy annual plants which have a distinctive smell which mosquitoes, and some gardeners, find particularly offensive. Marigolds contain Pyrethrum, a compound used in many insect repellents.
4. Ageratum, also known as Flossflowers, Ageratum emits a smell which mosquito’s find particularly offensive. Ageratum secretes coumarin, which is widely used in commercial mosquito repellents.
5. Catnip is a natural mosquito repellent. In August 2010, entomologists at Iowa State University reported to the American Chemical Society that catnip is ten times more effective than DEET, the chemical found in most commercial insect repellents. According to Iowa State researcher Chris Peterson, the reason for its effectiveness is still unknown.
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