Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Never Too Early to Think About Mosquitoes


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It’s Spring time and it’s time to get out in the garden full force. If you are like me, you’ve probably lost several plants to the elements with all this crazy weather we’ve been having. No rain, extreme heat and just plain old life have left me with huge holes in my garden. To make matters worse, the end of January when I was cleaning up debris and cutting back plants I had a moment of inspiration or temporary insanity and I just started snatching plants out of the ground like a mad man for no apparent reason. I guess it was a desperate need for change. At any rate, I now have a huge bed that is about 2/3 empty. I’ve been frantically trying to think of what plants I want to put in to replace the ones I’ve, um er… lost.

Anyone that has a garden as extensive as I do knows that mid-summer it becomes a playground for thousands of mosquitoes. I try my best not to spray on a broad spectrum because I don’t want to do anything to hurt the beneficial insects in my garden. Now I will squash the occasional wasp, but if they don’t mess with me or damage my plants I usually leave them alone. I think every living thing adds its own energy to the garden and it’s a huge part of what makes you feel so good when you saunter through one. Sorry, I digress…

Because of the tremendous mosquito problem I have and trust me I definitely have one; I’ve decided to fill several of my garden holes with plants that mosquitoes find offensive. I apologize for not having photos of these plants, but at least I can provide you a list of them and maybe it will be of help to you. The key essential oils we are looking for in plants are Citronella, Linalool and Citronellol. Citronella being the most affective of the three.

Scented Geranium- Why don’t we start off with the oh so popular scented geranium or Mosquito Plant (Pelargonium citrosum) . While the plant does have a lemon scent to it, a study done by Florida A&M University showed it actually has no affect on mosquitoes. They will actually land on the plant and rest themselves while they wait for us to arrive. The University of Guelph in Ontario performed a very similar study by extracting the essential oils and using them on test subjects. The results were the same, completely ineffective at deterring the little varmints. Rose Geranium, however has a much higher level of Citronellol and may be more successful.

Lemon Balm- Lemon Balm contains 400% more Citronellol than the afore mentioned Scented Geranium.

Catnip- Catnip contains Nepetalactone which has been proven to be 10 times more effective against Mosquitos than DEET. Your garden kitties will love you for it as well.

Citronella Grass- Cybopogdon nardus and Citronella winterianus are the true varieties of Citronella grass and are considered to be the very best deterrent again the winged vampires. Unfortunately, they are only cold hardy to zone 10.

Rosemary- Is known to repel mosquitoes AND moths.

Lavender- The New York Botanical Garden highly recommends this plant. It contains considerable levels of Linalool, which has been scientifically proven to repel those worrisome gnats. It’s effectiveness on mosquitoes is controversial, but it does also fend off fleas and roaches. Rosemary and Lavender were both plants I was already considering so both will find their way into my empty bed.

Monarda punctata- Contains Thymol which is a mosquito deterrent, guess what else contains the same chemical? Listerine… which can be mixed with water and sprayed in your garden. Thymol is a key ingredient in many pesticides. Kind of scary to think about it being in your mouthwash isn’t it?

Marigolds- Contrary to popular belief, marigolds do not deter mosquitoes. However! The roots can release enough of a natural chemical compound into the soil it kills nematodes. So that’s a good thing.

I took quite a bit of time to carefully research theses plants and read university studies to provide you with as accurate information as I could. Hope you learn something from it. Keep in mind none of these plants will work if the essential oils are not released, so brush of against them on your evening stroll in the garden.

13 comments:

  1. Hi Randy, This is very interesting. I never thought much about the scented plants to repel mosquitoes. No wonder my cats love catnip. I hope these plants make a big difference in your mosquito populations this summer. Keep us posted.

    Thank you for commenting on my blog too. Cheers.

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    1. Me too Grace, sometimes they are so bad I can't even walk around the garden in the afternoon.

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  2. Great info! thanks for the research :)

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    1. You are very welcome Aaron. I'm no where near as informative as you are though.:0)

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  3. Very informative I didnt know most of that.
    Colvin

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    1. See! You should come here more often, you may learn something. :0)

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  4. I can't wait to get out there and plant something. It won't be long. We are still having frost every night. Baaahhhhhh Good to see you here. Take care of your back this summer. Better baby it along.

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    1. Awwwwwwwwwwww! Sorry about ther frost. It'll be gone soon hopefully. I'm going to take care of lot of stuff with me this summer. I think I just need an over all healing. :0)

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  5. I like how you get rid of mosquitoes the organic way. Its so eco-friendly and less pungent.

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  6. Wow, this was really interesting! Your writing is always such a pleasure to read. If you write a book, I will rush out to buy it!

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  7. I have planted shrubs that provide fruits for the birds and provided them with a water source. They have generously thanked me by eating the mosquitoes.

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  8. WOW!! Worth reading.. The only plant I know that repels mosquito is the "lemon grass" as it is commnly known here..

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  9. If only we could find the plant that naturally puts off the scent without us having to brush up against it. LOL, I have Rosemary and Lavender in my gardens and also mosquitoes! We seem to have more of a biting fly issue then mosquito in our neck of the woods. But am sure that is due to us having so many darn droughts. But those eggs are dormant and when we have the rain, we get the mosquitoes. We have had a lot of rain lately (which is a good thing) and I am sure the mosquitoes will be horrible this year. Sigh, I must remember to brush up against the Rosemary and Lavender this year.... Thanks for the wonderful research on this matter...

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