When the weather warms up especially here in the south, mosquitos are sure to follow. Mosquitos mark their victims by the odors we give off, carbon dioxide (the air we exhale) and lactic acid an important component of human sweat!
Here some ideas for choosing the right plants to help keep pesky mosquitos away!
Try planting these:
Citronella- We are familiar with the scent this time of year, as it is in candles, torches and used a lot for summer barbeques so we can spend more time outdoors. Citronella interferes with simple mechanisms to mask carbon dioxide and lactic acid in humans and is said to be an irritant for mosquitos, but fairly pleasant for most people.
Mentha plants have been studied for their ability to abate bugs based on their strong odor and were found to act as an effective deterrent against pesky insects such as mosquitos, wasps and ants. However, take caution when planting mint as it can take over your entire garden. I LOVE Peppermint and prefer to grow mine confined in large pots ideal for porch or patio.
Lavender- a flowering, fragrant herb from the mint family, Lamiacea, but it is often beloved for its visual appeal, scent and has countless other benefits. Lavender contains a constituent known as linalool, which produces a strong odor that is lovely to most of us and detestable to mosquitos.
And, lastly, I want to mention the unsung hero here…Catnip! In 2001, research conducted at Iowa State University, it was discovered that Catnip was 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than the compound used in most commercial bug repellents, (DEET) and this is at a 1% ratio, concentration!
How is this possible, you ask? Well, Catnip contains the chemical constituent…. Following along? Now the nerdy/science stuff… Nepetalactone is a terpene composed of two isoprene units, with a total of ten carbons. Nepetalactone gives the plant its characteristic odor and could highly likely be an irritant to the pesky bug. With that said, catnip is a pheromone to the mosquito that tells it to stay away! Catnip is non-toxic, whereas DEET is toxic, and has been shown to cause Toxic Shock Syndrome in children. (This could be why the label cautions to wash off as soon as you go indoors) This time of year, mosquitoes can become irritating in Tennessee. We’ve personally found catnip to be very effective.
Interesting fact about cats and catnip: Sources tell us that domestic and many wild cats (including cougars, bobcats, lions, and lynx) respond to the nepetalactone in catnip. However, not all cats react to catnip. The behavior is inherited as an autosomal dominant gene; 10-30% of domestic cats in a population may be unresponsive to nepetalactone.
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