Plants to Repel Mosquitos Around Your House

 

These pesky critters tend to come around during warm weather and aren't afraid to bite.

However, you have to plant lots of them!  Not a single plant, but rather five, six, or nine.

Let’s start with GARLIC which is one of the most protective plants against mosquitoes. Plant garlic in late summer in groups all around your house and the patio. It does not only repel mosquitos, but 18 months later you can harvest the cloves for your kitchen.

Cut garlic cloves into slivers and scatter them around your outdoor living areas, or combine them with oils and other liquid ingredients to make a repellent spray for your yard. Furthermore, you can blend garlic with essential oils to make a mosquito-repellent spray for your body. Mosquitoes won’t be able to stand the unappealing smell. 

HERBS

The next best thing are herbs, such as OREGANO, BASIL, ROSEMARY, LEMON THYME, SAGE, FENNEL, PEPPERMINT, or LEMON BALM,  Herbs usually like sunny spots in your garden, and can be planted in pots that you might place around your patio or garden sitting areas.

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CITRONELLA 

It thrives when it is in full to partial sun, but it does need protection from the midday sun. It is also a plant that does well in planters.  Citronella candles can also provide up to 50 percent extra protection.

CATNIP 

In recent years, this has become a very popular method of repelling mosquitoes. A study in Science Daily even suggests that Nepetalactone, the plant’s essential oil, is approximately ten times more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes. Therefore, much less of this oil is needed to be effective. Plant catnip in your garden as a backyard defense, or crush the leaves and rub them directly on your skin.

PEPPERMINT

Minty fragrances are unpleasant to a mosquito's keen senses. The mere presence of peppermint plants can ward off these pesky flying insects to some degree. You can also turn peppermint into a personal repellent by crushing the leaves and rubbing them on your skin.  Plant peppermint in containers or pots that you sink into the garden soil - after covering the wholes with thick cardboard.  This way you will avoid that they spread throughout your garden beds. 

LAVENDER

It may be a favorite scent of many people, mosquitoes would disagree. They detest the pungent scent of the purple flower, and stay away at all costs. Like most of the plants on this list, lavender can be used by extracting the oils and applying to the skin directly or making a body spray. You can also simply plant it in your garden. Best of all, the beautiful purple flowers are sure to liven up your landscape.

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LEMON GERANIUMS

One of the best types of plants to use when trying to repel mosquitoes is the lemon geranium. The strong lemony scent is great for getting them out of the area.  They need to grow in full to partial sun.

ALLIUM FLOWERS

They are your first defense in spring and a relative to the onion. Similar to onions, the allium has the power to repel mosquitoes. Plant the bulbs in the fall and enjoy their beauty after the winter. As they grow tall, place them behind other plants in the flower bed, or close to house walls or fences.

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Grow Your Vegetables in Winter

I learned it by accident: One day I discovered that potato peels I had thrown into the compost started to grow and weeks later I had a nice harvest of new potatoes. They tasted even better than the store-bought - no wonder to the fine compost soil they grew in.
Buy once and keep growing - sounds almost too good to be true. Instead of just composting or throwing away the leftovers, you can grow new plants from them. This not only benefits your wallet but is also an important step against food waste.  Here are just a few examples, there is more produce you can re-grow:

• Green onion
• celery
• ginger
• garlic
• potatoes

Green Onions
An onion does not just grow a new plant.  Instead of replanting them, you can also grow and use the green of the onion. The roots of the onion must be placed in a container filled with water and placed in a sunny place. Then you should change the water every few days.  With this care, the green of the onion begins to grow again.  You can also just use the remaining part of a green onion (with the roots on) and place it in moist soil.

Celery
Place the leftover celery stalk in a shallow bowl of water and then place on a sunny windowsill.  Make sure that the core is just covered with water and it is changed every few days.  After a good week, fresh leaves begin to sprout from the stalk.  Now you can put the whole thing in a pot with earth.  A few weeks later you will already be able to harvest new celery.

GInger 
Ginger is not only healthy and delicious, but it's also easy to grow by yourself.  All you need is patience.  Leaving the tubers for some time, it forms small, green shoots by itself. These can be broken off and planted in a pot with soil.  A few months later, when the leaves have died, the ginger root can be harvested.

Garlic
Garlic cloves, which are a little longer, form small shoots.  The growth can be accelerated if the toes are placed in a bowl with a bit of water.  After a few days, the garlic sprouts are a couple inches long and can be harvested.  They taste milder than the originals and are perfect for refining dishes.  If you want to grow a new garlic bulb, plant a toe in a pot with soil.  The pot should then stand in a sunny place and be watered regularly.

Potatoes
You can easily cut a raw potato into pieces, making sure that each piece has two "eyes" and is at least one inch thick.  The potato pieces should then stand in an airy place and dry. After two days, they can be planted in moist soil.  Since the tubers need very nutrient-rich soil, the soil should be best mixed with some compost.  Now a new potato plant can grow!

Get more ideas and images here:
https://www.icreativeideas.com/13-vegetables-that-you-can-regrow-again-and-again/

Best thing is: you can grow these veggies also during the winter on a windowsill.  Enjoy your own FREE produce!

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