If you are having an issue with mosquitoes or gnats in your home, it’s understandable why you would not want to constantly spray your home with pesticides. Fortunately, there are a lot of natural ways to repel these pests. If you have indoor plants, you know how annoying it is to have bugs living in your soil.
While this is common, mixing in plants that repel mosquitoes is a good way to keep gnats and mosquitoes away from your plants.
If this is a problem for you in your indoor garden, try growing some of these plants.
These plants not only repel mosquitoes, but they also can be used in a lot of recipes.
Consider keeping them in your kitchen so that you can always access them, and you’ll get the added benefit of keeping gnats and mosquitoes out of your food prep areas.
Below we are going to cover some of the more popular indoor plants that repel mosquitoes. Some of these are really easy to grow and maintain.
1. Basil
The strong aroma and taste of this plant work to repel gnats and mosquitoes. If you want to use the plant to repel mosquitoes in other areas, just ship a few leaves and hang them in a net bag. AS the plant dries, the scent will repel a variety of pests. Basil is also used in a lot of Italian recipes.
2. Garlic
This is another plant with a very strong aroma that repels a wide variety of bugs and other pests. While you can grow it on its own, it’s often most effective when grown next to a plant that is attracting bugs. Take an entire bulb of garlic (you can purchase whole garlic in the produce section), and break it apart into separate cloves.
Remove the outer “paper” from these cloves, then place the entire clove directly into the soil next to the plants you want to protect. Over time, the garlic will likely sprout long green leaves; this is expected and it won’t hurt the plants it is next to.
If you want, clip the leaves (known as garlic greens) and use them in recipes that call for garlic or chives.
3. Lemon Balm
This very fragrant plant is great in bathrooms; the citric acid it produces is the chemical that repels mosquitoes and other pests. Lemon balm is used in a few recipes, but most people like to mix it with water and vinegar and use it as a cleaning agent. The citric acid makes this mixture anti-microbial as well as great at repelling bugs. Using it regularly to clean kitchens and bathrooms means that the mixture is both cleaning and repelling pests.
4. Onion and Chives
The strong scents of these plants will repel a lot of different kinds of bugs. There are a lot of different varieties of onions, and some of them are very ornamental; featuring bright purple and yellow flowers. In addition to using both the roots and the greens in recipes, onions are also a good plant to mix into a cleaning solution.
The plant has been shown to have anti-microbial properties, and many people choose to use a half onion to scrub stubborn spots and stains on their counters. Onions can be used in a lot of different ways around your house.
5. Mint
Mint has a strong smell, but like lemon balm many people like the smell and grow it in areas of their home that they want to smell nicer.
Mint will repel pests on its own, and it’s often used as a filler plant in baskets and other containers. Be aware that mint can spread very quickly, so you may want to consider segregating it in its own pot.
If you want to spread the pest control benefits of mint, consider clipping and grinding the leaves, then mixing the clippings into a spray bottle with warm water. The solution is not acidic enough to do any harm to plants if you use too much mint.
6. Rosemary
There are a lot of different types of rosemary, so if you’re growing it indoors look for an ornamental type with purple flowers or blue flowers. The sap in the stems of rosemary is what repels the mosquitoes, but the sap will be present in smaller amounts on the leaves.
Rosemary is very easy to propagate through cuttings; simply snip a small piece from the mother plant and place it directly into potting soil.
Because it is easy to propagate, many people choose to place a small twig in indoor containers with other plants to repel pests and mosquitoes. If you choose to do this, just make sure that you cut back the rosemary so that it does not overtake the plant.
7. Sage
A strong odor helps this plant to repel mosquitoes and pests. Use it in cooking stuffing and savory breads.
8. Catnip
A great plant for growing indoors, but be aware that cats can tend to lick it too much.
9. Citronella
This is a classic plant that people think of when talking about repelling mosquitoes.
10. Geraniums
Geraniums have a strong smell that repels pests. Growing them indoors makes a great addition to an indoor flower garden.
11. Lavender
A good plant with a strong scent for repelling pest and mosquitoes.
