6 Plants You Should Have in Your Garden to Ward Off Pesky Mosquitos

Do you love spending time outdoors but hate feeling like a mosquito magnet? It can take just a few seconds for them to zero in like you’re their catered lunch — which obviously leaves you covered with angry, itchy red bites.

Before you resign yourself to staying cooped up inside when the summer months arrive, you can start cultivating an anti-mosquito garden in your yard now. That’s right, according to the experts at the Old Farmer’s Almanac, certain plants ward off those pesky pests. The blooms also happen to be beautiful and will definitely add lovely dashes of color around your home!

Here are six delightful mosquito-repelling plant options you can start growing ASAP:

Lemongrass

This is the ingredient used in citronella candles, so you can give your yard an extra anti-bug boost growing the herb on its own. In fact, they seem to hate the smell of lemon in general, so anything with a super lemony aroma will work!

Where to buy: $5.49, Amazon

Lavender

You’ll feel the same level of calm you get from this popular essential oil fragrance, plus the benefit of less bug bites. Drying the leaves out and sprinkling them around your home will work, too.

Where to buy: $5.49, Amazon

Peppermint

Who doesn’t like the smell of delightful peppermint? Well, mosquitos — plus ants, who you can also keep from sneaking into your house by growing this plant and placing its leaves around bug-prone areas.

Where to buy: $2.20, Amazon

Catnip

Did you know this plant produced such pretty purple flowers? Your cat will love having a constant stock of this to snack on, and you won’t have to worry about mosquitos biting you while you pluck them from the garden.

Where to buy: $5.29, Amazon

Rosemary

Growing this delicious herb can especially come in handy when you’re hosting a cookout and mosquitos try to crash the party. The Almanac recommends tossing a few sprigs onto your BBQ to create a smoke that will really send them packing.

Where to buy: $6.96, Amazon

Marigolds

These stunning blooms are well-known for warding of worms, but they’re great at giving mosquitos an eviction notice, too. Plus, they’re just so gorgeous to look at.

Where to buy: $2.51, Amazon

Now start planting ASAP — summer is right around the corner!

We write about products we think our readers will like. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the supplier.