15 Natural Mosquito Repellent Plants

Mosquitoes are insects the world can do without. At least, that’s what many wish, myself included. However, these annoying disease-carrying pests play a part in the complex food web.

That said, one could do better by just using natural mosquito repellent plants rather than toxic chemical insecticides. Enjoy the outdoors (and even indoors) without the hassles of mosquitoes hovering around waiting for their chance to help themselves to your blood.

Have some of the plants in this list in your yard and in your home to keep those pesky mosquitoes away.

1.    Basil

A favorite herb for cooking, especially in Italian cuisine, basil is also perfect for warding off mosquitoes. Keep a pot of basil plant in your kitchen so you can cook in peace and have fresh basil leaves at your disposal.

2.    Bee balm

The bee balm is an ornamental plant that repels mosquitoes but attracts bees and even hummingbirds.

3.    Catnip

Catnip is ten times better than DEET in getting rid of mosquitoes. The only problem with catnip is that cats are attracted to it. So, place them in an area far from your precious garden plants so you won’t have your feline friends trampling all over them.

4.    Citronella Grass

Perhaps the most popular of all natural mosquito repellent plants, citronella grass produces an odor that mosquitoes hate. This is why citronella is the main ingredient of many anti-mosquito products.

5.    Garlic

Garlic has many uses aside from providing its distinct taste to many dishes. It has numerous medicinal uses and apparently keeps bloodthirsty vampires away, as well. The latter may just be a myth, but studies have shown that it does keep mosquitoes at bay.

6.    Geranium

This ornamental plant looks great when placed in a container and hung by the window. It is perfect indoors where it provides a beautiful sight while keeping the skeeters away.

7.    Lavender

Lavender is a popular garden plant not only for its aesthetic value, pleasant scent, and calming effects. It can also keep mosquitoes and other critters away.

8.    Lemon Balm

Like the rest of the mint family, lemon balm is effective against these skeeters. It is also useful in treating digestive problems, cramps, and PMS.

9.    Lemongrass

Lemongrass is similar to the citronella grass in looks. It also contains the ingredient citronella, making it an excellent way to keep the bloodsuckers at bay.

10. Lemon Thyme

Gather some lemon thyme leaves and crush them up before leaving them in places where mosquitoes like to gather. A study done by the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada discovered that mosquito bites are lessened by 62%, thanks to lemon thyme.

11. Marigolds

Pyrethrum, the substance that gives marigold its one-of-a-kind scent, is nature’s insecticide. Marigolds in your garden will make it not only pretty and but also bug-free.

12. Mint

Peppermint and other members of the mint family are not only known for their distinct taste and scent but also for their effectiveness against bugs, especially mosquitoes.

13. Pennyroyal

Pennyroyals make for a great ground cover in your garden. The purple flowers are beautiful to look at and attract butterflies. The plant also repels mosquitoes.

14. Rosemary

Like basil, rosemary is a favorite herb among cooking enthusiasts. Aside from keeping those pesky mosquitoes away, it’s also great for your memory.

15. Tea Tree

Tea tree oil is a popular essential oil used in many ways, including repelling mosquitoes. You can grow your own plant and use the leaves to make your own bug oil or spray.

Sources: The Spirit Science and Best Plants 

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15 Natural Mosquito Repellent Plants

Exotic, possibly deadly Asian tiger mosquito detected in north Queensland

An exotic mosquito that has the prospective to spread deadly diseases has been detected in north Queensland.

The grownup Asian tiger mosquito was collected in a schedule monitoring trap at Cairns port late last week and is believed to have arrived on an worldwide vessel.

The Asian tiger mosquito can bite dozens of instances a minute. It is capable of spreading conditions such as chikungunya virus, Ross River virus, dengue and yellow fever.

Associated: Vicious mosquito heads to Australia, its bite loaded with dengue fever

Although it is nevertheless to create itself on the mainland, populations have existed in the Torres Strait Islands for about a decade.

Mosquito researcher Nigel Beebe stated the tiger mosquito was generating a “world domination” move.

“We really do not want that thing right here, we are attempting quite difficult to hold it out,” he said on Tuesday.

“Modelling has suggested it will go as far as Melbourne and Adelaide. We contact it the barbecue buster and individuals will truly dislike it since it will hammer them.”

Authorities acted swiftly to destroy any other grownup mosquitoes that might have entered Cairns port.

A Division of Agriculture spokeswoman said prospective breeding and resting internet sites had been treated with a residual insecticide and fogging had been undertaken.

Added mosquito traps had been deployed and have been becoming monitored everyday.

“There have been no further Asian tiger mosquitoes detected,” the spokeswoman explained.

Exotic, possibly deadly Asian tiger mosquito detected in north Queensland

Exotic, probably deadly Asian tiger mosquito detected in north Queensland

An exotic mosquito that has the potential to spread deadly ailments has been detected in north Queensland.

The adult Asian tiger mosquito was collected in a schedule monitoring trap at Cairns port late last week and is believed to have arrived on an global vessel.

The Asian tiger mosquito can bite dozens of times a minute. It is capable of spreading conditions this kind of as chikungunya virus, Ross River virus, dengue and yellow fever.

Related: Vicious mosquito heads to Australia, its bite loaded with dengue fever

Even though it is yet to set up itself on the mainland, populations have existed in the Torres Strait Islands for about a decade.

Mosquito researcher Nigel Beebe said the tiger mosquito was making a “world domination” move.

“We really don’t want that point here, we are attempting quite difficult to preserve it out,” he said on Tuesday.

“Modelling has recommended it will go as far as Melbourne and Adelaide. We call it the barbecue buster and folks will truly dislike it because it will hammer them.”

Authorities acted swiftly to destroy any other adult mosquitoes that may have entered Cairns port.

A Department of Agriculture spokeswoman explained possible breeding and resting internet sites had been treated with a residual insecticide and fogging had been undertaken.

Added mosquito traps had been deployed and had been becoming monitored daily.

“There have been no further Asian tiger mosquitoes detected,” the spokeswoman said.

Exotic, probably deadly Asian tiger mosquito detected in north Queensland

Vicious mosquito heads to Australia, its bite loaded with dengue fever

Australia is getting ready for an invasion by an aggressive and exotic pest that threatens to spread dengue fever to southern capitals.

Queensland scientists have begun breeding the Asian tiger mosquito, a hugely invasive species which is in a position to bite dozens of instances a minute.

They are closely learning the country’s only colony of the insect, caged behind a series of locked doors in Brisbane’s QIMR Berghofer Health-related Research Institute.

Associate professor Greg Devine says the analysis is vital provided the mosquito’s prospective to introduce the debilitating chikungunya virus and spread conditions such as dengue to capital cities.

“What we’d like to realize is the genuine risk of transmission in urban centres like Brisbane and Sydney,” he stated.

“We are also hunting at the way it would interact with native mosquitoes so we can determine how quick its affect will be.”

But its best effect will be on Australia’s outdoor lifestyle because it thrives in and close to residences and bites all day.

“It’s come to be known as the barbecue stopper, and for very good reason,” Devine mentioned.

The large and aggressive mosquito is capable of spreading several illnesses, such as Ross River virus, yellow fever and chikungunya.

There is no therapy for the Chikungunya virus, typical in south-east Asia, which can depart sufferers with extreme joint ache for months.

When the Asian tiger mosquito will invade Australia is not recognized but Devine stated it would be a case of when, not if.

“It’s absolutely only a matter of time,” he said.

“It arrived in the Torres Strait about 2005, but of program that’s not the only route at which it can come in.

“There is no doubt it is coming eventually simply because it’s been picked up so many occasions at Australia’s borders.”

Vicious mosquito heads to Australia, its bite loaded with dengue fever

Targeting mosquito breeding sites in the fight towards malaria

A wellness employee sprays pesticide on a pool of stagnant rain water – an ideal breeding website for mosquitoes, in New Delhi, India. Photograph: Manpreet Romana/AFP/Getty Pictures

As a youthful civil engineer in the 1950s, my grandfather was posted to Khartoum in Sudan, tasked with helping to construct a new water provide, drains and sewers for the city. Decades later on, this program started to leak and became 1 of the primary sources of standing water for malaria-transmitting mosquitoes to breed.

Nonetheless, right now, as part of a renewed hard work to manage malaria in Khartoum, these pipes are currently being mended. Other possible breeding web sites are destroyed on a standard basis. Those that can not be dried are treated with larvicide and this has contributed to a huge reduction (pdf) in malaria in the city.

This strategy – acknowledged as larval source management – aims to stop mosquitoes from breeding in swampy land and standing water, and research suggests it could perform an critical function in future malaria management.

Fantastic achievement has been accomplished in malaria control in the previous decade, with international malaria mortality minimize by a quarter. Nevertheless, our core vector management resources – long-lasting insecticide-treated bednets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying of residences (IRS) – are being undermined by mosquito resistance to insecticides.

Larval source management, or LSM, could be an further technique. Historically it was the mainstay of early malaria handle operations, employed in Brazil, Egypt, Zambia, Indonesia, Europe, the US and a lot of other components of the planet. Famously, it was utilized to protect staff constructing the Panama Canal amongst 1904 and 1914. Even so, LSM fell out of trend in the mid-20th century, with the development of DDT for indoor house spraying.

These days there is renewed interest in LSM. Discipline trials in Eritrea, the Gambia, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Tanzania have demonstrated its possible impact. Many malaria-endemic nations in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere are also working or arranging LSM and last year the Globe Overall health Organisation published a guide to aid guide programmes.

Until finally lately, there has been small consensus on the effectiveness of LSM, stemming partly from the complexity of trialling this type of environmental intervention, meaning that reasonably few very good scientific studies exist. Some varieties of LSM also require an intense hard work and close management, related to IRS. Reflecting this, the newest Globe Wellness Organisation tips suggest larviciding as a supplementary malaria intervention, but advocate for more study to totally help its use in all settings.

Nonetheless last yr a Cochrane overview, the gold standard in synthesising proof on public overall health interventions, concluded that LSM may possibly reduce malaria incidence by up to 75%, and the prevalence of malaria infection by up to 90%. As such, LSM can be an efficient method towards malaria in parts of Asia and Africa.

LSM is not a panacea. We need to have to know much more ahead of we can assistance its use in specific contexts for instance, the place swamps or ricefields stretch for a lot of kilometres. As a programme it need to also be cautiously tailored to neighborhood mosquito species and ecology, requiring intensive effort and close management all through. Nevertheless, it could demonstrate a relatively low-cost addition to our core malaria interventions.

LSM also heralds a return to a broader strategy to controlling malaria by involving sectors outside health. In Khartoum, responsibility for malaria handle is shared among the ministries of health, public functions, agriculture and education. Collectively these ministries operate to restore broken water pipes, get rid of water basins, drain and flush significant mosquito breeding internet sites, and introduce new irrigation methods that minimize standing water. All at an annual value of $ 600,000 (£360,000) – or about ten cents per individual protected.

Of program, we need to proceed to advocate for high levels of funding for malaria handle. It is also critical to maintain higher coverage with current very first line interventions. Long-lasting insecticide taken care of nets, indoor residual spraying, preventive medication for substantial-threat groups and very good situation management remain integral to tackling this ancient illness.

Lucy Tusting is a research degree pupil at the London School of Hygiene &amp Tropical Medicine department of condition control. Stick to @LSHTMpress on Twitter

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Targeting mosquito breeding sites in the fight towards malaria