What plants repel mosquitoes: grass, trees and flowers

In the summer, even the residents of cities in full growth face the problem of mosquito invasion. In summer houses and in private houses there is absolutely no escape from these bloodsuckers if there is at least a barrel of rain water nearby. A container with water should be located near each private house and cottages according to the requirements of fire safety. Can fight mosquitoes via mosquito nets, industrial insecticide or using aromatic oils. But there is another option that does not change the conditions of life, but requires some knowledge of botany. These are insect repellent plants.

Live repellents

Repellent - a substance that repels insects. It can not be alive. The plant is a multicellular living organism and cannot be a repellent. The plant emits repellent substances. In colloquial speech, for short, all intermediate links are thrown out and instead of “a plant that secretes a repellent”, only the “repellent plant” remains.

Insect repelled those plants that can emit essential aromatic oils. Almost all the usual fresh table spices are fresh repellents. Mosquitoes are scared not only spices. Scare off bloodsuckers can different plant forms:

• herbs;
• flowers;
• shrubs;
• trees

Herbs are most common as repellents, as they often bring double benefits: they scare off insects when fresh, and can be used as a seasoning when dry.There are few repellent trees and not all of them can be planted near the house.

To protect against mosquitoes in the house under the windows planted flowers, grass or shrubs. Some flowers are not very large and can grow in pots, you can put on the windowsill.

Important!

Planting trees near the house is undesirable because their root system hacks the foundation.

Planting trees along the perimeter of the garden will help cut off part of the aggressors even on approach. The rest will break through to the second line of defense - herbs in the garden beds. The final frontier is flowers planted under a window or grown on a windowsill.

In the beds it is best to grow healthy herbs, under the window and on the window flowers. Shrubs have in view of the relief and landscape of the site.

On a note!

Be sure to take into account the flowering time of plants, so that they gradually replace each other and protect them from mosquitoes the whole warm period of the year.

Mosquito herbs

Mosquito herbs

These are the herbs that gardeners often grow, wishing to provide themselves with spices or delicious tea for the winter. Some plants are blatant European weeds that need to be monitored.

• Peppermint.Cultivated plant, a hybrid of water and spike mint. It blooms almost all summer: July-September. The plant is perennial, well withstands cold. Peppermint needs an alternation of light and shade.
• Pennyroyal. In the wild form is found in the Crimea and the North Caucasus. The smell is very strong. For this reason, the plant is not suitable for planting under the windows. Well suited for landing on the perimeter of the site. Dispelled odor will not annoy the residents in the house, but scare mosquitoes. Mint marsh moisture-loving plant. It grows up to 60 cm. Flowering in July-August.
• Basil. The type used in cooking, refers to annual plants. It is possible to land not only between beds, but also under the window. It grows well in pots on the windowsill.
• Cat mint. Plain weed, preferring wastelands, roadsides, slopes, edges. It grows to a height of 1 m. It has a pleasant lemon scent, scaring mosquitoes and other insects. The name was due to the predilection for him of the representatives of the cat family. The action is similar to the action of valerian because of the essential oil of nepetalactone. It was noted hallucinogenic effects of catnip on people.Therefore, when planting plants in order to protect against mosquitoes need to be careful.
• Melissa. More commonly known as lemon mint. European weed growing on edges and ravines in clay and loamy soils. Of the cultivated medicinal varieties, the most common are the Quedlinburg creeping and Erfurt erect. Dies in waterlogged places. Withstands the shadow, but the fragrance becomes weaker. It blooms in June and August.
• Citronella. The real name is Cymbopogon. Under the name citronella there are two types of lurking at once: Cymbopogon winterianus and Cymbopogon nardus. Southern perennial herb with a strong lemon smell. In northern latitudes, becomes one-year. If you want to save the plant, it is planted in large pots and cleaned into the room for the winter. Under natural conditions it grows up to 2 m. It is very popular. mosquito oil citronellawhich is part of many industrial anti-mosquito means and often appears in folk recipes.
• Tansy ordinary. Perennial weed. Distributed throughout. It grows up to 150 cm. It can be distinguished from other similar herbs by the characteristic smell of camphor. Flowering in July-September.
• Garlic.Ordinary garden culture. Helps against mosquitoes with systematic use inside. One-time action is useless. Garlic growing in a garden is also capable of scaring mosquitoes. But to plant it right under the windows is a matter of taste.
• Thyme. The second name is Thyme. Common thyme is grown as a seasoning in the southern regions. Height up to 40 cm. Flowering June-July. The strong smell of blooming thyme drowns out the smell of carbon dioxide emitted by a living organism, which attracts mosquitoes.

Flowers

Mosquito flowers

In the conditions of Russia, flower repellents can be divided into two categories: indoor and garden. And parallel to the perennial and annual. Perennial flowers are those that are shrubs in their homeland. In adverse conditions, they remain grassy, ​​and some die from frost.

Interesting!

The choice of colors, especially indoor, is not great. In fact, geranium was hardly just an attribute in pre-revolutionary burgher houses. With high probability, she performed the role of modern repellents.

Mosquitoes can scare off:

• Narrow-leaved lavender - “dry” flowers feel up to 60 cm high. As an exception, they grow up to 1 m.In the southern regions, lavender is an evergreen plant, but at the latitude of Moscow and north of it freezes from frost. It has a strong mosquito repellent.
• Marigold. Perennial or annual plants up to 120 cm high form a spreading or compact bush. Small-flowered Tagetes patula L. are bred in the gardens. They bloom from June until frost. The smell is peculiar and may seem unpleasant.
• Geranium. About 40 species of geraniums grow in Russia. In any climatic zone, it is easy to find a suitable view for planting in open ground. Plant height varies with living conditions. For breeding on the windowsill in order to protect against mosquitoes best cultivated fragrant geranium.
• Calendula. An annual plant from the same Astrov family as marigolds. The height of the stems to 75 cm. Flowering from June until the first frost. Propagated by seeds. Loves lighted places. Relatively cold-resistant (up to -5 ° C). Calendula tincture is often used to mosquito bites treatment.
• Ageratum. Flower from the Aster family up to 50 cm high. Perennial. Flowering from June to frost. Light-requiring and drought-resistant.In gardening, cultivated Ageratum Gaustona / Mexican. In Russia, grown as an annual. Cold weather is unstable. Long-term cultivation is possible in greenhouse or room conditions.

Shrubs

Insect repellent shrubs

The selection of repellent shrubs in Russia is small. One of them is southern rosemary, which becomes one-year when planted in open ground in the northern regions, the second is bird cherry:

• Rosemary. Evergreen perennial shrubs from the Mediterranean belt. In the northern areas it is grown as an annual herb. The smell of rosemary resembles a complex mixture of lemon, pine, eucalyptus and camphor.
• Bird cherry In fact, most often - it is a low tree, but it can also be a shrub. The height of the bird cherry is up to 10 m. The height of the shrub starts from 60 cm. The bird cherry blossoms earlier, in May-June.

Trees

Some trees can save mosquitoes:

• Walnut;
• catalpa is begonium;
• Catambra.

The last two actually belong to the same type of catalpa is begonioid. Catambra is only a grade. But this variety contains 4 times more catalpol - a deterrent substance.

On a note!

Trees are often not compatible with any other plants. Catalpa planted along the roads as an ornamental plant. This is a southern tree, which is not suitable for the northern regions.

The same situation with walnuts. The place of its growth is the southern regions of Russia. Only wild barley and dogwood grows well under the nut.

Predatory plants

Grows on nutrient poor soils. To replenish microelements that are missing in the soil, they adapted to feed on insects, including mosquitoes. They use active (holding the victim by a trapping organ) and passive (sticking itself) hunting methods.

Most of the "predators" come from cold regions and can easily tolerate frost in open ground. But they are demanding on soil, water, and usually moisture-loving. Exception: Tuberous dewberry and Rosolist Lusitanian.

Predatory mosquito plant

At home, beginner lovers grow Rosyanka ordinary and Venus flytrap. Sundew is common in Russia, the birthplace of Venus flytrap - the swamps of the Eastern United States.

The Venus flytrap collapses the two halves of the leaf. Rosyanka wraps the sheet around the victim.

Plants are of little use as protection against mosquitoes. Their metabolism is slow. They digest one insect for several days. With an excess of animal food, "predators" do not have time to digest everything completely. Organic matter decays, the plant becomes sick and dies. Very susceptible to fungus and pest damage (aphids).

Important!

Predatory plants do not scare away, but attract insects.

How to increase the smell of plants

Honest answer: no way. Essential oils evaporate under the action of sunlight, and repellent plants smell stronger in hot, dry weather. This is especially true for thermophilic lavender and thyme. To enhance the smell of plants on an overcast day, it is enough “only” to provide them with dry air and the necessary amount of solar radiation. People have not yet learned to manage such phenomena.

The second option: wait until the necessary plants are artificially genetically modified in the laboratory.

Compatibility

When planting repellents, their compatibility with other cultures should be taken into account. “Who is friends with whom” is shown in the table below.

Conclusion

When choosing living plants as a way protection from mosquitoes in the country, a personal plot, it is best to plant a bird cherry under the windows, combining it with flowers. The bird cherry will protect during the first breeding of mosquitoes in early summer, and the aster flowers during the remaining summer. With this choice, the plants will not interfere with each other. Bird cherry can also be planted as a hedge around the perimeter of the site. Grass is best planted in garden beds so that they scare away not only mosquitoes, but also other pests.