Warm-weather entertaining means competing with mosquitoes, flies and ants on your patio — and a handful of easy-to-grow plants can help repel insects without sprays or candles.
What Plants Help Repel Outdoor Pests?
A short list of common herbs and flowers – including lavender, marigolds, basil, mint, citronella, rosemary, lemongrass, petunias, chrysanthemums and catnip – can help keep insects away from living spaces, doors and outdoor dining areas.
Each plant targets different bugs. Lavender is effective against mosquitoes and moths. Marigolds repel aphids, mosquitoes and flies. Basil repels mosquitoes and flies. Mint helps with ants and mosquitoes. Rosemary repels mosquitoes and cabbage moths. Petunias work against aphids and tomato hornworms, while chrysanthemums repel many insects due to the natural compounds in the flowers.
Citronella is the best known of the group. “Citronella is a very popular plant that repels mosquitoes,” garden expert Carmen Johnston he told Real Simple. “Very fragrant. I often put these in small eight-inch terra cotta pots and mix them with my centerpieces when I’m entertaining outside. You can use clippings mixed in with arrangements or use the plant itself as the centerpiece.”
Lemongrass – sometimes called citronella grass – targets mosquitoes too, while catnip has gained a reputation as a surprisingly powerful mosquito repellent. Picking two or three cover crops that actually cover the pests you’re dealing with usually works better than relying on one species.
Which Plants Repel Mosquitoes The Most?
Specifically, citronella, lemongrass, rosemary, lavender, basil, marigolds, mint and catnip are the best among the easy-to-grow options.
Rosemary is a go-to for patios in warmer climates. Annie Burdick again Jamie McIntosh write Spruce: “The smell of rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is to prevent mosquitoes and other garden pests, such as cabbage moths. Rosemary likes warm, dry climates and may need to be indoors in areas with harsh, cold winters. But all summer it beautifies your yard and prevents insects.”
Catnip is often overlooked but it punches above its weight. Madeline Buiano writes to Martha Stewart: “Mosquitoes hate catnip (Nepeta cataria), the same plant that your cats love. Also known as catmint, this herbaceous perennial releases a chemical that acts as a natural insect repellent.”
The takeaway: Smell does a lot of work. Plants with a strong smell to people – rosemary, mint, lavender, basil, citronella – often smell bad to mosquitoes, which is why the placement is as important as the plant itself.
How Do You Use Plants to Keep Pests Effective?
For real results, place insect repellent plants near living areas and doors, use pots in the yard to have a strong deterrent effect, combine several species and place fragrant plants where the air flow can spread their scent.
A single pot of basil placed behind the grill won’t do much. Clustering plants around the edge of a patio or dining table – and occasionally brushing or crushing the leaves to remove oils – gives the scent a chance to reach the bugs you’re trying to repel. Carmen Johnston’s tip for working with citronella is a useful template: bring the plant where people are sitting.
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Layering the plants is also important. Combining a plant that targets mosquitoes like citronella or catnip with something that hosts flies or lice, like marigolds or basil, adds a lot of uninvited vibes. Chrysanthemums add another layer because their natural compounds work against several insects at once.
Plants alone will not solve the pest problem. Pair it with the basics: empty standing water from buckets, planters and birdbaths, clean up yard debris where bugs breed and rest, and keep grass and shrubs trimmed from living areas. When done together, the right plants and the right practices make outdoor spaces inhospitable to insects.
