It is a dreamy summer evening. You have just set up for your party and are having a great time. Suddenly out of nowhere comes this pesky, obnoxious little buzzing thing to ruin your evening: a mosquito!
No matter what you do, they never seem to go away!
Sounds relatable and familiar? Do not worry, we got you covered. Whether you have a patio setting or a simple pergola space, mosquitoes can be a real mood killer.
In this article, we are encompassing all the ways you can get rid of this vexing pest and make sure they stay away.
Enjoy your read!
7 Tips You Should Seriously Consider to Keep Mosquitoes Away from Your Patio
Want to get rid of mosquitoes? Following are the seven tips we’d recommend you consider:
- Water Stagnation – A Strict No-No
- Shield from Pests By Shielding Your Patio
- Mosquito Repelling Plants for the Win
- Oscillating Fans are Your Best Friend
- A Scented Candle a Day Keeps Mosquitoes Away
- Change Your Lighting for a Bug-Free Zone
- Clean Zone = Bug-Free Zone
Water Stagnation – A Strict No-No
Open water resources are breeding grounds for mosquitoes and similar pests. Make sure there is no standing water in your garden and surrounding areas. Also, if you own a pool, make sure it is covered and secured, and cleaned regularly. It would also be advisable to chemically treat (such as with hydrogen peroxide) standing water in order to kill any larvae or eggs.
The more tropical the climate you live in, the more the humidity, which is the perfect climatic condition for mosquitoes to breed. Hence it is important to ensure there is no water stagnation at all.
Shield from Pests By Shielding Your Patio
Definitely, your patio is meant to be an open structure as an extension of your garden. It would be advisable to cover your patio with a net or a mesh when not in usage. This would prevent mosquitoes from entering and would ensure your patio/gazebo is mosquito-free when you are actually using it.
Mosquito Repelling Plants for the Win
Plants such as the Citronella Geranium are a great natural way to keep mosquitoes away from your garden space. This plant produces a certain natural scent that keeps mosquitoes at bay.
Citronella has a lush green growth and produces a beautiful purple-pink flower which can be an aesthetic addition to your garden as well. Other than citronella, other plants such as lemongrass, mint, rosemary, and marigolds are similarly effective in keeping those pesky beats away from your garden.
Make sure you plant these natural mosquito repellents surrounding your patio space for the best results.
Oscillating Fans are Your Best Friend
Most tropical areas have porches with a ceiling fan, and there’s a good reason behind it. These ceiling fans are not only used for ventilation they are also used to keep mosquitoes away. Mosquitoes are very flimsy flyers. The strong winds produced by a ceiling fan make sure no mosquito can fly in the vicinity, thus solving our issue.
Another scientific fact behind using ceiling fans, which is quite interesting, is that mosquitoes use the CO2 we exhale as a trail of sorts to reach us. When a fan is spinning full speed, our scent and the CO2 we produce is sort of all over the place, thus making it very hard for mosquitoes to stay on track.
A Scented Candle a Day Keeps Mosquitoes Away
Citronella candles and oil diffusers are a great way to keep your patio smelling fantastic at the same time keeping those disturbing mosquitoes away. Citronella candles are exclusively made of natural, organic citronella scent, which produces a pleasant scent but deters mosquitoes and other pesky pests.
What makes these candles an ideal choice is that they provide instant relief and are easily movable anywhere. They also burn for up to 40 hours and are effective for about 20 feet in circumference.
Similarly, essential oils such as Peppermint, Lemon eucalyptus, lemon grass, rosemary, and cedarwood are a great way to repel mosquitoes. Essential oils leave the air feeling fresh while keeping mosquitoes at bay.
Change Your Lighting for a Bug-Free Zone
It is a fact that bugs of all sorts are attracted to light objects. However, certain tones and types of lighting attract more bugs than others. Light sources emitting “white” light act as a beacon attracting a large number of bugs. “ Yellow” light is known to attract fewer bugs and also give a pleasant, moody aesthetic to your outdoors. There are also specific category bug lights that are designed to repel bugs.
Changing your lighting can make a huge difference to your patio in terms of repelling mosquitoes and other bugs.
Clean Zone = Bug-Free Zone
Keeping your lawn space trim and clean cut is one way to ensure mosquitoes don’t dwell in those tall bushes and overgrown grasses. Lush foliage is always a favorite hiding spot for mosquitoes, especially during hot summer days. Keeping your green scape clean and trimmed is one way to eliminate mosquitoes from your garden. It would also be a great time to clean and clog out all your gutters and wash out any stagnant waters you might have.
Mosquitoes love tall grass and overgrown grasses. Make sure your garden is well maintained to ensure mosquitoes have nowhere to hide.
Apart from these, we’ve some bonus tips for you:
- Another traditional way to keep mosquitoes at bay is by using mosquito traps. They offer an affordable solution to this pesky issue and can be found with many sleek designs.
- If all these tips do not work, it would be best to resort to mosquito repellent creams and lotions. Spray repellents also offer a great solution on a temporary basis.
- Mosquito nets and screens are a great way to shield your patio quarters but might block the view and hinder the whole idea of being outdoors.
Mosquitoes, as pesky as they can be, are easy to eliminate provided your garden scape is clean and well-maintained. We hope these tips and tricks provide some relief to you in keeping those irksome little things at bay.
Here are some other posts that might interest you: