Repelling mosquitoes can be done not only by coating yourself in bug spray, or carrying a ThermaCell Mosquito Repellent Dispenser, but also by planting some useful plants around your house or deck, or place strategically around the yard!There are many plants that help to reply mosquitoes since these pesky little bugs can not stand the smell, and this allow us to sit back and enjoy the view without getting bit. Rural King has several of these plants already started for you to just put in a pot or in the ground, as well as packets of seeds for you to plant as you please!
To start off with most of these plants emit a fragrance that is usually pleasing to us, such as lemon, lavender, and mint. Some of the plants repel naturally, others can be processed (boiled or crushed, etc) into a spray to use. Here is a link that explains how to use each of the plants to help you repel these pesky bugs, make sure to check your planting zones and correlate it with your plants growing zones:
Here are some of the plants: Ageratum (purple flow pictured above), Basil (I suggest to plant in a pot or it can overtake an area), Bee Balm (I love these beautiful perennials, it is the pink flower with the hummingbird, pictured above), Cadaga tree (Tagetes lucida), Catmint, Catnip (beware of attracting all the neighborhood cats), Cedar trees, Citronella Grass or plant (mosquito plant pictured above), Clove, Eucalyptus tree, Floss flower, Garlic, Lavendar, Lemon balm (gives your yard a fresh scent), Lemon Grass (this grows like crazy), Lemon scented Geraniums (Pelargonium crispum), Lemon Thyme, Lemon Verbena, Marigolds (Tagetes lucida- works the best since it has the strongest smell, but the other breeds work well), Mint, Nodding Onion, Pineapple weed (Matricaria matricarioides), Pitcher plants (does not emit a smell, but it is a carnivorous plant that ingests the bugs), Rosemary, Snowbrush, Sweet Fern, Sage, Tansy, Tea tree (oil extract has many other great qualities), Vanilla Leaf (usually needs to be crushed), Wild Bergamot (needs to be crushed and diluted with water, can cause irritation if applied directly), Wormwood , and Stone root (similar to mint).
I would suggest to reference that website to know how each plant can be used to help repel, some are naturally a repellent, some have to be crushed and boiled to release the plant oils, and some can be made into a natural spray or rubbed on the skin directly.
I love the fact that my herb garden around my house is helping to reduce the amount of pests around the porch, as well as having a use in my kitchen!