The Plant To Keep Mosquitoes Out Of Your Garden All Summer

Flies, moquitoes, and other slightly irritating little critters can make an evening rest in your back garden a little more stressful than it needs to be.

And while it can be tempting to spray your lawn and leaves, Helen Bostock, a senior wildlife specialist at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), previously told HuffPost UK it’s a good idea to skip those where possible.

Instead, she said, “A vibrant garden ecosystem is one that requires [fewer] inputs from gardeners – when natural predators are keeping the aphids in check, [fewer] sprays are needed”.

And sometimes, plants alone can help – ones like petunia.

Sometimes described as “nature’s pesticide,” the flower helps to repel, or redirect:

• aphids,
• mosquitoes,
• tomato wormhorns,
• asparagus beetles,
• leafhoppers,
• squash bugs.

Luckily, though, they’re still friendly to bees.

Some bugs don’t like the plant because of its smell, which, to most humans, is divine; petunias have a sweet, honey-like scent that some compare to vanilla.

Others, like aphids, adore the aroma, which sounds like a bad thing but actually keeps them from eating your veggies instead.

They release their strongest scents in the evenings, when they want to attract pollinators (including the hawk moth Bostock told us can help your garden thrive).

They do this when flies, including the ones they want to attract, are most active.

That means that they’ll smell the nicest, and repel the most petunia-hating bugs (including mosquitoes), on glorious summer evenings.

They need to be placed in the sun, with a little shelter from the wind. If you’re in an area with milder weather, you’ll get away with putting them in partial shade.

They do well in hanging baskets, raised pots, window boxes, raised beds, and borders. You can also plant upright petunias in the ground.

Sow them in spring under cover. Place them on top of soil in a tray if you’re sowing them from seed, and keep them at 18-24ºC until they’ve got two true leaves, BBC Gardener’s World said.

Then, get them used to being outside – “hardening” – for a week or two before planting them in rich soil.

Water regularly, especially if they’re in pots, and apply fertilisers high in potash every two weeks or so once established. Deadhead as needed.