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7 Mosquito Repellant Landscaping Tips

Summer is a fantastic time to be outside enjoying outdoor living space and landscaping. Unfortunately, it’s also mosquito season and nothing spoils the outdoors faster than a swarm of mosquitoes.

In this post, we have included 7 mosquito repellant landscaping tips for keeping those pesky mosquitoes at bay while enjoying your landscaping this summer.

Use Ornamental Landscaping Plants that Repel Mosquitoes

One of the easiest ways to prevent mosquitoes from taking up residence in your backyard is to install ornamental landscaping grasses and plants that repel them.

Mosquitoes are naturally repelled by certain scents, making the following plants natural mosquito repellents. Plan to make room for these plants in nearby garden beds or decorative pots when landscaping your north Dallas home.

Geraniums
Marigolds
Rosemary
Citronella Grass
Catnip
Lavender

Install Garden Plants to Keep Mosquitoes Away

Most common garden herbs are natural mosquito repellants as well. Consider planting an herb garden containing any combination of the following plants:

Mint
Peppermint
Lemongrass
Garlic
Basil
Oregano

Install Cedar Mulch to Keep Mosquitoes Away

Given that mosquitoes are repelled by strong scents, using cedar mulch is another great and natural way to repel these pests.

When the temperatures start to rise over the summer, install cedar mulch throughout all planting areas. The warm sun will release the cedar aroma throughout your backyard landscaped areas…pleasant for you but very undesirable for mosquitoes.

Landscape with Rocks

One of the best long-term investments you can make in your backyard landscape is decorative landscaping rocks.

Mosquitoes are unable to spend much time within the cracks and crevices of rocky layers. In addition, rocks don’t hold moisture, so they help to prevent mosquito breeding.

Filling stepping stone paths with rock rather than mulch in your planting areas also makes practical sense. Rock may cost more upfront, but it will not need replacing.

Replace Grass with Artificial Turf

Since mosquitoes will breed and spread diseases where there is standing water, consider eliminating the greatest source of excess water on your property…your grass.

Install artificial turf throughout your backyard or in areas you most often gather. In addition, excess rain and irrigation water can easily move through the decomposed granite base used under the turf offering a natural drainage solution as well.

Eliminate Standing Water in the Lawn

Standing water in the lawn is the most important thing to eliminate in your backyard when battling mosquitoes.

If you have areas of your yard with no grass or plantings, over time they can naturally erode and develop into uneven terrain which allows for pooling water to sit over long period of time where mosquitoes thrive.

In order to eliminate excess water in these areas, you may need to have a drainage system installed to relocate that unwanted water to another part of your yard or off the property.

Another solution may be to simply backfill and grade the area with additional soil and then install grass or drainage rock to prevent standing water.

Avoid Overwatering Your Lawn and Landscape

Overwatering your lawn and landscaping plants is likely the most common reason for mosquito breeding during the summer months.

Most north Texas landscaping plants and warm season grasses only need to be watered once or twice each week. Irrigate early in the morning for a duration of 10-20 minutes with pop-up sprinklers or 20-30 minutes with a dripline system.

Before investing in high dollar mosquito spray systems, we recommend trying these 7 mosquito repellant landscaping tips to naturally help keep mosquitoes from robbing you of a summer outdoors.