The spike in mosquito population during the hot summer months isn’t always due to the foods you consume, standing water, or body heat.
What is the reason for this?
What might be wrong if you’ve done everything you can to keep these bloodsuckers at bay but they’re still around? Ever thought of any Plants that Attract Mosquitoes around your house?
Plants, both indoor and outdoor, are likely to attract them.
Consider the following scenario:
Bugs fear the scents of certain plants as much as they adore the scents of others. That is to say, if you have insect-friendly plants in and around your home, your environment can attract mosquitos.
So, what do mosquitoes like to eat? If you have these plants, can you get rid of them? What can you do if you can’t get rid of the mosquitos?
Plants that Attract Mosquitoes
What plants are known to attract mosquitoes?
Even if you don’t like gardening, you’ve probably heard that landscaping and planting will act as a mosquito magnet in and around your house.
When choosing plants for your yard, landscape, or indoor area, it’s important to understand which ones attract mosquitoes and which ones repel them easily.
The plants that produce nectar and honeydew are one form of plant that attracts mosquitos. Since various types of flowers produce nectar naturally, mosquitoes are likely to congregate around them. Furthermore, nectar-producing flowers emit carbon dioxide, a chemical compound that often attracts mosquitos.
Mosquitoes are attracted to water plants even more than nectary flowers. Water lettuce, water lilies, taro, papyrus, and water hyacinths are among the plants they are attracted to because they can’t breed and produce without it.
Some plants are mosquito repellent, but they will need a lot of water to thrive. If you have such plants in your backyard or indoors, you can almost certainly find mosquitoes around them. The explanation for this is straightforward. There will be some standing water near these plants, which will act as a breeding ground for these bloodsuckers.
Isn’t it enough for mosquitos to feed on honeydew and nectar plants?
To begin with, mosquitoes have a keen sense of smell, which they employ in their daily search for food. This sense allows them to not only recognize their host and locate food, but also to determine the best location for laying eggs.
Mosquitoes, both male and female, feed on honeydew and nectar plants to get the nutrients they need to live on a daily basis. While these plants provide the sugar that these bothersome insects need to work and survive, they lack the protein nutrients that female mosquitos need to lay eggs.
Female mosquitoes may bite animals, including humans, in order to obtain enough nutrition to lay eggs and reproduce.
Read: How to attract mosquitoes to a trap
What do you do if you have flowers both inside and outside your home?
Summer will come and go, and mosquitoes will be a constant threat to contend with, particularly if your climate is conducive to their development.
But does that mean you can get rid of the mosquito-attracting flower plants? Ok, not quite. There are a few steps you can take to keep your surroundings mosquito-free while also preserving the beauty of the flowers.
Add some mosquito repellent plants around the flowers
Mosquitoes can be kept at bay by planting bug-repellent plants near flowers. These plants are valuable because they produce fragrances that are good to humans but irritating to insects, which is why they repel mosquitoes.
Lavender, catnip, rosemary, marigolds, and scented geranium are only a few examples of plants you might use to surround your flowers.
The benefit of using these plants to surround your flowers is that they are all natural. Rather than dousing your garden in artificial bug sprays, plant these plants around the flowers to naturally repel mosquitoes.
Spray the flowers with organic insecticides
Many bug repellents contain toxic chemicals that can damage your flower garden as well as kill insects. Fortunately, there are organic insecticides that can be applied to the flowers to keep the pesky mosquitoes away while still allowing the flowers to develop.
Consider using neem oil spray, a natural insect repellent that holds a variety of insects at bay, including mosquitos.
Pyrethrum powder, which is made from the dried leaves of chrysanthemum flowers, can be used as a natural remedy for flowers. To make a mosquito-proof spray, combine the powder with water and dish soap, then spray the flowers.
Garlic has the potential to repel bugs on the spot, making it an efficient way to keep bugs away from indoor flowers. It’s also easy to use as a bug repellent; simply press a clove into the soil in the pot and let it do the rest.
What do you do if you have valuable water plants?
If you have water plants near flowers, you’ll need to take precautions to ensure the plants don’t become a mosquito breeding ground.
To kill mosquito larvae, use bacterial insecticides.
To clean out the water, trim and/or thin the plants.
Mosquitoes love algae, so get rid of it from your water plants.
It’s also important to ensure that the plants have adequate lighting. This not only provides them with their regular nutrition, but it also helps to keep mosquitoes at bay, as these insects dislike light.
Article: 20 facts about mosquitoes
Frequently Asked Questions
Do mosquitoes like pine trees?
Pine trees emit a sweet-smelling fragrance that humans love. However, the smell attracts biting insects such as mosquitoes, which is unfortunate. While not all pine trees are mosquito magnets, it can be difficult to tell which ones are. If you really must have them in your yard, go for the short ones, which are easier to manage and mosquito-free.
Is the money plant a mosquito magnet?
Yes, your money plant can serve as a mosquito breeding ground, but this is a situation you can easily manage. You may, for example, use extruded polystyrene parts or mosquito dunks to avoid mosquito breeding in the container.
Is nectar found in all plants?
Nectar isn’t found in all species.