Mosquitoes are the first thing to ruin a nice, peaceful evening of relaxing and watching the sun set. Sure, there are other annoying bugs, but the mosquitos are, in my opinion, the very worst of all. Buzzing in your ears then dodging your strike and sucking your blood covering you in itchy red bumps from head to toe. There are plenty of bug repellents that you can spray or rub all over you if you want to be covered in greasy, chemically, smelly oils that help keep them away. There are also plenty of gadgets you can hang around you patio to catch the mosquitoes and candles you can light. I am trying something different that doesn’t involve constantly spending money on commercial products that still leave me annoyed and running for the house.

I plan to grow herbs all over the place, each with their own benefits. There are plenty of these herbs that are deterrents to mosquitos and other pests in addition to the other benefits they provide. Why not plant the pest deterrents in areas where we will be spending time? Maybe if I plant enough of these plants around the outside cook and play areas, I won’t have to spend so much time and money spraying bug spray.

My list of mosquito repellent plants that I bought from the herb farm:

Spearmint

Peppermint

Bee Balm

Basil

Rosemary

Thyme

Lavender

Lemon Balm

Catmint

This is a short list of plants that are easy for me to grow. I bet you can come up with use for most of these herbs without even thinking about it. These herbs will be spread around the property in various places. I will make tire planters near the kids play area and plant the lemon balm and spearmint. These plants hopefully will handle the beating the kids may give them when I’m not looking. Peppermint and thyme will go in tire planters near the outdoor kitchen, where I can pick them often. The basil and rosemary will also go with the kitchen garden, among the tomatoes. The lavender, bee balm, and catmint will go in the butterfly garden.

Click these links for some more information on mosquito and pest repelling plants.

Homestead Survival

Pioneer Settler

My next project for the kids will be putting up swings, just next to this path.