Kale’s nutritional benefits are well-known, and the leafy green has become a favorite with restaurant chefs and home cooks alike.Perhaps you love this veggie so much
06.06.2023 - 19:45 / gardenerspath.com / Gretchen Heber
Are Plants that Repel Mosquitoes a Scam? Plants that Contain Citronella, And Why you Need to Buy Insect RepellentI’m going to be straight with you. You cannot run over to your local garden center or hop online and purchase a plant (or thirty) that will make your summer backyard gatherings mosquito-free.
It’s just not going to happen.
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You’ve probably heard of any number of plants that have mosquito-repelling properties. These might include:
Allspice Artemisia Basil Cajeput Catmint Catnip Cedar Chives Cinnamon Citronella Grass Garden Geranium Garlic Cranesbill Geranium Lemon Balm Lime basil Marigold Mint Pennyroyal Pine Rosemary Tarragon VerbenaAlthough some claim that you can just plant them and that’s all that there is to it, that’s not really the case.
The thing is, with all these plants, you have to crush or burn some part of the plant to get to the substance within that offers the repellant properties. Simply plopping it in a pot on your back patio will not the problem solve.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t grow these beauties in your garden! But just don’t expect a mosquito-free backyard picnic just because you planted some lavender.
Many of these plants contain the substance citronellal, which does indeed have insect-repellent properties. But they don’t spew it into the air, chasing away mosquitoes, no matter how much we’d like them to.
To get a better picture of the plant kingdom’s contribution to mosquito deterrence, let’s look more closely at some of these lovely plants.
The Fake Citronella PlantYou might come across, at big-box stores in particular, plants marketed as “citronella plant” or “mosquito plant.”
Kale’s nutritional benefits are well-known, and the leafy green has become a favorite with restaurant chefs and home cooks alike.Perhaps you love this veggie so much
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