One of the best things about an Aussie summer is spending time outdoors enjoying your evening meals.
Watch: three simple ways to a bug free and beautiful garden
Well, except for when mozzies make you their dinner! Here’s how to to keep the mosquitoes away.
How to keep mosquitoes away
1. Fuel up with citronella oil
Citronella oil covers up scents that attract mosquitos, such as carbon dioxide (which we all breathe out), so having a supply of this oil on hand is super-handy in summer. Use it to fuel a series of bamboo torches you can spike into your garden. You can even purchase citronella oil with insecticide (active ingredient Bifenthri) to fuel your collection of tabletop and garden torches.
2. Burn coils
Working similarly to citronella oil, burn mosquito coils to keep mosquitoes away. They’re typically made with a combo of citronella and sandalwood. You’ll find coils come with a purpose-made stand to make it easy for you to place a few at ground level around your outdoor zone. No more itchy ankles!
3. Light candles
Create evening ambience and deter mosquitos at the same time by burning citronella candles. You’ll find they now come in pretty glass jars, large terracotta pots or other decorative containers, plus they come as large stick candles that you can spike straight into garden beds, too.
4. Spray away!
Love the natural remedies? Then spray a combination of eucalyptus and lemon oils around your entertaining area to keep mosquitoes away. Just like citronella, they’re believed to deter mozzies from buzzing around.
5. Avoid shallow pools of water
Mozzies love still water – it’s where they breed! So, remove any pools of water that may be around your entertaining area, including trays of water under plants.
6. Look after a few fish
If you have a backyard pond, the shallow edges are likely to attract mosquitos looking to breed. Especially if the water isn’t moving! Add a couple of fish to the pond and they’ll eat the larvae, or keep the water moving with a pump system.
7. Plant herbs and shrubs
Mint, holy basil, marigold, lemon trees and citronella grass are all plants thought to prevent mosquitos from breeding nearby, so plant a selection of these in garden beds or tubs within close proximity of your entertaining area. It’s all worth a try!
8. Block access
Do you have a water tank in your yard? Fit a mosquito screen to the overflow pipe – it’s easy! The PVC shell of the screens fit straight over the pipe, while the stainless steel mesh prevents mozzies and other creepy-crawlies entering the tank water.
9. Zap their mates
Bug zappers work by attracting insects with ultraviolet light. So, suspend a bug zapper in your garden to eliminate flying insects from your dining area. While it’s not likely to attract mosquitos, it will zap any curious buzzers! Look for a model that’s solar powered.
You might also like:
9 common garden pests and how to get rid of them
Garden plants that battle the bugs
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