How to Keep Away Mosquitoes From Your Porch or Patio
Simple ways to repel mosquitoes and other biting insects from your porch or patio using these 8 outdoor pest control solutions.
The state bird has officially come out of hibernation around here… the mosquito! Arg!
Of course they arrived juuuuust as we were starting to enjoy our outdoor space again to host an outdoor party. Can you relate?
How to Repel Mosquitoes from a Porch or Patio
It’s okay, this isn’t our first mosquito rodeo (boy, that’s a visual).
As soon as the weather creeps above 70 degrees, we’re always hosting backyard pool parties, outdoor barbecues, backyard movie nights, and every excuse we can think of to enjoy our living space in the sun.
But nothing can destroy the fun like getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. We’ve tried every trick in the book to help you overcome potential mosquito problems in your yard this season.
If you fight the same battle every spring/summer and need the most effective way to repel mosquitoes from a porch, here is what we do that works! (Number 8 at the bottom of this post is definitely the most important!)
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1. Hang Mosquito Net Curtains
I swear this is the best way for keeping mosquitoes at bay, especially if you have tall grass or stagnant water in your outdoor areas!
We bought our curtains made from mosquito netting from IKEA for $5 a pair in the past. This year, we got these mosquito net curtains, and they’ve been great so far.
If you want to keep them from blowing in the breeze, just hot glue some fishing weights into the bottom hem. They add such a dreamy setting to an outdoor gathering.
I love it so much better than a screened porch because then we can open them up to see the yard whenever we want.
2. Use a Thermacell Patio Shield
This little Thermacell mosquito repeller works wonders at keeping away the mosquito bites! It establishes a 20 foot zone to actively repel mosquitoes without any scent, if you’re sensitive to essential oils like citronella oil.
The Thermacell is one of the most effective methods and easiest ways to quickly get rid of a mosquito problem when spending time at an outdoor event.
It’s guaranteed to protect you for up to 9 hours to keep away pesky mosquitoes that may transmit West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, and Zika Viruses. If you’re sensitive to the smell of bug spray, this is completely odorless.
If you’re planning to move around, these portable personal repellent devices work great too.
3. Try a Tabletop Tiki Torch
I love the look of this tabletop torch anyway, but it does a great job of keeping the “skeeters” at bay. We place standalone tiki torches around our backyard when hosting outdoor gatherings as a great way to reduce the number of mosquitoes in the area.
4. Pot Plants Mosquitos (and Other Bugs) Hate
Here’s a list of plants to use as a natural mosquito repellent around your yard. Their strong scents make some of the best natural mosquito repellents. While you’re planting, it’s a good time to check your other flower pots for mosquito eggs and mosquito larvae hidden in damp soil and replace the dirt if necessary. Those alone could be a serious problem that cause a mosquito infestation.
Mosquito-Repelling Plants
- Lemon balm
- Lemongrass
- Citronella
- Rosemary
- Basil
- Lavender
- Mint
- Sage
- Peppermint
- Marigolds
- Scented Geraniums
- Catnip
- Pennyroyal
- Ageratum
5. Set Out Citronella Candles
These are some of my favorites that work well and look cute to keep your porch and patio mosquito bite-free.
6. Utilize an Outdoor Ceiling Fan
The moving air from an outdoor fan helps to move mosquitos along. These are some of my favorite outdoor ceiling fans.
7. Spray Your Yard
If you’re really desperate, hook up this backyard bug control and spray your yard.
Or try a homemade mosquito control recipe.
Homemade Mosquito Repellant Recipe
Fill a spray bottle:
- 2 cups of mint Listerine mouthwash
- 3 stale 12oz bottles of beer
- 3 cups Epsom salt
Spray your yard generously in the early morning with the homemade mosquito repellant spray. But be mindful that you’ll need to spray your yard again after a heavy rain.
8. Eliminate Breeding Ground Sources
Mosquitoes love water, so try your best to eliminate standing water in your yard where possible to get right to the source for the best pest control.
Mosquito populations usually thrive around kiddie pool, bird baths, rain barrels, and other common water sources.
Got any other tricks you can add to the list?
I would like to know how you are keeping all the pollen off your gorgeous porch! Do you spray down everyday?
The curtains help with that too. But man it is everywhere, right?!?!
Your porch is beautiful and cozy! I live in triad NC and mosquitoes are already out. All of this rain hasn’t helped any!! Thank you for sharing this info!
SC mosquitos – oh, yes!! Memories of growing up in Upstate SC include those enormous welts that appear while we were having fun in the outdoors!! I’m amazed that they are already out (Ohio still is having weather in the 40’s!). Enjoyed reading through several entries on your blog. You have a wonderful skill in decorating and describing your ‘how-to-dos’. Thanks too for including your location so that I could have a moment of enjoying my home-state from a distance.
We used the Spartan control last year and noticed a reduction in the number of mosquitos.
How did you hang the rod for the mosquito net curtain? I would love to see pictures of that.
We just put up these Command hooks: https://amzn.to/39te9Aw And hung them up on the temporary hooks with thin tension rods so that we can take them down without any damage in the fall. Here are the tension rods we use: https://rstyle.me/+i_qDi1mFGDJRwA7qC6UH8g
How clever! That’s a great idea!