How to repel mosquitos and other bugs from your porch or patio using these 7 outdoor decorating solutions.
The state bird has officially come out of hibernation around here… the mosquito! Arg!
Of course they arrived juuuuust after we finished our back porch refresh.
But it’s okay, this isn’t our first mosquito rodeo (boy, that’s a visual).
If you fight the same battle every spring/summer and need some ideas of things that work to repel mosquitos from a porch, here is what we do that works.
How to Repel Mosquitos from a Porch
(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)
1. Hang Mosquito Net Curtains
I swear it works! We’ve bought ours 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.
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 mosquito repeller WORKS! If you’re sensitive to the smell of citronella, this is completely odorless.
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.
4. Pot Plants Mosquitos (and Other Bugs) Hate
Here’s a list of plants to use as a natural mosquito repellent:
- 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.
6. Utilize Outdoor Ceiling Fans
Moving air 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.
Got any other tricks you can add to the list?
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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!
We used the Spartan control last year and noticed a reduction in the number of mosquitos.
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.
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!
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?!?!
We are in the Houston, TX area. I call them Pterodactyl skeeters.
Just beautiful!