Do Houseplants Attract Mosquitoes? (Gardeners Poll Results)

It’s irritating.

Finding mosquitoes in your house can be daunting.

You’re looking forward to a good night’s sleep, but not with these pests around.

You love your houseplants but wonder if they are the reason for attracting mosquitoes.

Houseplants attract mosquitoes when they contain nectar or honeydew. Houseplants can attract mosquitoes when there is stagnant water collecting in the pot where they lay eggs. Use well-draining soil and remove water from any trays below the houseplants.

In this post, I’ll give you tips to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in houseplants. I’ll also show you some plants you can grow that work well to repel mosquitoes.

Let’s get started.

How to prevent mosquitoes in houseplants?

Prevent stagnant water on the potting soil

The best way to prevent mosquitoes in houseplants is to prevent water from collecting on the potting soil.

This will happen if the potting soil has poor drainage. The cause could be because the potting soil has too much clay. Or it could be because the drainage holes are missing or choked up.

If the potting soil is bad, you can transplant the plant into another pot with good potting soil. If drainage holes are missing, you can be extra careful to prevent over-watering. Or transplant to another pot that has drainage holes.

Mosquitos only breed in standing water. So unless you have plants in only water and don’t change it out they won’t breed in your house plants. – Julie

One effective way to prevent water collection on potting soil is to use bottom watering. In this method, you place the pot in a sink or tub filled with water.

The potting soil absorbs water from the bottom through the drainage holes. This ensures that there is no water collecting on the surface of the soil.

It’s water that attracts the mosquitoes and not the plant. I bottom water my houseplants and then empty any leftover water shortly after. – Jessica

I asked fellow gardeners if they faced problem of mosquitoes due to their houseplants. A majority (97.1%) of them claimed they avoid stagnant water collecting near the plant and don’t face this problem.

Grow houseplants that repel mosquitoes

You can grow some plants that have an aromatic scent and will help keep mosquitoes away from the other plants.

1. Lemon Balm

Mosquitoes hate all scents that are lemon. You can crush the leaves and spread it around. You can also use the leaves to prepare tea. It’s an easy plant to take care of.

2. Citronella

Citronella is a popular scent in candles and sprays known to keep unwanted insects, such as mosquitoes, away.

This plant prefers a good amount of sunlight but partial shade. Make sure to plant it in well-draining soil.

3. Basil

The smell of basil is enough to keep mosquitoes away. As a bonus, you can use it in many of the dishes you make.

Although it is harder to grow indoors, it will thrive if you keep it warm and in sunlight.

4. Lavender

A popular scent among humans, not so much for mosquitoes. Not only easy to grow, it is beautiful.

Lavender grows best in sunny environments and well drained soil. It has more benefits than just a repellent. You can use it to help with insomnia and stress relief.

5. Catnip

If you have cats, this is a bonus as long as you can keep it away from them at your discretion. Catnip contains nepetalactone that keeps those annoying mosquitoes away.

Catnip thrives best when it is placed in a sunny environment and is well watered. It’s best to keep in a pot as it grows quickly.

6. Rosemary

Like basil and the rest of the plants on the list, the smell of rosemary alone is enough to keep mosquitoes away.

7. Penny Royal

For this plant you want to opt for the European version as it is best for repelling mosquitoes.

8. Peppermint

This plant is an easy mosquito repellent plant to take care of. It’s best to keep in a pot and can also be used for baking and or tea.

9. Marigold

This plant contains pyrethrum that helps keep those mosquitoes away. Marigold is also a beautiful flower to brighten up your home and is easy to grow and maintain. Just water them regularly.

Mosquitoes hate the smell of these plants, which will do a good job at repelling them. But if you still face an issue of mosquitoes, you can consider using an organic insecticide.

You can also look into investing in a mosquito zapper to get rid of mosquitoes in your house. But this is more of a temporary fix.

What is an organic insecticide to repel mosquitoes?

Though any type of insecticide should be used at last resort, below are some natural insecticides that will probably get rid of any mosquitoes in your home.

The safest option would be to use neem oil, which comes from the neem tree and is a natural mosquito repellent. I recommend you mix this with coconut oil to create a spray, though you will want to use it sparingly, especially on your plants, because too much can harm your plants.

Mosquito bits, bacillus thuringiensis will get rid of mosquitos and fungus gnats. – Carmen

It is best to test a small patch of the neem oil mixture on a small area on each of your plants and wait 24 hours to see if your plants suffer any reaction. If there is no damage after 24 hours, you can spray it all over your plant leaves.

If you would like to use neem oil, you can find places to purchase it here. You can purchase coconut oil at most grocery stores.