If you live somewhere where mosquitoes are aggressive, a single candle on a table might not be enough especially if you’re hosting or just hanging outside for the summer.
This post covers 15+ ways to repel mosquitoes this summer using natural remedies, store-bought solutions, and some unconventional tricks you probably haven’t thought of. Whether you’re prepping for a backyard gathering or just want to sit outside without getting eaten alive, the goal is to keep your patio enjoyable without turning it into a chemical zone or a fire hazard.
Quick Tips Before You Start
Get rid of standing water first. Before you do anything else, walk your yard and dump anything that’s holding water. Saucers under plant pots, buckets, clogged gutters, random kids’ toy collecting rain. Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water and it takes a shockingly small amount. This one step alone makes everything else on this list work better.
Layer your methods. No single product is going to create a mosquito-free zone on its own. The people who swear nothing works are usually relying on one thing. Stack a few of these together and you’ll notice a real difference.
Think about your in-and-out routine. If you’re hosting or cooking, you’re not sitting outside for three hours straight. Pick solutions that keep working when you walk away.
Natural Remedies
1| Plant Mosquito-Repelling Herbs Around Your Seating Area
This one doubles as a gardening project and a mosquito defense system. Certain plants give off scents that mosquitoes can’t stand, and when you crush or brush the leaves, the oils release even more.
Plants to keep around your patio:
- Lavender — beautiful, drought-resistant, and mosquitoes avoid it. Place pots near seating areas or plant it along walkways.
- Rosemary — the woody scent repels mosquitoes AND it thrives in hot, dry conditions. Grows great in containers.
- Basil — the strong smell does double duty as a pest repellent. Keep a pot right on your outdoor dining table.
- Mint — aggressive grower so keep it in pots unless you want it everywhere. Crushing the leaves releases the oils that send mosquitoes packing.
- Marigolds — easy annuals that add color and repel mosquitoes. Perfect for lining the edges of your patio.
- Catnip — studies have found it to be incredibly effective at repelling mosquitoes. If you have cats, this is a win-win.
- Citronella grass — the actual plant that citronella products are derived from.
Tip: Cluster different plants together in groups near your seating area. Right before guests come over, pinch and crush a few leaves to release the essential oils into the air.
2| Make a DIY Essential Oil Spray for Your Patio
You can make your own mosquito-repelling spray that you mist around your outdoor furniture, cushions, and the perimeter of your seating area. It smells amazing and it actually works.
Simple recipe:
Fill a spray bottle with water and add about 30 drops of essential oil. The best ones for mosquitoes are peppermint, eucalyptus, rosemary, or citronella oil. Shake well and spray around your patio before you sit down. Reapply after a couple of hours or after rain.
This is not a body spray. It’s for your space. Mist it on cushions, the edges of rugs, around planters.
The Kate’s Home & Garden Peppermint Oil Spray is a natural pest control spray made with peppermint and cedarwood essential oils. It works on mosquitoes, ants, spiders, flies, stink bugs, and just about everything else that has no business being in your house.
The formula is plant-based, pet and kid safe, and each 16oz bottle gets you up to 1,500 sprays. Just spray around doorways, windows, baseboards, and outdoor seating areas. It smells like peppermint instead of chemicals, which is a nice bonus. It works both indoors and outdoors and won’t stain furniture or carpet.
3| Burn Rosemary or Sage on the Grill
If you’re already grilling, toss a few sprigs of rosemary or sage directly onto the coals or grill grate. The smoke carries the natural oils into the air and creates a scented barrier that mosquitoes don’t like. Just throw a sprig or two in there.
Store-Bought Solutions (That Aren’t Candles)
4| Thermacell Repeller Devices
These are the gold standard for flameless, scent-free mosquito repelling. You turn them on, they heat a small repellent pad, and they create a protection zone around you. No open flame. No smell. No babysitting.
They come in a few different versions:
- Thermacell E-Series — rechargeable via USB-C, 20-foot protection zone, runs up to 9 hours. The most hands-off option.
- Thermacell Patio Shield — 15-foot zone, uses a small fuel cartridge. Compact and easy to tuck into any patio setup.
- Thermacell Lantern — looks like a decorative outdoor lantern while repelling mosquitoes. Guests won’t even know it’s doing anything. This one is great if you care about aesthetics (which… you’re here so you probably do).
The best thing about these is that they keep working when you walk inside. Come back 20 minutes later and your zone is still protected. That’s the whole appeal over candles.
5| Plug-In Bug Zapper
If you want something with serious power, a plug-in bug zapper handles the job around the clock. Fair warning though, you will hear the occasional snap and pop as it does its thing.
The Flowtron has a 4.5 star rating with over 27,000 reviews and most people say the sound becomes background noise after the first night.
6| Mosquito Repellent String Lights
Yes, these exist! They’re outdoor string lights with built-in mosquito repellent. You get ambient patio lighting AND bug protection in one product. If you’re already stringing lights on your patio these are a nice upgrade to consider.
7| Mosquito Dunks for Water You Can’t Drain
If you have a pond, rain barrel, fountain, or any water feature that holds standing water, drop a mosquito dunk in it. These are little donut-shaped tablets that release a natural bacteria (Bti) that kills mosquito larvae but is safe for birds, fish, pets, and plants.
One dunk treats about 100 square feet of water surface for 30 days. Just toss it in and walk away.
Unconventional Tricks That Help
8| Use an Outdoor Fan
I love a hack that doesn’t involve spraying or lighting or buying! This is the most underrated mosquito hack out there. Mosquitoes are terrible fliers so setting up a fan outdoors is the perfect way to stave off those bites.
Set up a standing fan, oscillating fan, or install an outdoor ceiling fan on your porch. Point it toward your seating area. It cools you down AND keeps the mosquitoes from being able to reach you.This alone makes a massive difference on calm, muggy evenings when mosquitoes are at their worst.
9| Switch to Yellow or Amber LED Bulbs
Regular white light bulbs attract bugs like crazy. Yellow and amber LED bulbs emit wavelengths that are outside the insect’s range of vision, so way fewer bugs swarm around them.
Swap out your porch lights and any outdoor fixtures with yellow LED bulbs. It won’t repel mosquitoes directly, but it stops attracting every flying insect in the neighborhood to your patio like a beacon.
Some even come with dusk-to-dawn sensors so they turn on and off automatically.
10| Hang Mosquito Netting Around Your Patio
If you have a pergola, canopy, or any kind of overhead structure, draping mosquito netting around the edges creates a physical barrier that mosquitoes simply can’t get through. And it looks dreamy.
This is especially effective for evening dinners outside. You get the open-air feeling without the bites. Hot glue a few fishing weights into the bottom hem to keep the netting from blowing around in the breeze.
11| Set Up a Decoy Station Away From Your Seating
Here’s a sneaky one. Mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide, dark colors, and standing water. So give them something more appealing than you, somewhere else in the yard.
Place a dark-colored bucket of stagnant water with a mosquito trap or dunk about 20-30 feet away from your patio. The mosquitoes gravitate toward that instead of your seating area. It’s like setting up a fake party they’d rather attend.
12| Wear Light-Colored Clothing
Imagine asking your guests to put this on for a party!!!
This one is a bit extra but mosquitoes are visually attracted to dark colors, especially black, navy, and dark red. If you’re going to be outside in the evening, wearing lighter colors (white, cream, pastels, light gray) makes you less visible to them.
It’s not a magic fix, but combined with the other methods on this list, it helps.
13| Scented Lotion or Vanilla Extract
This is another hack that is 50/50. Some people swear by it and others say it did absolutely nothing for them (me too) but it could be worth a try if it does end up working for you.
Using a scented lotion like Jergens cherry almond or any vanilla scented will make (some of) you a pariah in mosquito world. Some other options include using lemongrass oil,
14| Burning Coconut Husk or Coffee Grounds
@sandyk616 So many people have been asking how I light the coffee grounds in order to keep the mosquitoes away so I made this video as a part 2 to the video right before this one. Hope it helps! #campinghacks #mosquitorepellant #campinghack #nomorebugs #summertime #bugcontrol #outdooradventures #coffeegrounds #coffeehack ♬ golden hour – main character melodies
I’m adding this in last because I know coconut husk isn’t plentiful out in the states but it’s what we used to do growing up on a tropical island! Some close alternatives would be to burn sage sticks, a bundle of dried out rosemary sprigs, and even egg cartons in a fire safe container. But if you’re having guests over, some of these smells might be too much for them so the coffee grounds would be your best bet.
The Hosting Setup (How to Stack These Together)
If you’re having people over this summer, here’s a layered approach that covers you without turning your patio into a bug spray commercial:
Before the gathering:
- Turn on the Thermacell 15 minutes before guests arrive so the zone is established
- Crush a few leaves on your herb plants near the seating area
- Make sure all standing water is dumped
During the gathering:
- Keep the outdoor fan running toward the seating area
- Solar zappers handle themselves once the sun goes down
- Yellow LED bulbs keep extra bugs from swarming your lights
- Mosquito netting drapes create a cozy barrier if you have a pergola or canopy
None of this requires you to babysit a candle, reapply spray every 30 minutes, or do anything once it’s set up. You can go in and out of the house as much as you want and everything keeps working.
Final Thoughts
Mosquitoes are relentless! But your summer plans outdoors don’t have to be miserable because of them. The key is layering a few of these methods together instead of relying on one thing.
Start with the basics (dump standing water, plant some herbs) and then add in the products that fit your setup. A Thermacell plus a fan plus some yellow bulbs? That alone will change your entire outdoor experience.
Your patio should be a place you actually want to hang out! Not a place you sprint through to avoid getting bitten.
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