You can own mosquito repellent

Order Commande: 42051
Toronto Star (Toronto, ON)
Date: 13.06.2015
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You can
own mosquito repellent
Geraniums and basil among
common plants that can help
Mark
Cullen
one and rubbing it vigorously on
exposed skin All geraniums have
these useful properties but the
lemon scented citrosa geranium
which is sometimes called the mos
quito geranium could be the most
effective of all
Basil This is one of the few com
mon herbs that provide a pleasant
fresh scent without the oils in the
leaves being activated Place one in
the middle of the table when you
next have a garden party Again it is
the lemon basil that works best And
cinnamon
and a dry spot Do not overwater
Ageratum Such an innocent
looking little border annual plant
actually detracts mosquitoes Look
for blue red and white at garden
retailers now There is nothing
easier to grow in a hot dry spot and
it blooms all summer Who knew
Keep this off your skin though it
has a tendency to cause a rash
Marigolds The common French
marigold has been a popular annual
I consider myself one of the lucky
ones When hit by a mosquito my
skin does not react My wife on the
flowering plant since the Victorians
other hand is a member of the
discovered that you really can t kill
mosquitoes love me group They
them Planted around your vegeta
particularly love her ankles How
Citronella Grass Cymbopogon
ble garden they deter a variety of
about you
common insect pests including
nardus
The
active
ingredient
in
I understand the general dislike
aphids and white fly They also deter
but without mosquitoes a lot of our the citronella candle stashed in your
mosquitoes They are edible too
natural infrastructure would fall
cupboard is derived from citronella
Some people use the flower petals to
apart The common tree swallow
grass and you can grow it in a
spruce up a green salad But then
and barn swallow for instance have sunny spot in your garden or in
some people claim that brussels
been in decline largely due to fewer containers on your patio Grow it
sprouts are edible too I have no
mosquitoes and other flying in
near your patio and other outdoor
idea what they are talking about
sects Ditto the brown bat In
places where you entertain But
I I I
sectivores everywhere are having
don t cut it and rub it on your skin it
trouble getting on and having babies can irritate your skin and it causes
There are other tactics that you can
with fewer of the bothersome of
an allergic reaction in some people employ in the garden that will help
pests they depend on for food
to minimize the mosquito pop
Lavender This is an exceptional
All of that said you may wish to
landscape plant The new introduc ulation
create some space between mosqui tions that I have trialed in my gar
Bats Encourage bats to take up
toes and your skin I am here to
den in recent years bloom for a long residence in your yard as they con
assist The following are plants with time in the first half of the gardening sume up to their body weight in
repellent properties
season Lavender seeds that follow insects each evening Some use their
Geranium The common garden
patented sonar system to scoop up
the flowers provide their own spe
variety geranium is not well liked by cial odour I treat lavender as an
insects in their membranous wings
mosquitoes You have to activate the annual but it can survive nicely in
others snatch up bugs with their feet
oils in geranium leaves by removing Zone 6 Toronto It loves the sun
and mouths I recommend that you
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since a bat will reside no less than
seven metres above the ground
Swallows Chimneyswifts barn and
tree swallows are closely related and
they dip and swirl around me as I
cut the lawn and walk through the
meadow picking up flying insects as
they go We need to encourage them
at every opportunity Attract swal
lows to your yard by putting out
nesting boxes in the spring they are
nesting right now Look for plans
for blue bird boxes on my website
markcullen com and place them in
an open part of your yard about two
metres high
with the 1 1
2
inch hole
facing south or east out of the west
wind I have 27 nesting boxes and
about12 swallow families arrive
each spring
Frogs and toads They eat an amaz
ing amount of insects including but
not exclusively mosquitoes Add a
water feature to your garden and
build an insect hotel They will
2 / 3
According to the research material
one Green Strike unit effectively
eliminates mosquitoes within a
radius of 20 metres Think about
that and chances are you will only
need one for your whole backyard
Available at Home Hardware this
spring
Green Strike is new this year and I
am yet to field test it But I like the
idea and you can bet if it works my
wife will make sure you hear about
it
Mark Cullen is an expert gardener
author broadcaster and garden editor of
Reno Decor magazine Get his free
monthly newsletter at markcullen com
Watch him on CTV Canada AM every
Wednesday at 8 45 a m Email him at
groundskeeper markcullen com Fol
low him on Twitter MarkCullen4 and
Facebook
come the insects and toads most
certainly and the frogs will arrive
when you have installed a still water
pond
Green Strike This is a unique in
novation from a couple of Canadian
university students It is a water
based machine that attracts mos
quitoes and traps the eggs and lar
vae after consenting adults have
paid a visit It is environmentally
friendly and safe to use No mosqui
to electrocutions no gases are let
off no chemicals are involved and
no power is used in the process
other than four small batteries that
drive a fan
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