If you eliminate standing water on your property (or add mosquito dunks, or flush out every week) you will deny the mosquitoes a place to breed and cut WAYYY down on your mosquito population. Of course, if your next door neighbor has a collection of skunky rainbarrels or something right on the other side of your fence, you'll still have a problem. I'm not aware that baby oil is particularly good for your skin; it's a petroleum product. Skin absorbs things, so I don't personally put anything on my skin I wouldn't be willing (healthwise, if not tastewise) to eat or drink. (I certainly wouldn't get "baby oil" anywhere near a baby of mine, although I did before I knew better.) If you Google "herbal mosquito repellant" I'm sure you can find one of the many articles on using essential plant oils for the purpose. Many of the blends actually outperform synthetic repellants like OFF. Essential oils can be an investment initially, since a bottle is not cheap, but because you only use a few drops at a time in high dilution they're really quite frugal. Kristin

I learned something recently by listening to an older gentleman down the road - who claimed that his goats helped keep the mosquitoes down by keeping the weeds and leaves under control. I hadn't heard this explanation before and most discussion I'd ever heard about mosquito control was about standing water and how they reproduce. After all that was mostly how mosquitoes / malaria were controlled in europe and north america, was dealing with swamps and whatnot. So I kind of filed that away mentally to check and look into it (the old man is a bit, ahem, atypical, but he's definitely not to be dismissed. At least on household/yard/farm stuff - his opinions on other matters are less consistent, not to say batty). Anyway: turns out it is a thing. _Adult_ mosquitoes apparentlhy do sleep and congregate in areas with weeds, trees, leaves, and yes, compost. https://mosquitonixcharleston.com/good-neighbors/get-educated/common-breeding-grounds-for-mosquitoes/ "Once mosquitoes have reached the adult stage, they need dense brush and weeds to sleep in. Any weeds in your yard can hide mosquitoes, so make sure that your yard is well maintained. Compost piles should be turned frequently to prevent mosquitoes from turning them into a home. You should also fill in any holes that collect standing water and remove piles of leaves." So in other words, if you live in a place that already has adult mosquitoes (where they breed and live), in season, there's going to be more in places with plants and trees and yards and dead leaves, etc. And yes - compost. Now in my yard - lots of trees and bushes and piles of leaves, etc, and almost none of which I consider weeds except the maples - I don't notice more around the compost pile, but that just might mean they're everywhere (albeit much worse in wet years). So for me it's just a fact of life - live in a place with mosquitoes, you'll get bitten. (I can live with that as long as there are few black flies, but not everyone agrees with me, and that just means that they don't know black flies). It's not like I'm going to get rid of the compost pile or pave the property, and the neighbours won't either, so good luck with that. Sorry, this is more meandering than I'd intended. So I'll let others debate what can be done about it - maybe just turning the pile at different times or when guests aren't over, or more, or less frequently. I can probably just leave my pile untouched during the height of mosquito season anyway.

Cat Deterrents for your Garden: Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), what works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. Cat's are also great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. If the cat's have owners, take it up with them without being non-confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are. After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'. * amonia soaked (corncobs, etc) * aluminum foil * bamboo skewers * black pepper * blood meal fertilizer * bramble cuttings * Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp * catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards) * cedar compost * chicken wire (metal or plastic) * cinnamon * citrus peels * citrus spray * cocoa bean shells * coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed (highly recommended) * dogs * electric fence for animals * essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils) * fresh manure(ditto) * garlic cloves * gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree * gutter covers * hardware cloth * heavy bark mulch * holly leaves * keep the area damp, they like dry soil * lavender * liquid manure (good for your garden too) * motion sensor sprinkler * pinecones * pipe tobacco * plastic forks * predator urine * river rocks over the exposed soil * rocks, crushed * rose bush clippings * rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only) * short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart * six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up) * Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water * squirt gun with water * talk to your neighbors * thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings * toothpicks * upside down vinyl carpet * vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam * water bottle on "stream" NOT RECOMMENDED: *** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this *** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way. Give them their own areas: (To keep them out of where you don't want them) (If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters) + pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later. + give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason) + if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too. + Barley Grass + Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store + Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade + Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.) + Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! + Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum) + Flax + Oat Grass + Jacob's Ladder + Lemon Grass + Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch + Mints + Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out. + Sandy area + Silver vine (Actinidia polygama) + Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive) + Sweet grass + Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass) + Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips) + Wheat Grass + Wheat Berries + Valerian This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violetgw@care2.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

Many people have tried and most have failed. I grow a lot of catnip, both for our cats and I allow some of it to flower because that attracts beneficial insects. I still get bit by mosquitoes while working in the garden, including when I am working right next to a big patch of catnip. I've tried pulling the leaves off the plant, crushing the leaves to release the oil, and rubbing my arms with the catnip. I still get bit by mosquitoes. You could try some of these supposed repellents, and your mileage may very, but in my opinion, they do not repel mosquitoes well. The problem is that some things that work in lab conditions just don't work in the real world. A hungry mosquito is going to go to the nearest food source most of the time no matter what plants are growing near that food source. Because I like to garden organically, it pains me to say this, but nothing organic I've ever tried--including purchased organic mosquito repellents and plants grown in my own garden--has worked nearly as well as any repellent with DEET in it. If catnip were that effective, there would be a whole slew of commercial products on the market that are made from catnip.