How do I keep mosquitoes away without chemical sprays?

Good news if you want to avoid sprays: the methods that do the most do not involve them. Mosquitoes need still water to breed and an open gap to reach you. Take away the water near your home, put a barrier between you and them, and you cut the bites without spraying anything.

You cannot control the whole street, and you do not have to. Many kinds of mosquito stay fairly close to where they hatch, so your own garden, your own windows and your own bed matter most.

Take away the water

Mosquitoes lay eggs on still water, and in warm weather the young grow fast. That is why tipping out water once a week is the usual advice. Go round the garden and look for anything that holds even a little:

• Tip out weekly: plant saucers, buckets, watering cans, children’s toys, wheelbarrows, and covers or tarps that collect puddles.
• Change bird bath and outdoor pet water at least once a week, and give the bird bath a scrub.
• Cover water butts with a tight lid, and put fine mesh over the inlet from the downpipe. A small gap is enough to let them in.
• Clear the gutters so they drain instead of holding water.
• Store anything that can fill with rain upside down or under cover.

Put up barriers

• Fly screens on the windows you open, and a screen door or magnetic screen curtain for the door you leave open in hot weather.
• A door sweep and sealed gaps round frames and pipes. See sealing gaps.
• A bed net, tucked in, for anyone who gets bitten badly. It works with no chemical at all.
• A fan in the bedroom and on the patio. Mosquitoes are weak fliers and struggle in moving air.
• Long, loose sleeves and trousers outside in the evening.

Still getting bitten indoors with all this in place? Why do I still get bites with the windows shut? covers indoor breeding spots and how to check it really is mosquitoes.

The neighbours’ pond

A pond is not always the big source it looks like. A healthy pond with fish, frogs, dragonfly larvae and some moving water has plenty of creatures that eat mosquito larvae. Still, fishless water, blocked gutters and forgotten buckets are often the bigger problem.

If you think their pond is the source, talk to them kindly. Ideas that help: a small pump or fountain to keep the surface moving, fish suited to the pond, and clearing out rotting leaves. Nobody wants mosquitoes, and most people will listen to a friendly suggestion more than a complaint.

Have a pond yourself? Do not drain a wildlife pond to fix this. Keep it healthy and moving, and it can help more than it hurts.

What does not do the job

Citronella candles, plants like lavender or citronella grass, and ultrasonic devices are often sold as mosquito repellents. None of them keeps mosquitoes away well enough to rely on. Bug zappers are not a reliable fix either. Spend the money on screens and a net.

If you want one more step later, there are two known options. A biological larvicide for water you cannot empty, such as a water butt you need for the garden, is sold in some countries: follow the label and check it is allowed where you live. And a skin repellent, used by the label, is the usual next step for evenings outdoors.

Health: in places where mosquitoes carry disease, your local health service’s advice on nets and repellents comes first. If you get a fever or feel unwell after bites, see a doctor and say where you have been. If bites swell badly, a pharmacist can suggest what helps.

When to ask for help

If water collects somewhere you cannot fix, like a blocked public drain, a neglected pool next door or a flooded empty plot, report it to your local council or health authority. In many places they deal with mosquito breeding sites. A dated photo of the standing water helps them act.

Our mosquito guide has more on how they live and where they breed.