Put these 7 plants indoors and mosquitoes will stay far away all summer long
As summer arrives, there are more and more mosquitoes, especially in homes with children, where mosquitoes are most feared; besides preparing mosquito coils, electric mosquito swatters and electric mosquito repellent, you can actually also choose mosquito-repellent potted plants, which can not only achieve the mosquito-repelling effect, but also beautify the home and purify the air. Today Shitou will introduce 7 common mosquito-repellent plants to everyone.
1. Mint
Mint itself has a peculiar fragrance, but it is precisely this scent of its that mosquitoes particularly "dislike." Mint contains easily volatile peppermint oil, menthol, menthone and so on, which to a certain extent can drive away mosquitoes including flies, and is harmless to the human body, with a warm scent, so it can be used for indoor insect repellent; not only that, the scent of mint also has a refreshing effect, making a pot placed in the bedroom a very good choice.
2. Lavender
Lavender is familiar to many flower lovers. It blooms small blue-purple flowers, originates from the Mediterranean, has a flower shape like a small ear of wheat, and usually blooms in June. Lavender itself has an insecticidal effect; most commonly, people make it into sachets to put in wardrobes, and some also place them in bedrooms, partly to purify indoor air and partly to repel mosquitoes and prevent moths.
3. Night-blooming jasmine
Night-blooming jasmine, also known as night-blooming cestrum, is a perennial vine-like shrub native to tropical America. Its leaves are heart-shaped with soft hairs along the edges, and its flowering period is from June to November, with the most abundant blooming from July to September. Each cluster of crown-shaped buds ranges from a dozen or so to several dozen. It slowly opens after sunset each day, blooming more and more vigorously and releasing a strong fragrance; at dawn it closes, slowly holding the fragrance back in. This scent can drive away mosquitoes and insects. Someone once did an experiment: taking a bath at home on a summer night, lighting mosquito coils to repel mosquitoes was ineffective, but placing a pot of night-blooming jasmine drove the mosquitoes and insects away, making it an excellent mosquito repellent.
4. Plectranthus amboinicus ( Cuban oregano )
Plectranthus amboinicus ( Cuban oregano ) basically has no scent on its leaves, but as soon as a person touches it, a fresh fragrance rushes to the nose, and the scent left on the hand is somewhat similar to the smell of an air freshener. When the wind blows, its leaves also give off a fragrance. This scent has a fairly good mosquito-repelling effect; keeping it indoors not only repels mosquitoes, but its fragrance also makes people feel refreshed.
5. Pistacia weinmannifolia
Pistacia weinmannifolia is a small-leaved plant that stays evergreen all year round. The whole plant has a strong pepper fragrance and has the effect of purifying the air and driving away mosquitoes and flies. Placing a pot of Pistacia weinmannifolia in a ventilated spot indoors has a very good mosquito-repelling effect.
6. Pitcher plant
Compared with the previous five plants, the principle by which the pitcher plant repels and kills mosquitoes is not releasing a scent to drive them away, but eating them; the pitcher plant is a famous carnivorous plant. It has a special organ, the pitcher, with mucus secreted along the rim, and when mosquitoes and insects come near, they fall into the pitcher and become a fine meal for the pitcher plant.
7. Venus flytrap
A herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family, with small yellow flowers; a single plant can have dozens of flower heads, and the outer edge of each flower head has sticky liquid. As long as small mosquitoes and insects land on it, they will be stuck, and the insect corpses will slowly be digested as nutrients for its growth; if dust lands on it, after a few days it will also be digested without a trace. Placing a pot of Venus flytrap at home catches insects and also absorbs dust.
With so many mosquito-repellent plants, all of them are very easy to grow; when growing them in summer, no matter which mosquito-repellent plant it is, a spot indoors protected from direct light with scattered light is a suitable growing environment for it.