Mosquitoes are one of the most despised insects on the planet, and with good reason. These insects are not only a nuisance but also a health risk that can transmit infectious diseases. To figure out how to best get rid of them, we tested over 50 insect repellents with human subjects in our labs, as well as other methods for keeping mosquitoes away in larger areas. We’ve also gathered some expert tips on how to keep them away from your yard.
In this article
- How to Keep Mosquitoes Away: Install Bugproof Barriers Eliminate Standing Water Clean Your Yard Use Fans
- How to Protect Yourself: Dress Appropriately Use Repellent
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Keeping mosquitoes away from your yard will make spending time outdoors more comfortable and helps minimize the chances of mosquitoes entering your house.
Don’t forget to also use a safe, effective mosquito repellent. After all, controlling the greater population requires targeted efforts. Even if you get rid of mosquitos in your own yard, your neighbor’s might be a breeding ground, explains Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, an entomologist and a coordinator at the New York State Integrated Pest Management Community Program at Cornell University.
And whatever you do, you’ll also lessen your risk of getting bitten when you avoid going outside at prime feeding times—that’s dawn and dusk for the Northern house mosquito, the most common variety in most of the U.S.
Install Bugproof Barriers
Gangloff-Kaufmann advises using fine mesh screens in all open windows and doors. This allows cross-breezes to enter your house, but the screens’ openings are too small for mosquitoes to penetrate. Consider screens in your porch as well. “Screens are simply the best mosquito-control device you can find,” she says. “They were one of the original forms of home pest control, and for good reason.”
If you already have screens, check the seals around the edges and use a patching kit to repair any tears to keep mosquitoes away.
Eliminate Standing Water
“Mosquitoes’ larvae develop in water,” Gangloff-Kaufmann says, “and they can do it in even the small amount of water that would fit in a bottle cap.”
So to get rid of mosquitoes in your yard, it’s imperative to empty outdoor water toys and remove wheelbarrows and other outdoor gear that can catch water after a rainfall. Keep your gutters and drain lines clear of debris—clogged leaves and branches can cause water to pool.
If your lawn has uneven terrain or divots, fill them with topsoil and plant grass seed. Left alone, any dips will collect water during each rainfall and provide a potential breeding ground.
In a mere four days, eggs laid in water mature into nymphs, meaning if it rains on a Monday, you shouldn’t wait until the weekend to get rid of standing water.
Keep Your Yard Neat
Use a lawn mower, a string trimmer, or even a chainsaw to cut back high grass, brush, and tree limbs.
“On hot days, mosquitoes favor cooler spots in the shade,” Gangloff-Kaufmann says. By minimizing tall grass or limbs that cast shadows on your yard, you make the habitat immediately surrounding your home much less appealing to mosquitoes. Letting more sun in also helps dry up any residual wet spots.
The battery push mower, string trimmer, and chainsaw below are top-scoring models in CR’s tests.
Use Fans
CR has tested three methods for controlling mosquito activity in a large area: citronella candles, an oscillating pedestal fan, and a battery-powered area diffuser that emitted geraniol, a natural repellent derived from plants. We found that the fan is far more effective than citronella candles or the geraniol diffuser.
In fact, our tests showed that the fan reduced mosquito landings by 45 to 65 percent for folks sitting nearby. “There’s a reason you see porch fans in mosquito-rich areas like the tropics,” Gangloff-Kaufmann says.
She says that while a fan makes it more difficult for mosquitoes to fly against the steady breeze, it also helps disperse the carbon dioxide we emit when we breathe—a good thing because mosquitoes use carbon dioxide as a guide to finding humans when they’re looking to feed.
Dress Appropriately
To keep mosquitoes from biting you, wear long sleeves, pants, socks, and closed-toe shoes. This is especially important when you’re outdoors for a long stretch of time. It’s also wise to avoid tight-fitting clothes, because mosquitoes can penetrate them. Forgo dark-colored clothes and scented products, too, because these attract mosquitoes.
Use an Effective Mosquito Repellent
An important strategy to keep mosquitoes away from your body is to spray a good mosquito repellent onto exposed skin and on your clothes (but not under them).
To test mosquito repellents, Consumer Reports applies a dose of a particular brand to a subject’s arm, then exposes it to cages of disease-free mosquitoes for 5 minutes at a time. The process is repeated a half-hour later, followed by every hour, until the product wears off (and fails to protect the user), or until 8 hours have passed since the first dose was applied.
Below are three of the best mosquito repellents from CR’s tests. For more information on how to pick a mosquito repellent, see our insect repellent buying guide. CR members can also dive into our full insect repellent ratings of more than 50 products.
Paul Hope
Paul Hope is a senior multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports and a trained chef. He covers ranges, cooktops, and wall ovens, as well as grills, drills, outdoor power tools, decking, and wood stains. Before joining CR in 2016, he tested kitchen products at Good Housekeeping and covered tools and remodeling for This Old House magazine. You’ll typically find him in his old fixer-upper, engrossed in a DIY project or trying out a new recipe.
