A container garden can be a great place to grow flowers, vegetables, and other plants, especially if your property has limited outdoor space. Unfortunately, plants aren't the only living things that can thrive in your container garden — they may also become a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Why Do Mosquitos Invade Container Gardens?

Mosquitos may be notorious blood-suckers, but they do not require human or animal blood to survive. Male mosquitoes aren't even capable of piercing human flesh. Instead, both male and female mosquitoes survive on a variety of sugar-rich liquids. They will quite happily feed on plant nectar, as well as the honeydew created by some species of aphid.

Mosquitos will therefore be attracted to any type of garden (including conventional gardens) if it contains plants that produce nectar and/or are infested with aphids. However, container gardens are particularly attractive to mosquitos for an unrelated reason — water.

Unlike adult mosquitos, mosquito larvae are semi-aquatic, so female mosquitos try to lay their eggs on or near water sources. They will generally pick stagnant pools of standing water, which give the hatching larvae the best chances of survival. 

If you overwater any pot plants or raised planters in your container garden, excess water cannot simply drain into the surrounding soil, as it would in a conventional garden. This excess water may pool on the surface of the soil, creating an ideal egg-laying spot for female mosquitos.

Water can also collect in drip trays placed beneath plant pots to catch excess water, where it will quickly stagnate if the trays aren't emptied. If you use self-watering planters in your container garden, the hidden reservoirs in their bases can also become havens for mosquito larvae.

How Can You Keep Mosquitos Away From Your Container Garden?

Preventing a mosquito infestation in your container garden is always easier (and cheaper) than exterminating an existing one. Keeping your garden well-maintained and avoiding overwatering should minimize standing water sources, but there are also some active steps you can take to deter mosquitos.

Placing bug zapper lights in and around your container garden can keep the number of flying mosquitoes to a minimum, and repellent sprays (both natural and synthetic) can be effective if used regularly. You can also add some naturally mosquito-repellant plants to your garden — garlic, basil, and lavender plants contain aromatic oils that are thought to deter mosquitos.

If there are any permanent standing water sources in your container garden, such as self-watering planter reservoirs or rainwater barrels, try adding mosquito bits to the water. These contain naturally occurring bacteria, which are harmless to humans, plants, and pets, but deadly to mosquitos.

If you are still having trouble keeping mosquitos away from your prized plants, you should call a pest control company that offers mosquito prevention services. These trained professionals will thoroughly assess your container garden to find where mosquitoes are feeding and breeding and recommend modifications that can eliminate the problem. They may also deploy long-lasting larvicides to kill mosquito larvae, nipping future infestations in the bud.

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