Grow these around your house and barn to repel biting insects such as mosquitoes and ticks. Crush the leaves and stems, and you have a handy, short-acting repellant to put on your skin. You can even make a repellant spray by crushing the plants, soaking them in water, then straining out the plant matter. All 10 of these plants are safe to grow around pets and children, but ingestion of substantial amounts should still be avoided.
1. Marigolds
Often planted in vegetable gardens to repel harmful insects, marigolds contain pyrethrum, a compound used in many commercial repellants. Studies have shown that essential oils derived from these plants offer a protection time of roughly half that of DEET, two to three hours.
2. Catnip
Not only will your cats thank you, but this lowly weed contains nepetalactone, which can repel mosquitos up to 10 times more effectively than DEET according to one study. It is highly invasive, so plant it only where you don’t mind an extensive patch of it and a possible gathering of all the local moggies.