After a long a busy day, you finally have the opportunity to slip out to your deck. Your oasis from all that drains in life, to recharge with the setting sun. But as you put your feet up, you feel a small prick, and then another. Then you hear the hum over your head. You’re not the only one out on your deck tonight. Your deck is filled with mosquitoes.
As you swat another one, now your mind races to how can you get rid of the mosquitoes on your deck? There is not going to be any relaxing on your deck with mosquitoes. There has to be a way to keep mosquitoes away from your deck. And that is why you are reading this. You can get rid of and repel mosquitoes from your deck.
I have 18 ways to clear your deck of mosquitoes. There are four different approaches to stopping mosquitoes from ruining your evening on your deck. Removing mosquitoes away from your deck by preventing, minimize, repelling, or killing them.
Which way will work for you and your deck depends on many factors. The source of the mosquitoes. How you use your deck. Where your deck is located. Just to name a few things to consider when dealing with mosquitoes on your deck.
Here are the 18 ways to keep mosquitoes off your deck.
- Empty Standing stagnant Water around your deck
- Use a Fan on your deck to blow away mosquitoes.
- Trim the Grass and Bushes around the deck
- LED or yellow deck lighting
- Build the deck with lighters colours.
- Grow mosquito repellent plants on and around deck.
- Burn Mosquito Coils on the deck
- Burning citronella candles or torches with citronella fluid on the deck
- Spray Vinegar around the deck to repel mosquitoes
- Spray Mouthwash on furniture on deck
- Hang Dryer Sheets around deck
- Spray yourself with DEET before going out on deck.
- Thermacell Mosquito Repellent
- Install Bird or Bat houses around deck to encourage natural predators
- Have pet Chickens on or around deck.
- Get Professional Mosquito Control for your backyard
- Install Mosquito Trap near the deck.
Not all are equal in effectiveness in getting rid of mosquitoes on your deck. And some work better for certain situations involving mosquitoes, while others work better in other conditions. Some are better pre-emptive removing the mosquitoes from your deck and yard. Others are for temporary relief.
Top 4 Picks to Keep Mosquitoes off Your Deck
Depending on how many mosquitoes are on your deck and its location but which solution is best for you. My top picks in the four categories are.
- Preventing Mosquitoes=Remove Stagnant water from around and under the deck.
- Minimize Mosquitoes=A fan blowing them off
- Repel Mosquitoes= Thermacell Mosquito Repellent
- Kill Mosquiiotes= Mosquito trap
If your deck is the problem, prevention is the cure. If the mosquitoes are flying onto your deck from elsewhere, you are better off minimizing attraction and repelling them. For a more permanent fix, killing the mosquitoes will have the longest-lasting impact.
But let’s dive into the 18 ways to see which will work best for you and your deck.
Preventing Mosquitoes from Reproducing around your Deck
If the mosquitoes originate on or more likely under your deck, this is the most effective way to eliminate them. Remove where the mosquitoes lay their eggs and hatch, and you remove the mosquitoes. This is the most effective way of getting rid of mosquitoes on your deck and the longest lasting.
Mosquitoes lay eggs in stagnant water, go around your deck and remove all standing water. Especially under the deck, a prime location for stagnant water and larvas.
Water can be pooling around your deck in planter saucers, dog bowls, children’s toys, or the gutter on the house. Empty anything with water you find. One less nursery.
Next is removing mosquito hatcheries from under the deck.
If you are building a new deck or planning to rebuild, this will be much easier. To learn more, read about Building a Backyard Deck That Will Attract Fewer Mosquitoes
. Levelling the ground, covering it with landscape fabric and gravel is much easier before the deck is built.
If your deck is already built, the best way is to put sand down wherever puddles regularly form under the deck. The easiest way to know is to crawl under the deck after a rain with a small bucket of sand and fill wherever water has pooled. Not fun but highly effective.
If the sand is not sufficient to stop water pooling under your deck, a French drain may be required. This will require a lot more work to trench and pipe, draining away the water from under the deck.
Place Mosquito Dunks in birdbath or water features where you want water near your deck but not mosquitoes. Mosquitoes dunks are effective for 30 days and are nontoxic while still killing mosquito’s larvae. Allowing you to enjoy the water feature without extra mosquitoes.
Minimize Mosquitoes on your Deck by making it Less Attractive
If the mosquitoes are not hatching under your deck but rather flying in from next door. You may need to try a different approach. Making your deck less attractive for mosquitoes.
Years ago, a door-to-door salesperson knocked on my door trying to sell me a security system. His opening line was, “do you know your neighbour got broken into.” I looked over and said, “well, that makes sense. They are the fanciest house on the block.”.
This doesn’t mean your deck needs to be ugly, not to attract mosquitoes, but there will be fewer of them if there is nothing to draw them to the deck. Fortunately, what attracts you to a deck is probably not the same thing that attracts mosquitoes.
Turn on or Bring out the Fan.
The simple addition of moving air, as little as two mph (3.2km) prevents mosquitoes from flying, pushing them right off your deck. They won’t be hanging around you or your guest.
A box fan on one corner of the deck, with a smaller oscillating fan closer to you on your deck, is a great one, two punch removing mosquitoes. The oscillating fan is excellent for breaking up the steady stream of air, blowing away even the strongest flyers.
If your deck has a pergola adding an exterior ceiling fan hanging from the rafters will gently circulate the air while removing mosquitoes. The fan’s cool air may make you even forget that it’s there for the mosquitoes.
Trim the Grass and Bushes around the deck. There is less water around the deck for mosquitoes to breed and hatch by shortening the grass and thick bushes. Making hanging around your deck less favourable for them.
Attract fewer mosquitoes to the deck with yellow or LED lights
Typically, when I think of bugs and lights, I think of moths swarming around a porch light. But mosquitoes are no different. They are attracted to white lights, like a beacon on a hill or, should we say, deck.
There are yellow light bulbs specifically designed not to attract insects, but if you are not into the yellow light on your deck.
“LED lights produce little to no UV light and a minuscule amount heat, which makes them less attractive to bugs—so long as they emit longer wavelengths of light.”
SuperBrightLED
Whichever you choose, Yellow with its longer wavelengths or LED both will light your deck without attracting insects.
Lighten the colour of the deck to attract fewer mosquitoes.
Now I can’t explain this one. Slipping on a dark shirt will attract mosquitoes, especially a blue one. But changing your shirt to a lighter colour will attract fewer mosquitoes.
Building your deck with lighter colour may reduce the number of mosquitoes. Not as effective as removing stagnant water or air movement in mosquito control, but it can reduce how many mosquitoes spot your deck.
Repel Mosquitoes from You Deck
If making your deck less attractive to mosquitoes is not enough, then a little repellent may be needed. You could try the natural way with plants on your deck or add a mosquito-repelling scent. Another option is using technology to repel those bloodsuckers.
Plant Mosquito Repellent Plants either in planters on your deck or a garden around it.
Not all plants are equal in their ability to repel mosquitoes. The fragrance of some plants can throw off mosquitoes hunting by smell. Some possible plants to plant around your deck are lavender, marigolds, citronella, and mint. With a strong natural fragrance that will repel mosquitoes from around your deck.
Lavender is the most effective plant against mosquitoes on this list.
Two plants that are often suggested but are not nearly as useful are basil and lemongrass. Basil is better for seasoning food than getting rid of mosquitoes. If your thumbs are not green yet, lemongrass is easier to grow but with limited effectiveness with mosquitoes.
To learn more about deck plants that repel mosquitoes, I recommend reading the Mosquito Review. It has many more suggestions of good plants to use and ones to avoid. You could also go to Intelligent Living for more plant suggestions.
Whatever you decide to plant on or around your deck, make sure that there is sufficient drainage. Hate to do all that work just to create another hatchery of stagnant water.
Burn Mosquito Coils on the table of your deck
I remember as a kid whenever we went out camping. We would have these little smoulders coils sitting on the table. There are mixed reviews on their effectiveness and what they do. Some confuse the mosquitoes with their smoke others kill or at least knock out the mosquitoes with the chemicals in the fumes.
There is also some debate about the health risk posed by the chemicals in the smoke.
Use the right one on your deck judiciously, and it is an option for reclaiming your deck. Personally, this is not my pick for my deck. Primarily it’s the odour in the air that is repelling the mosquitoes. I would rather have a more pleasant smell than this chemical stick smoulder beside me.
Burning citronella candles or torches with citronella fluid around your deck
Feel like your out on an Amazon adventure. The black starlit sky above, your camp, deck surrounded by burning torches keeping the predators away.
Very romantic but not useful for mosquito control.
The Citronelle oil released into the air when burning is 35.4% effective in reducing mosquitoes’ presence on your deck, but that is at 3′ (1m) from the flame. This means, not only are you smoking out the mosquitoes but also yourself.
Often people place the citronella torches, 8-10 feet (2.4-3m) away from the deck. The idea is creating a firewall or, more precisely, a smoke wall to keep the mosquitoes at bay. At times this can be effective, but the torches have a more value-creating atmosphere than mosquito control at that distance.
There are more effective candles for warding off mosquitoes. Mosquito Reviews recommends linalool candles, which are twice as effective.
Repelling Mosquitoes off your deck with Vinegar
This one surprised me when I first heard of using vinegar to repel mosquitoes. But the strong odour released from a small cup of 15% white vinegar and 85% water is very effective in repelling mosquitoes. You don’t even need to mix it with water to repel the mosquitoes for apple cider vinegar. Spraying the solution from a spray bottle will increase effectiveness with increase odour in the air.
So, if you like the smell of vinegar, grab a couple of glass and your set to enjoy the evening on the deck without being bite. If it’s apple cider vinegar, you can even drink it to strengthen your body’s natural odour to repel those bloodsuckers.
But, if you’re like my wife, who is repulsed by the smell of vinegar. The vinegar may be keeping more than just mosquitoes off the deck.
Spray Mouthwash around your deck to repel mosquitoes
If the smell of vinegar is not for you, maybe mouthwash is a better solution. Like vinegar, except for that mouth wash on your deck, it is best applied using a spray bottle and focusing on the deck’s cushions and furniture. Mouthwash has a refreshing, pleasant scent. One of my highlights of the day is a clean mouth in the morning after breakfast.
“Listerine is often referred to as a cheap, homemade alternative to commercial repellent products due to it containing eucalyptol, a chemical that is heavily used for commercial repellents.”
Mosquito Review
The trouble with Listerine is the low level of eucalyptol, less than 1%. Meaning frequent re-application is required. To be effective against mosquitoes, you will need to keep your spray bottle handy on the deck. Spraying the deck whenever the smell starts to fade.
Hang Dryer Sheets around the deck to ward of Mosquitoes.
What could be better than transforming your deck into a laundry room? Hanging dryer sheets around your deck, especially Bounce’s scented sheets, can repel mosquitoes.
“And while dryer sheets contain chemicals that could theoretically repel mosquitoes, success isn’t guaranteed. The main chemical responsible for repelling insects is linalool a DEET-like ingredient. Heavy amounts of it are found in mosquito repellents and various pesticides. “
Mosquito Reviews
How many you will need, is the question. To repel the mosquitoes, the scent needs to be overpowering or at least for them. But enough Bounce to overpower mosquitoes may be enough to overwhelm you also.
You may be better off, to use DEET-based mosquito repellents instead of fabric softeners.
Use DEET for mosquitoes on your deck
DEET is highly effective for repelling mosquitoes. The U.S. Army developed it in 1946 to protect soldiers against attacks of bugs and mosquitoes. When applied directly to the skin, it will repel mosquitoes. The challenge is it only repels them from your skin, where the DEET is used. It is not designed for atmosphere control, to keep the mosquitoes of the deck.
Some use yard foggers or misters with DEET to protect the deck from mosquitoes. With small blooms of chemicals sprayed into the air to deter the pests away from the deck. But this has health issues.
“You might inhale the chemicals, some of which have been linked to serious health problems, including endocrine disruption and neurological effects,”
Michael Hansen, Ph.D
Using DEET or OFF!®, the most widespread mosquito repellent may work well for personal mosquito care but not for deck care. If you wish to lather up before going out on your deck, it is useful, but if you want to keep mosquitoes off the deck, there are better alternatives.
Repelling Mosquitoes off the deck with Thermacell
Designed to repel mosquitoes with allethrin, a synthetic copy of chrysanthemum plant, a natural repellent. Thermacell boasts no on-skin sprays, lotions or chemicals repellent. With the advantage of no open flame to monitor on your deck. Plus also you are not overwhelming the deck with a strong scent, DEET or mess.
Sounds pretty impressive, especially since it’s designed for outdoor spaces like decks. The greatest downfall I have heard so far is the challenge of buying refills. You may end up paying more for refills than the actual device or be forced to buy a new one because you cannot find refills anywhere. Refills are easier to find for older models.
Protect your deck from mosquitoes with a screen.
“Fences make good neighbours”, or so the saying goes. Screens are used throughout the world to protect people from mosquitoes and are highly effective if installed correctly.
It is an expensive option for a deck. To effectively work, you will need to screen in the whole deck or at least the area you are sitting in. There are some screens designed to hang over a deck umbrella, sheltering you from the mosquitoes.
Besides the expense, the most significant trouble is the netting. The hanging net can be bothersome to get in and out of and will disturb your deck’s view. On top of that, if not probably place mosquitoes can crawl in. Now, you have a net around and are trapped with a mosquito with only one possible victim, you.
If swarms of mosquitoes surround your deck, screens may be a good solution to allow you to enjoy your deck. Otherwise, I would recommend experimenting with ways to repel or kill them.
But if you are looking for more than just scaring them away.
Killing Mosquitoes on Your Deck
You ever heard that mythology Texan Law, about the justification for killing someone, is that he
“Just needed killing.”
Sometimes this is true with mosquitoes on your deck. They just need to be killed. Here are a few ways to do precisely that, kill those bloodsuckers.
If you want them dead, you can either do it naturally, with chemicals or traps.
For natural mosquito remediation from your deck, you will need to balance the eco-system by raising the number of predators. Many creatures hunt and eat mosquitoes. A few options for a deck are wild birds, bats or chickens.
Bats and Birds Eating Mosquitoes around your deck.
This is more a yard solution than strictly your deck. But your deck is part of your yard, so if you reduce the number of mosquitoes in your yard, there will be less on your deck.
To attract predators to eat the mosquitoes, you need to provide housing. Setting up bird or bat houses, not on the deck but twenty or thirty feet (6-9m) from the deck. Far enough away as not to disturb you on the deck or increase bird messes but close enough to eat the mosquitoes on the deck. Just hope whoever moves in brings their appetite.
To learn more about building and setting up a bat house, go to Bat Watch. Bats are indeed amazing creatures and are very effective in getting rid of mosquitoes. But the thought of bats flying over me gives me the willies. So, they may not be for everyone.
Mosquito eating Chickens!
Chickens are also excellent insect managers, eating the mosquitoes in your yard or on your deck, with the added benefit of eggs or meat after deck season. To be effective, you will probably need a small flock. One will not be enough. Not an instant fix, but over time they will get take care of your mosquito problem.
A couple of challenges with chickens, you must keep them off the deck as they will leave messes around that are worse than the mosquitoes. Or be prepared to spray down your deck before using.
Secondly, this may not be a suitable solution for a city deck. I know in Calgary, where I live it’s illegal to keep chickens in your yard. Check before you order a batch of mosquito-eating chicks.
Not looking for your deck to go to the birds.
Get Professional Mosquito Control for your deck
Call in the experts. Train professionals will better understand where the mosquitoes are coming from and how to get rid of them. Plus, being professionals, they will have access to tools and chemicals that you may not as a homeowner. Yes, chances are very high they will be using chemicals to kill the mosquitoes. Removing and killing your flying deck menaces.
Trapping the Mosquito on your deck
There are many different designs and options for trapping mosquitoes. Most are some sort of attracten to draw the mosquitoes into a container to trap them. Placement of the trap is most critical for effectiveness.
- Between the area you want to protect and the area where mosquitoes are resting or breeding
- At least 30 feet from the deck
- Upwind from the mosquitoes’ resting or breeding area
- In an area without high grass, hedges, or other barriers so the carbon dioxide can spread
- In a cool, damp or shady area, rather than a hot, dry, sunny one.
You will need to experiment with where to locate the trap around your deck and yard to find the most effective location. To learn more about traps, read Mosquitoes Reviews on traps.
A couple things I love about mosquito traps.
- Limit exposure to harmful chemicals
- Minimal maintenance
- Highly effective over time to reduce mosquito population
