How to Keep Mosquitoes Off Your Patio (and Off You)

The whole reason Notch exists is evenings like this: dinner on the deck, a drink by the pool, the kids running around until it’s dark. Not the deep woods. The back door.

So I keep a short list of what actually keeps mosquitoes off a patio. It’s shorter than most people expect, and most of what’s sold for this job isn’t on it.

The three moves that work

Mosquitoes find you by your breath, your body heat and the scent of your skin, so the best patio plan protects the people, not the whole yard. Everything below follows from that.

Why mosquitoes bite some people more

1. Dump the water

   Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water, and a bottle cap’s worth is enough. Once a week, walk the yard and empty anything that holds water: plant saucers, buckets, toys, tarps, gutters, the birdbath.

   For water you can’t dump, like a rain barrel or a pond, drop in a mosquito dunk. They’re made with Bti, a naturally occurring bacterium that stops larvae before they can grow into biters.¹ A few dollars a season.

   A full guide to Bti on BugRepellent.Guide

   BugRepellent.Guide is a repellent research site run by the Notch team.

2. Turn on a fan

   This is the one people don’t believe until they try it. Mosquitoes are weak fliers, and moving air scatters the scent trail they follow. In field studies, fan-generated wind sharply cut how many mosquitoes reached their target.²

   Point an oscillating fan across the seating area at ankle-to-knee height, where mosquitoes come in low, and keep everyone in the breeze. It cools you down too.

   How fans keep mosquitoes away

3. Wear a repellent you’ll actually put on

   Some always get through, and the fan doesn’t follow you to the grill. A repellent on your skin is what protects you from those. The catch is that it only works if you use it, and most people don’t, because most bug spray is unpleasant.

   That’s the problem I made Notch Nourish + Defend to solve: a repellent that lives next to your skincare, not in the garage.

   • 5% geraniol. A plant-based active that repels mosquitoes and ticks, and one of the best-studied botanical repellent ingredients.
   • A lotion, not a spray. Even coverage, including face and neck, with nothing drifting onto the table.
   • Soft skin, light rose scent. Glycerin and bentonite clay for a silky, non-greasy feel. Geraniol smells a lot like rose petals.

   Apply before you head out and reapply every hour. That’s what the research supports, and it’s what the label says.

   The research behind geraniolWhy a lotion, not a spray

What to skip

Everything below is sold for patios. Most of it is for show.

• Skip Bug zappers

  Fewer than 1 in 400 of the insects they kill are biters.⁴ The light draws the wrong bugs.

• Skip Ultrasonic devices and apps

  A review of field studies found no effect on how many mosquitoes landed on people.⁵

• Skip Bracelets, patches and pouches

  A band only protects the skin right around it. Your other arm is on its own.

  The research on bracelets and gadgets

• Only up close Citronella candles

  A little protection right beside the flame, dropping off sharply 6 to 10 feet away.³ Nice on the table, not a plan.

  How citronella compares to geraniol

Want to go deeper? Read our guides to natural repellents that actually work and what “minimum-risk” means on a repellent label. For the research behind every ingredient, BugRepellent.Guide scores every product, ours included, by the same published rules.