The premature return of warm weather results in the arrival of mosquitoes: unable to travel long distances, they are certainly born in your garden or in its immediate vicinity. To enjoy your summer evenings without being bitten (too much) is an effective method of encouraging natural predation: dragonflies are your allies! Here are 10 plants they love.
What is there to know?
Dragonflies are natural enemies of mosquitoes: they consume them both in the larval stage and in adulthood. According to Health Nutritionattracting dragonflies to the garden would therefore keep the mosquito population low.
Dragonflies, like mosquitoes, lay their eggs in water. Contrary to popular belief, a body of water does not necessarily lead to an increase in mosquitoes: a pond with the right biological balance will not cause any problems. You got it: you’re more likely to attract dragonflies if you live near a basin, pond, or something else, or if you create one in your home.
According to Easy gardeningdragonflies will be more likely to come into your watering hole if there are emerging plants there: water lilies and reeds are good places to lay eggs.
Favorite plants
Several flowering plants are prized by dragonflies whether they are subservient to dry or moist environments. Integrated into various points of your yard, they stand a good chance of attracting these mosquito-eaters:
In a dry landscape:
- Meadow sage (Salvia marcus)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Purple Bonewort (Eupatorium purpureum)
- Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
In a humid environment:
- Water arrow (Sagittaria latifolia)
- Wild celery (Vallisneria americana)
- Broadleaf bulrush (Typha latifolia)
- Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile)
- Nenuphar
Note: Bats and swallows are also predators of the common mosquito. The installation of nest boxes is another effective development to combat the latter.
Prefer dragonflies at home? A simple way to prevent the summer proliferation of mosquitoes while preserving biodiversity.