Catnip

[Rzashida]

I really don't care for cats, so I would not intentionally plant catnip to attract them. But, if catnip can repel mosquito's I will let it take over my backyard like my lemon balm plant did. I hate mosquito's I will tolerate a neighborhood of stray cats if I can get the mosquito population down at least by 20%.

 

[ChanellG]

I don't dislike cats, they're cute as kittens and some are very pretty as adults - which makes them hard to resist. The problem with a cat as a pet is that they don't friggin' listen, lol! Dogs do what you tell them to (for the most part) and cats do whatever they want. I don't mind a couple strays around because it keeps the rodent population under control, but adopting one of them would mean getting it fixed and buying it food and taking it to the vet...

Of all the lavender I started indoors last year, only two plants have survived :-(

 

[Kansas Terri]

I am the world's WORST mosquito magnet, and so I just went out today and I bought catnip seeds! I am going to have pots of catnip on my deck, so that I can pick a few sprigs on my way out the door. The cats will probably destroy some of the plants, and so I bought enough seeds for several pots of catnip! I will plat them today, as soon as it stops raining!

I am delighted to hear that there is a way to reduce bites without spraying myself with poisonous DEET every few hours. Because it has rained almost every day here I expect a LOT of mosquitos this year!

 

[ChanellG]

That Avon Skin So Soft oil works great for mosquitoes. I have tried all sorts of things from burning sandalwood incense to rubbing fresh basil on my skin. I have two citronella plants right now, but if I thought catnip would do the trick I'd spread it all around the house!

 

[Melissa Smith]

Here is the catnip I planted a few months ago from seed, it just don't seam to be growing very fast

 

[Beth_B]

Here is the catnip I planted a few months ago from seed, it just don't seam to be growing very fast
View attachment 7203

Is it outdoors and getting enough sun? I have catnip and mint that comes up every year and it grows very quickly. I've never planted it from seed though. About two weeks ago I bought two 4" pots, put one in a larger pot and one in the ground and both have about quadrupled in size since then. They do like a lot of sun. I never water mine either unless we have a long hot dry spell (which almost never happens here.)

 

[Melissa Smith]

Its not outside, there is a lot of cats around here so I move it every morning to the back door then to my br window when I get home at 4 when the sun is hitting.

Is it outdoors and getting enough sun? I have catnip and mint that comes up every year and it grows very quickly. I've never planted it from seed though. About two weeks ago I bought two 4" pots, put one in a larger pot and one in the ground and both have about quadrupled in size since then. They do like a lot of sun. I never water mine either unless we have a long hot dry spell (which almost never happens here.)

 

[Trellum]

What a weird thing to say! I just think that girl didn't have her fact straight, because as far as I know catnip is completely safe for cats. She probably confused it with a different plant.

 

[IcyBC]

I haven't heard of catnip causing ulcer for cat before until reading your post! I have a friend who made tea out of catnip to drink, and she said her cat loves it too! That is really strange for the salesperson to say that!

 

[Marck]

When I grew catnip (Nepeta cataria), it did attract neighborhood cats. The liked to roll on the plant to release the plant's intoxicating oil. To protect the plant, I built a wire cage around it. The cats could only sample what grew through the wire, but they still came to sample what they could.

 

[Tess]

So I went to Lowes garden dept today and asked the girl in that dept at the register if they ever sell any catnip plants? She says yes but only in warmer weather so I say, guess I'll go check and see if ya have any catnip seeds to sell here. So I come back w/ the seeds I found and there is another different girl there at the register and she looks at the seeds and says " are those for your cat?" and I say yes and she says"ya know those plants are bad for your cats as they can cause stomach ulcers and she suggests I go to Fred Meyers, which is a different store down the road aways and buy some stuff called wheat grass for cats instead. So I said ok then I guess I won't buy the catnip seeds. So Lowes just lost a sale and now I look on the internet and can't find a thing about cats getting ulcers from catnip. What I found was that even humans can drink a tea using catnip and it is supposed to be good for reflex or stomach problems. Anybody know anything about this stuff causing ulcers in cats?

I never heard of ulcers in cats from catnip! My whole life I've grown catnip and my cats love to play in it! They get crazy happy from it!

 

[slugflinger]

For a non-poisonous mosquito repellent check out lemon eucalyptus based repellent. I haven't tried it myself yet, but have the ingredients and will make some soon when the weather starts warming. We have mosquitos and deer flies in abundance around our vegetable garden. I'm hoping this stuff will work, as these pests will suck a person dry and are extremely aggravating.

The repellent can be made DIY style or bought ready made.

I will post about effectiveness after I give it a try.