Mosquitoes HATE These Sweet-Smelling Repellents (But You’ll Love Them)

Madison James Fly-Away sticks from Terrain, propped in repurposed glass vases planted like terrariums, are a stylish way to keep mosquitoes at bay. Made with a blend of geranium, clove, cedar, and other people-friendly scents that bugs hate, these long-burning incense sticks repel common flies and hornets, too.

The Floral Society incense is handmade from pure essential oils and comes in three gorgeous, designer-candle-worthy scents blended to repel flying bugs: Tea tree and lavender, lemongrass and clary sage, and a sage-cinnamon-leaf-coffee-cedarwood blend. It’s a splurge, so save these for company.

Sure, this one is made with citronella—which is derived from the lemongrass plant—but it’s so good looking that we’ll forgive the traditional scent profile. Suspend it from this special metal holder (pictured here), from a ceiling, or a tree branch. Light it on Friday and keep your yard in the clear all weekend, or try it at a camp site. Hang multiple coils at various heights and pretend you’re at the Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong.

Dilute this blend of non-toxic oils in water, according to package directions, and spray it around your yard to deter pests—including ants, fleas, and ticks. It smells like a fresh cedar closet, is safe for bees and butterflies, is made in the U.S., and has the added bonus of covering up pet odors, for all of the dog owners out there.

One jug of these corn-cob granules, scented with Skeeter’s proprietary blend of citrusy floral oils, can cover up to 3,000 square feet of yard space. Shake them in your grass, in potted plants or bushes, or around your back porch. It’s non-toxic, pet-safe, and biodegradable. And it works for as long as you can smell it—up to a week.

Pungent citronella is balanced with a kind of coastal marine scent, so this is nothing like those Cutter candles sold in the gas station. And these 11-inch long incense sticks will burn for hours, from pre-dinner drinks right through dessert.

Ok, fine. These have citronella in them, too, but the scent is softer, more lemony and less acrid. What can we say? It works. They burn clean and create less smoke, and they aren’t made from paraffin wax, a petroleum byproduct used to create standard-issue candles.

According to Marie Kondo, burning chrysanthemum incense is the Japanese way to make gardening and backyard gatherings more bearable in the summer months. One coil burns up to six hours.

Used for centuries in cleansing and purifying rituals, the resinous, clean-smelling Palo Santo (Spanish for “Holy Wood”) is the new patchouli. You’ll smell it everywhere haute hippies congregate. But it burns slowly and smells terrific, and the smoke can repel bugs, in a pinch.

Ancient Mayans and Aztecs used incense rolled from the resin of the copal tree in spiritual ceremonies for energy clearing and blessings. The earthy, musky smoke it generates does a good job of warding off mosquitoes as an added benefit.