Blood-suckers be gone! Summer is one of the best times to get outside and enjoy your yard, but the hum and bite of mosquitoes can send you running indoors. Make your summer a little more pleasant by following these natural tips for mosquito management.

• Certain plants produce an odour mosquitoes can't stand. Try planting citronella, marigolds, verbena, lavender, catnip and geraniums, and herbs like basil, rosemary, peppermint and thyme.
  
  
• If you're outdoors, wear white, khaki or light-coloured clothing. Mosquitoes are more attracted to black and bright, floral colours. Loose-fitting clothes are also harder for a mosquito to bite through.
  
  
• The scent of citronella candles is popular for warding off mosquitoes, but the heat and carbon dioxide produced by garden torches and non-citronella based candles actually attracts these insects. The solution? Keep citronella candles close to you but move other candles and torches farther away.
  
  
• Because they attract mosquitoes, lighten up on perfume and other scented products!
  
  
• Dragonflies, bats and purple martins are natural predators of mosquitoes. Adding bat or purple martin houses to your property can help reduce the mosquito population.
  
  
• Consider placing a fan close by. Mosquitoes can't fly in strong breezes.
  
  
• Clear away standing water - mosquito breeding grounds - by frequently changing the water in bird baths and overturning containers that collect pools of water.
  
  
• Some experts avoid eating bananas in mosquito season as the scent the fruit releases through the skin attracts these insects. Others eat more garlic and take vitamin B1 in the summer as the scent these remedies produce through the skin repels mosquitoes. Fact or fiction? You be the judge, but consult with your doctor first if you have any health concerns.
  
  
• Trim long grass around mailboxes, the edges of your yard and the sides of your home. Mosquitoes love these cool hiding places.