Arborvitae do not attract mosquitoes. The plant gives off no nectar, fruit, or sweet scent that pulls biting insects in. If you have ever wondered about arborvitae and mosquitoes, the link is the spot the hedge creates, not the tree itself. People often ask, do arborvitae attract bugs, and the honest answer is no more than any other thick shrub in your yard.
You will notice more mosquitoes near a thick hedge on a humid evening. That happens because the dense branches throw deep shade and trap still, damp air close to the ground. Mosquitoes hate hot, dry, windy open spaces. So they tuck into that cool, sheltered pocket to rest during the day and wait for dusk.
Here is the part that clears up the worry. Mosquitoes need standing water to lay eggs and complete their life cycle. They find you and other warm bodies by tracking the carbon dioxide you breathe out, along with body heat and shade. None of that comes from the leaves. The hedge is just a comfortable hiding place, not a food source or a magnet.
The foliage itself works against you here, not for you. Arborvitae puts out aromatic, scale-like leaves, and that oil in the leaves is the source of cedar leaf oil. It is the opposite of a nectar plant that feeds insects. So a row of arborvitae does not lure, feed, or breed mosquitoes. The plant only matters when it grows so thick and damp that it shelters bugs that drifted in from somewhere else.
The real driver of an arborvitae hedge mosquitoes problem is moisture sitting at the base. Wet mulch holds it. So does a low spot that puddles after rain or a clogged gutter dripping nearby. Each one gives a female a place to lay eggs. A single bottle cap of water can hatch a batch. The hedge then hands those new mosquitoes a shady wall to rest against right next to your patio.
It helps to know how fast this happens. A mosquito can go from egg to biting adult in about 8 to 10 days in warm weather. Some species need only a teaspoon of water to pull it off. So a saucer under a pot or a kink in a hose can feed a fresh wave every week or two. When you weigh arborvitae and mosquitoes as a pair, the plant never enters that cycle. The water does. That is why fixing drainage near the row beats almost anything else you can try.
You can cut the problem down fast with a few simple moves. Keep the base of the hedge clear of any standing water, and check for hidden puddles after every heavy rain. Empty or remove water-holding junk near the row, like old buckets, toys, plant saucers, and tarps that sag and pool. Tip out birdbaths every few days and unclog gutters that drip near the plants.
Airflow does a lot of quiet work too. Thin out overcrowded plantings so a light breeze can move through the branches instead of stalling in dead, humid air. Even a slow breeze makes it hard for a mosquito to fly and hold its spot. So the bugs leave a windy hedge alone. Trim the bottom of the hedge a little off the soil so the ground underneath dries between waterings. Rake out wet leaf litter and grass clippings that pile up against the trunks and hold damp.
Spacing matters when you first plant the row. Set arborvitae about 3 to 4 feet apart for most screening types, not jammed in shoulder to shoulder. Tight spacing looks full faster, but it traps the still, wet air that resting mosquitoes love. A little gap between plants lets sun and wind reach the soil and dries it out each day. You still get a solid green wall in a couple of seasons, just without the swampy pocket underneath.
Plant arborvitae for the privacy screen and windbreak it gives you, and skip the worry about bugs. The tree is not the cause. A damp, crowded, debris-filled base near standing water is. Fix the moisture and the airflow, and your hedge stays a clean green wall instead of a mosquito motel. That one habit does more than any spray you could buy.
Read the full article: Arborvitae Shrub: Complete Growing Guide
