Lay My Hat

We are in the process of re designing our guest terrace from the old table & chair layout to more of a lounge arrangement lower tables and sofas as we now are an adult only accommodation and as we are getting more and more short breaks there is not much call now for people to cook and use the BBQ and dine at the property
so it is turning more in to a social wine drinking evening area with a selection of snacks ( tapas style etc )

so it is a bit of a change of direction

so i am looking for ideas to keep our not so friendly pests flies ,mosquitos at bay sometimes people use scented candles or citronella oil ( not sure which version is better candle or oil burner lamps ) has anyone used a method that has worked for them and maybe different oils plants or fragrances work better
we usually have good summer weather and in a semi rural area surrounded by vineyards

has anyone managed to solve their problem ? and have done the same changes to their business

I haven't tried any of these, either at home or at the holiday cottage, but these plants are all supposed to be anti insect, especially mosquito and gnat.

Lavender
Rosemary
Lemon Balm
Marigold
Mint
Basil
Lantana
Lemon grass

thank you PW

i have been looking through the various herbs which i have in my garden and was thinking of placing a few in pots around the terrace at the moment all the herbs are at the back area of the garden away from the sitting area on the re planned terrace
so i was thinking for something i could put either on the tables
or the area is surrounded by a traditional dry stone wall that has a few nooks the size of small windows that could house something

We grow 6 of the 8 mentioned by PW on & around our terrace & still get critters being a nuisance.
Citronella (in a gel burner) is okay but most of the candles we've tried have been ineffective. Oil in a lamp works too but can be a bit messy.
A local method (that I've seen but not tried) involves smouldering dried coffee grounds. Many of the beach tavernas dabble with it to keep skeeters & wasps at bay.

To be perfectly honest, we've found the most reliable is either to smother ourselves with anti mosquito stuff (which doesn't stop the hornets or flies who can smell barbecued fish from about 6km away ) or to burn a Spiralette coil, placed under the table in a small a tin to collect any ash and also to direct the mildly smelly fumes up round us.

However, the various plants I mentioned above may help a bit and will certainly make the terrace look and smell more attractive to your guests - and of course, they'll appreciate being able to help themselves to the fresh herbs.

COYS wrote:A local method (that I've seen but not tried) involves smouldering dried coffee grounds. Many of the beach tavernas dabble with it to keep skeeters & wasps at bay.

We do that and it needs to be Greek ground coffee (not so pure as ordinary coffee) which you set alight. It needs a heatproof tin or container and care about what surface you place it on. On tiles or stone under the table sounds a good idea. Wasps keep away because they don't like the fumes, but nor do some humans in my experience.