The Best Mosquito Repellents to Prevent Bugs From Taking Over Your Yard

We updated this article in August 2022 to ensure all products vetted by the Home Improvement Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute were in stock and accurately priced.

With warmer temperatures come backyard cookouts, summer parties and — we hate to say it — tons of mosquitos. While humid environments are better breeding grounds for these pesky bugs, they can survive almost anywhere, as long as they have access to water. But just because their presence is inevitable doesn't mean you have to suffer through itchy mosquito bites and annoying buzzes: Take matters into your own hands by protecting your yard with the best mosquito repellents and bug sprays.

The experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have battled all manner of backyard nuisances for decades. They can tell you why mosquito bites are so itchy (it's a reaction caused by the salivary proteins of female mosquitoes), why pregnant people tend to get munched on (the extra carbon dioxide and heat their bodies release) and which treatments provide the fastest belief (go for the