I looked for any scientific literature on the topic. I did find some evidence that plants oils including lavender, clove, citronella, yarrow, rosemary and catnip can be used for short term (up to 2 hours) mosquito repellents against a variety of mosquito species. In the South, American beautyberry leaves crushed and rubbed on the skin are a traditional repellent; I know people that swear by it.

However it is a long jump to apply studies about a concentrated distilled essential oil to growing plants in an open space. I grow many of the plants studied and unfortunately have never noticed any reduction in mosquitoes around them.

If someone is looking for a way to avoid manufactured repellents like DEET, I find that a fan works as well as anything when I am sitting outside.