If you're open to ideas that may take a little longer to "grow" you may want to look into plants that will repel mosquitoes. Try Citronella Grass, Catnip, Rosemary, Lemongrass, Lavender, Basil, Thyme, Penny Royal, Garlic or Marigolds. Be careful of any plant labelled as a "Mosquito Plant" or "Citronella Geraniums". The mosquito plants are usually just marketing hype trying to make a sale, and usually don't work. Real Citronella comes from one of two different types of grasses, so the "Citronella Geraniums" smell like citronella, but have none of the bug-repellant advantages that real Citronella Grasses have. Not only will these plants repel 'skeeters' but they'll make your backyard look prettier, and will do Mother Nature a little good by having more plants around
While these plants do a great job at keeping mosquitoes away from your backyard, if you do need a little bit of a boost for lots of them try taking leaves from some of those plants I mentioned crush them and rub them on your skin, or on your puppy. You can also make your own repellant just like the more harsh chemical-laden ones from the store by crushing the leaves and letting them infuse into a small bottle of alcohol or vodka, and then applying it like any other bug repellent.
If you're looking for something of the store-shelf variety for personal repellent, I would HIGHLY recommend Cutter's Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent. My fiance and I do a LOT of camping, hiking and canoeing, and it has worked wonders from The Smoky Mountains, to Illinois riverways, to the backwoods of Wisconsin, and the Northern woods of Minnesota. It says to only apply twice daily, but we find we're only applying it once, and it lasts the entire day. She may be cute and nice looking on our hikes, but I'm the kind of guy who sweats... and a lot, haha, and I've never had to apply it more than twice a day while out on the trails. The main ingredient is Lemon Eucalyptus oil, and it doesn't feel as oily or greasy as your typical bug sprays.
If you're looking for something a little more immediate for your entire backyard, you might want to try using a hose-end sprayer to spray the area with a mixture of 1 cup each of lemon-scented ammonia and lemon-sented dish soap. Spray three times a week early in the morning or late in the evening. Some people swear by this. I haven't tried it, so I can't say what kind of results I got, but it may be easier that using all those other chemicals. Or you can try and Google "mosquito dunks" and see what comes up. The mosquito dunks are a biological control agent, look for one with Bacillus Thurengiensis. They seem to work wonders, and aren't hazardous to animals or plants
The way you use them is by placing them in pools of standing water (which is where Mosquitoes lay their eggs) and it will kill their eggs and larvae. Spraying your grass with a chemical to kill Mosquito eggs will do little to no good (unless your yard frequently floods) since, as I mentioned, they only lay their eggs in water. So make sure you get rid of any standing water on your property. Any old tires, bird baths, clogged gutters, ponds, etc. are all perfect breeding grounds for the little buggers, so make sure to get rid of anything they will take advantage of.
P.S.- If you're interested in reading more about how well Catnip Oil works, check out this link:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgard...ovejoy10.shtml
P.P.S.- You may want to check out this website to get an idea of what kinds of products are out there:
www.CleanAirGardening.com