Abstract In this paper a simple and efficient method is developed to quench the steady state vibration of a symmetric laminated composite rectangular plate subjected to multiple harmonics with distinct excitation frequencies. The introduction of the inerter into the traditional dynamic vibration absorber enlarges the solution space for both the feasible attachment locations and the absorber parameters. For a given set of attachment locations, when the traditional vibration absorbers yield physically unrealizable absorber parameters, i.e., negative absorber parameters, an inerter-based vibration absorber can be used such that the absorber parameters become strictly positive. Using the assumed modes method, the governing equations of the laminated composite plate carrying the inerter-based dynamic vibration absorbers are first formulated. A set of constraint equations is established by enforcing nodes at user-specified locations on the plate. Harmonic excitations consisting of a single or multiple distinct excitations are considered. In addition, two attachment scenarios are analyzed: when the attachment and node locations coincide, and when they are distinct. Numerical experiments show that the absorbers parameters can be readily determined for both cases, and validate the proposed method of enforcing the desired node locations when the plate is subjected to either a single or multiple harmonic excitations.