Home gardening is a satisfying hobby. However, it comes with some minor annoyances, like garden pests that can damage your carefully cultivated crops. Thankfully, you can get rid of garden pests without using harmful pesticides that can cause negative side effects by growing plants that keep bugs away, like basil and peppermint. (h/t to AskAPrepper.com)
Most of the plants in the list below are aromatic, which helps deter pesky bugs and insects that can damage your crops.
Alliums
Alliums include other plants that belong to the same family as onions, such as chives, garlic, leeks, onions, scallions, and shallots. Alliums are edible, and they offer the added benefit of protecting your garden from flies and slugs.
Do take note that alliums may attract moths. Alliums can also be very toxic to dogs and cats. (Related: Stop slugs from ruining your garden with these natural strategies.)
Basil
Basil is an edible herb that can also keep mosquitoes away.
Chrysanthemums
Beautiful chrysanthemums produce pyrethrins, a class of organic compounds often used in commercially manufactured insect repellents. Chrysanthemums can help keep beetles, mosquitoes, roaches, and ticks away from your garden.
Chrysanthemums can also help get rid of silverfish, which can destroy books, clothes, and wallpaper using their excrement. You can get rid of silverfish by recycling old books, papers, and magazines that you no longer need.
Garlic
Garlic is a superfood with antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Plant garlic in your home garden to help keep away mosquitoes.
Lavender
Except for bees, most kinds of bugs will stay away from lavender.
You can also use lavender to keep moths away from your clothing: hang some dried lavender in the closet or put it in a dresser to prevent moths from eating clothing.
Marigolds
Marigolds bear colorful flowers with a unique smell that is frequently used in insect repellants. Fresh marigolds can also help repel mosquitoes, squash bugs, and tomato worms.
Plant the flowers among your vegetable garden to protect your crops from these pests.
Mint
Plant mint in your garden to repel other insects like mosquitoes. You can also hide mint inside your home to get rid of ants and mice.
Petunias
Petunias are annual flowers that grow best in colder climates. The plant bears flowers that have a licorice-like scent that can get rid of various insects like including aphids, squash bugs, and tomato hornworms. Take note that caterpillars and slugs are attracted to petunias.
These plants and herbs repel various insects in your deck or patio, but their effect only lasts as far as their odor reaches. To widen their reach, plant them all around the areas that you want to protect as close to the seating areas as you can.
Another option is to add planters on your patio or deck, along with other herbs already planted in the ground.
Plants that can help get rid of termites
When left unchecked, termites can cause massive damage to your home. Grow these plants to keep termites out of your property.
Catnip
Catnip oil is a natural termiticide, but it breaks down in soil faster than the chemicals used in commercial termiticides. Plant catnip in pots to prevent it from growing wild on your lawn.
Chili peppers
Chili peppers help repel various crawling insects, like ants and termites. The acid in chili peppers are effective against these insects, but they can be dangerous to children and pets.
Keep chili peppers out of reach of small children, pets, and livestock.
Vetiver grass
Vetiver grass can naturally deter termites. Vetiver is related to lemongrass, and it has a pleasant aroma.
Vetiver's deep root system is often used for controlling erosion. This root system is also effective against termites, ticks, and cockroaches because the plant contains chemicals that are toxic to these insects.
When using plants to get rid of termites naturally, there are two strategies that you can use.
- If you already have a termite infestation, keep them from getting into the wood structure of your home by growing these plants around and inside your house.
- To keep termites out of the house, grow these plants around the foundation to form a barrier against termites. Termites are tiny and don’t need that much space to get through, so make sure you grow a continuous barrier of plants as close together as possible.
Keep various pests away from your crops by growing pest-repelling plants like alliums, basil, catnip, and vetiver grass.
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