How To Repel 28 Garden Pests With Herbs And Essential Oils

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This is a compiled list of bugs we may not want around, along with essential oils that will repel them, and herbs that you can companion plant into your garden to repel these insects. I personally tend to keep onions, garlic, calendula and basil in my garden beds to repel the most common buggies, with mints, yarrow and lavender close at hand.

 

 

 

Insect

Repelling Essential Oils

Repelling Herbs

Ants

Cinnamon, Citronella, Citrus (any), Clove, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Spearmint, Tansy

Bay, Calendula, Mint (any), Hyssop, Lavender, Marigold, Rue, Sage, Tansy, Woormwood, Yarrow

Aphids

Cedarwood, Lemon, Peppermint, Spearmint

Garlic, Onions, Chives, Coriander, Hyssop

Asparagus Beetle

Peppermint

Marigold, Petunia, Parsley, Garlic

Bean Beetle

Peppermint, Thyme

Marigold, Nasturtium, Rosemary

Cabbage Root Fly

Hyssop, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme

Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme

Cabbage Worms

Eucalyptus, Thyme

Coffee grounds, Borage, Clover, Geranium, Thyme

Carrot Fly

Rosemary, Sage

Rosemary, Sage, Leeks, Garlic

Caterpillars

Peppermint, Spearmint

Garlic, Onions, Chives, Leeks

Cutworm

Sage, Thyme

Coffee Grounds, Egg Shells,

Flea Beetle

Lavender, Lemongrass, Peppermint, Spearmint

Catmint, Mint(s)

Fleas

Citronella, Lavender, Lemongrass, Peppermint

Lavender, Mint, Pennyroyal (toxic to cats)

Flies

Citronella, Lavender, Peppermint

Basil, Rue, Rhubarb

Gnats

Citronella, Patchoulli, Spearmint

Geranium, Lemon Thyme, Lavender, Mexican Marigold (Tagetes minuta)

Grass Hoppers

Cilantro

Horehound, Calendula, Cilantro, Garlic Oil, Clover

Lice

Cedarwood,Lavender,  Melaleuca, Peppermint, Rosemary, Spearmint,Thyme

Rosemary, Lavender, Thyme

Leaf Miners

Melaleuca, Cinnamon Leaf

Garlic

Mosquitos

Citronella, lavender, lemongrass, Terrashield

Basil, Rosemary

Nematodes

Sage, Citronella

Marigold, Chrysanthemum, Dahlia

Potato Bugs

Catnip, Coriander

Horehound, Horseraddish, Calendula, Cilantro, Garlic Oil, Clover, Marigold

Slugs

Anise, Cedarwood, Pine, Rue

Woormwood, Rue, Fennel, Anise, Rosemary, Chevril

Snails

Cedarwood, Garlic, Patchouli, Pine, Rue

Coffee Grounds, Egg Shells, Crushed Nut Shells

Squash Bugs

Basil, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Orange, Lemongrass

Cloves, Onions, Garlic, Nasturtium, Raddish, Cilantro, Lemongrass, Sage

Ticks

Citronella, Lemongrass, Thyme, Sage

Lavender

Tomato Hornworm

Peppermint

Borage, Garlic Oil, Pot Marigold, Petunia

Weevils

Cedarwood, Patchouli

Catnip

White Fly

Lavender, Sage, Tansy

Nasturtium

White Moth

Sage, Rosemary, Mint, Oregano, Thyme

Hyssop, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Tansy, Thyme

Wooly Aphids

Patchouli, Pine, Sandalwood

 

How to use the essential oils

Using essential oils in the garden takes some discretion. Don’t just dump undiluted essential oils in your soil and expect good things to happen. Sure it will repel those moths, but it will also damage your soil composition where the undiluted oil is. Instead, get some scrap cloth and tie it to a lattice, or a strong stocked plant in your garden like broccoli, fava beans, corn, or sunflowers. On the piece of cloth dab a drop or two of your oil blend of choice. Re-apply every 3 days or after a rain storm.

You can also put 10-15 drops of your essential oil blend into a spray bottle with 2 cups of water. Shake the bottle very well right before use (the oil floats to the top) and spray your plants on the top and bottom of the leaves to repel those pesky insects.

 

You can place cotton balls with a few drops of your EO solution on it throughout your garden.

 

How to use herbs to repel insects

This is my first line of defense for pest prevention. Instead of planting rows of food I disburse plants that need different resources and different parts of the ground so the bugs can’t just swarm my garden. For example, in one plot I will plant corn at the back, while the corn is growing I will then plant beans. The beans can climb up the corn and protect the stocks. I also plant squash at the base of the corn and peas. This will create ground cover and keep the roots cool. Between these rows of “three sisters” I plant garlic, onions, and radish, which repel the common bugs that eat squash, beans, and corn. This creates a bio-diverse garden that uses both vertical garden methods, traditional knowledge (the three sisters is how native Americans grew their corn fields), and uses different soil depths. The radish digs deep into the soil loosening it and allowing water to reach deep into the ground, the onions and garlic have a medium depth root that will expand and utilize ground that the squash, beans, and corn will not.

 

By creating a more bio-diverse garden we will attract beneficial insects and animals that will help keep our pests at bay. I got this inspiration from the book Gaia’s Garden, Second Edition: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture (affiliate link) , which is a wonderful permaculture resource, but has some fantastic ideas on annual food gardens as well.

 

You can create any combination of companion plants that will complement each other following some general guidelines. Mother Earth News wrote a great piece on companion planting here.

 

What are your favorite tricks to get rid of unwanted pests in your garden?

 

Source: Natural Living Mama

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