Insect Control Plants For Your Garden

1. Insect Control Plants For Your Garden Your carefully planted garden is being attacked by insects! What can you do? In addition to purchasing safe pesticides, try a few natural methods. Did you know that a variety of delicious herbs and beautiful flowers actually work as repellents for many of the most common garden pests? Explore the various insect control plants for your garden and discover which ones will drive out the pests plaguing your outdoor space. Citronella You’ve probably heard about citronella— it’s famous for its repellent effect on mosquitoes. Other insects dislike the smell too, so it’s a good plant to keep around your patio or deck, or wherever you spend most of your outdoor time. Chrysanthemum Do you have an overabundance of roaches? Plant some chrysanthemums to ward off those shiny brown pests, and to repel ticks, lice, fleas, and spider mites. Plus, the plants look incredibly gorgeous with their big, showy blooms. Borage Borage is a wonderful plant to include if you have a vegetable garden, since it keeps away the cabbage worms and tomato hornworms. You’ll need to replant it each year from seed. Catnip While this plant is renowned for its ability to attract cats, it’s also a multi-use insect repellent. Its presence deters Japanese beetles, squash bugs, weevils, ants, aphids, and flea beetles. Plus, you’ll be treated to a show of small, prettily colored blooms each year.

2. Basil Want to get rid of flies and mosquitoes? Basil might do the trick! These pests detest the delicious fresh aroma of basil, and they’ll fly the other way. Since basil is a one-year herb, you’ll need to buy a fresh plant annually. Make sure to place it in an area with full sun and give it plenty of water. Garlic Besides serving as a delicious accompaniment to so many dishes, garlic works as a multi-purpose pest control plant. Place it near your rosebushes to scare away aphids. Other pests that dislike garlic include root maggots, snails, carrot root flies, Japanese beetles, and codling moths. Dill One way to get rid of smaller pesky insects is to nourish plants that attract predatory insects, such as wasps and hoverflies. Dill works best when planted at a distance from your vegetable garden, to draw away tomato hornworms. Squash bugs, aphids, and spider mites hate dill, while predatory wasps and hoverflies like it. You may also see swallowtail butterflies and caterpillars taking up residence in your patch of dill. Four O’Clocks If you’re overwhelmed with Japanese beetles attacking your garden, why not try some Four O’Clocks? The beetles love to eat the foliage, but the insects quickly die after munching because Four O’Clocks are so poisonous. These plants are poisonous to people and animals, too, so only use them if you have no pets and your kids are old enough to understand the danger. More Suggestions for Insect Control Planting Are you having trouble getting these pest-repellent plants to grow in your garden? You may need to enrich the ground with fresh soil or with fertilizer. You can purchase both on the Kurtz Bros., Inc. website. If you have additional questions about planting for insect control, contact our team and we’ll be glad to offer advice and ideas to improve your outdoor experience.