Bugs and pests harm plants in many ways. They enter our homes and become a cause of unhygienic conditions and various illnesses. Pest control is possible with the help of easy-to-grow plants around your home. Repel mosquitoes and flies through insect-repelling plants. This article discusses the bug repellant plants, companion plants, and other ways to keep the bugs away from your home and garden.
Bugs That Harm Your Home and Garden
Your home, flower beds, and vegetable garden are vulnerable to the attack of bugs, insects, flies, and mosquitoes. The major troubling bugs include spider mites, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, and carrot flies. Some unique plants are useful in eliminating them.
Peppermint and spearmint deter many bugs. Aromatic plants like garlic and lavender, when planted around your flower beds, act as bug-repellents as these plants keep the scent of the flowers latent. Lavender oil is also useful in repelling insects and bugs and keeps the other plants in your garden safe.
More Plants That Repel Flies and Bugs
Perennial plants like sweet basil, bay laurel, lavender, tansy, rosemary, mint, pennyroyal, wormwood, citronella grass, and sweet wood help repel flies from home and garden.
Companion Plants
Companion plants are grown near and around plants that need protection from bugs and sunlight. They also aid the neighboring plants to flourish. Plants like chives, coriander, and nasturtium keep aphids away. Tansy is useful to repel ants and pot marigolds for asparagus beetles. Bean beetles are harmful to the plants in your garden. You can use marigolds, nasturtium, or rosemary. For cabbage moths, grow companion plants like hyssop, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, southernwood, tansy, and thyme.
To eliminate the carrot fly from your flower beds and garden, grow rosemary and sage. Easy-to-grow tall plants like okra that grow six feet tall can act as companion plants for lettuce, peas, peppers, and radishes. Pepper is a bug repellant for okra and deters cabbage worms that harm the latter. Eliminate stink bugs on tomatoes, beans, and other plants in your vegetable garden by planting okra as a companion plant. The brightly colored flower beds attract natural pollinators, which affect the okra flowers resulting in large, plump pods.
Citronella Grass
Citronella grass is known for its distinct smell. It is the most commonly used insect-repelling plant. It is also useful in pest control. This easy-to-grow plant cannot bear frost. But in warmer climates, it can be planted directly in a sunny area. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden recommends lemon-scented plants like citronella grass to repel mosquitoes and bugs. There are several plants to keep the bugs away from home and garden. But the essential oils extracted from many plants and flowers are incredibly beneficial as bug repellents.