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I don’t know about you, but one of the most disheartening things about gardens for me is watching your much-loved, oft-tended plants get decimated by insects and other pests. What’s worse is that it’s often a guessing game to figure out what’s doing it and how to get rid of them before it’s too late.
I’ve taken cuttings to nurseries, scoured pictures online, and still lost whole seasons’ crops to the little pests – so I’m pretty thrilled to have this quick resource of 7 plants that could keep pests out of your garden before they even have a chance to set up their destructive shop.
7. Mint
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-flac4g-Tc/
Humans love the smell of mint, but pests like ants, mosquitoes, slugs, snails, and mice usually so not.
It prefers well-drained but moist ground, can tolerate some shade, and needs minimal care – plus, mimosas!
6. Geraniums
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Y3ntHikms/
These garden classics thrive in pots with drain holes, planted in potting soil mixture and where they can get 4-6 hours of sunlight a day.
Take care of them and they’ll take care of Japanese beetles, mosquitos, leafhoppers, and corn earworms for you!
5. Petunias
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6lmdkmFDvh/
Petunias are okay with partial shade, but they aren’t fond of wind.
They also need a 1-foot distance between plants if they’re going to do their duty of repelling leafhoppers, aphids, tomato hornworms, and asparagus beetles.
4. Basil
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByDeLlVAr37/
We use basil in the kitchen all the time, so not only will it repel mosquitoes, mosquito eggs, and houseflies in your garden, it will liven up your dinner, as well.
Make sure to choose a place with well-drained soil, as its roots don’t like to be wet.
3. Chrysanthemum
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-EjumyAz_N/
These flowers need space – they can grow to heights of a foot, and to three feet wide – and they also prefer sun and well-drained soil.
They’ll help you out in return with ants, ticks, lice, spider mites, and silverfish.
2. Calendula
https://www.instagram.com/p/B86oIHBgK6s/
Aside from being bright and cheerful, calendulas repel asparagus beetles and tomato hornworm.
They love sunshine and well-drained soil, and can also attract “good” insects like hoverflies.
1. Lavender
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnEL2hhlQQQ/
Lavender is a big plant that needs space – the seeds should be 2-3 feet apart – and it also likes evenly-drained soil, but can grow in “bad” soil as well as good.
There are tons of ways to use it at home, and house flies, moths, and fleas all avoid it.
Definitely going to be putting this information to good use as soon as Mother Nature decides to let spring out of time out this year!
Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve for keeping out pests? Share them with us in the comments!
