Natural Pest Control

By Amanda On June 10, 2013 · 15 Comments

 18Share
 380Share
 0Share
 1.51kShare
 0Share
 0Share

Spring is making way for summer, and with it comes an increase of insect activity. I personally love beneficial insects in and around my garden.
They balance the eco-system and bring in predictors like wasps who kill caterpillars, or birds that eat the bugs and leave me nice bird manure as
fertilizer, but some insects just take over and have got to go.

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

Cinnamon, Citronella, Citrus (any), Clove, Eucalyptus, Bay, Calendula, Mint (any), Hyssop, Lavender, Marigold, Rue,
Ants
Peppermint, Spearmint, Tansy 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

Geranium, Lemon Thyme, Lavender, Mexican Marigold

Gnats Citronella, Patchoulli, Spearmint
(Tagetes minuta)

Grass Hoppers Cilantro Horehound, Calendula, Cilantro, Garlic Oil, Clover

Cedarwood,Lavender, Melaleuca, Peppermint,

Lice Rosemary, Lavender, Thyme
Rosemary, Spearmint,Thyme

Leaf Miners Melaleuca, Cinnamon Leaf Garlic

Mosquitos Citronella, lavender, lemongrass, Terrashield Basil, Rosemary

Nematodes Sage, Citronella Marigold, Chrysanthemum, Dahlia

Horehound, Horseraddish, Calendula, Cilantro, Garlic Oil,

Potato Bugs Catnip, Coriander,
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

Cloves, Onions, Garlic, Nasturtium, Raddish, Cilantro,

Squash Bugs Basil, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Orange, Lemongrass
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 eachother 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?
***Announcing Natural Herbal Living Magazine 2013***

Do you love herbs? Do you want to learn to build a wonderful lasting relationship with twelve herbs a year? You will learn all about the herb,
essential oil, flower essence, then you get to learn all about how several different experienced herbalists use this wonderful herb.

PLUS by pre-ordering on Kickstarter, you save money! Who doesn’t love saving money?

Natural Pest Control

By Amanda On June 10, 2013 · 15 Comments

 18Share
 380Share
 0Share
 1.51kShare
 0Share
  0Share

Spring is making way for summer, and with it comes an increase of insect activity. I personally
love beneficial insects in and around my garden. They balance the eco-system and bring
in predictors like wasps who kill caterpillars, or birds that eat the bugs and leave me nice bird
manure as fertilizer, but some insects just take over and have got to go.

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

Cinnamon, Citronella, Citrus (any), Bay, Calendula, Mint (any), Hyssop,

Ants Clove, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Lavender, Marigold, Rue, Sage, Tansy,
Spearmint, Tansy Woormwood, Yarrow

Cedarwood, Lemon, Peppermint, Garlic, Onions, Chives, Coriander,

Aphids
Spearmint Hyssop
Asparagus
Peppermint Marigold, Petunia, Parsley, Garlic
Beetle

Bean Beetle Peppermint, Thyme Marigold, Nasturtium, Rosemary

Cabbage Root Hyssop, Peppermint, Rosemary,

Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme
Fly Sage, Thyme

Cabbage Coffee grounds, Borage, Clover,

Eucalyptus, Thyme
Worms Geranium, Thyme

Carrot Fly Rosemary, Sage Rosemary, Sage, Leeks, Garlic

Caterpillars Peppermint, Spearmint Garlic, Onions, Chives, Leeks

Cutworm Sage, Thyme Coffee Grounds, Egg Shells,

Lavender, Lemongrass, Peppermint,

Flea Beetle Catmint, Mint(s)
Spearmint

Citronella, Lavender, Lemongrass,

Fleas Lavender, Mint, Pennyroyal (toxic to cats)
Peppermint

Flies Citronella, Lavender, Peppermint Basil, Rue, Rhubarb

Geranium, Lemon Thyme, Lavender,

Gnats Citronella, Patchoulli, Spearmint
Mexican Marigold (Tagetes minuta)

Horehound, Calendula, Cilantro, Garlic

Grass Hoppers Cilantro
Oil, Clover

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

Leaf Miners Melaleuca, Cinnamon Leaf Garlic

Citronella, lavender, lemongrass,

Mosquitos Basil, Rosemary
Terrashield

Nematodes Sage, Citronella Marigold, Chrysanthemum, Dahlia

Horehound, Horseraddish, Calendula,

Potato Bugs Catnip, Coriander,
Cilantro, Garlic Oil, Clover, Marigold

Woormwood, Rue, Fennel, Anise,

Slugs Anise, Cedarwood, Pine, Rue
Rosemary, Chevril

Cedarwood, Garlic, Patchouli, Pine, Coffee Grounds, Egg Shells, Crushed

Snails
Rue Nut Shells
 Basil, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Cloves, Onions, Garlic, Nasturtium,
Squash Bugs
Orange, Lemongrass Raddish, Cilantro, Lemongrass, Sage

Ticks Citronella, Lemongrass, Thyme, Sage Lavender

Tomato
Peppermint Borage, Garlic Oil, Pot Marigold, Petunia
Hornworm

Weevils Cedarwood, Patchouli Catnip

White Fly Lavender, Sage, Tansy Nasturtium

Sage, Rosemary, Mint, Oregano, Hyssop, Mint, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage,

White Moth
Thyme 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 eachother 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?
***Announcing Natural Herbal Living Magazine 2013***

Do you love herbs? Do you want to learn to build a wonderful lasting relationship with twelve
herbs a year? You will learn all about the herb, essential oil, flower essence, then you get to
learn all about how several different experienced herbalists use this wonderful herb.

PLUS by pre-ordering on Kickstarter, you save money! Who doesn’t love saving money?