Every garden at sometime will be affected by pests – grasshoppers, cabbage moth, white butterfly caterpillars, scale and aphids being very common in all Gold Coast gardens. By planting certain plants in your garden you can help repel insects or confuse them with their strong scent. Some plants can deter mosquitoes and flies, others are known to repel aphids and ants. Here are 6 common insect repelling plants that be grown in your Gold Coast garden to repel insects.
1. Marigold
The marigold is one of the most well-known insect repelling plants and with good reason — they have a scent that will keep pests like mosquitoes, nematodes like cabbage worms, and other pests away. Plant marigolds to also attract beneficial insects that attack and kill aphids. Ladybugs are especially fond of aphids.
2. Mint
Mint plants include peppermint, catnip, and spearmint, and all kinds of mint oil repel spiders. Mint plants are also known to repel mosquitoes, aphids, and ants away from your home.
Plant mint with care as it can spread aggressively and may take over a planting. Plant it in pots and place it near doorways.
3. Basil
While we all love the smell of basil, mosquitoes, moths, and flies are not fans. Use basil to repel flies and moths in your garden, and crush leaves and rub on your skin while your working in the garden to keep mosquitos off you!
4. Onion and garlic
These member of the onion family are known for tall spikes that produce gigantic balls of purple flowers (although there are also smaller varieties). Alliums are one of the best defenses against a variety of pests, including cabbage worms, aphids, carrot flies, and slugs, as they dislike the smell. Garlic, if planted at the base of small trees will attract birds that will then eat on the borer moth.
5. Chrysanthemums
Use these flowers as a border planting around your home to keep out bedbugs, fleas, lice, roaches, ants, and more. These plants contain naturally-occurring pyrethrin, an insecticide. They are also known to repel ticks, spider mites, Japanese beetles, and other garden pests.
6. Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums both attract and repel pests. Plant around broccoli, celery and cucumbers they will keep beetles away. Most pests don’t like the smell.
Plants can't keep all your pests away
There are some bugs that only a pest inspector can really eradicate. While ants are not usually a big problem for homeowners they can at times get out of control and we would recommend bringing in a pest inspector for this. The other big pest problem we face here on the Gold Coast is termites. There is no natural solution to getting rid of termites. The only way of eradicating them is to use chemicals and a qualified pest inspector needs to be bought in to deal with the situation.
