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The Daily Insight

What plant keeps bugs away

Author

Samuel Coleman

Published Apr 15, 2026

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 attract beneficial insects that attack and kill aphids.

What plants naturally keep bugs away?

Make A Stink: Many aromatic herbs, like yarrow, citronella, mint, fennel, catnip, basil, and lemongrass are natural deterrents for garden pests from aphids to potato beetles. As an added bonus, some of these herbs also attract the predators that keep pests under control.

What plant keeps mosquitoes and bugs away?

Known for its distinct smell, citronella grass (or lemon grass) is the most commonly used natural ingredient in mosquito repellants. In fact, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden recommends lemon-scented plants such as citronella grass to keep mosquitoes at bay.

What smells do bugs hate?

  • Deet. Off! …
  • Lavender. Doterra Lavender Oil. …
  • Peppermint. Nature’s Truth Peppermint Aromatherapy Essential Oil. …
  • Geranium. Geranium Essential Oil. …
  • Citronella. Citronella Essential Oil. …
  • Soybean Oil. Well’s 100% Soybean Oil. …
  • Garlic. …
  • Lime.

Do lavender plants repel bugs?

They love the flowers, but other bugs stay away. Lavender has a pleasant scent that comes from the essential oils in the leaves of the plant, but the bugs hate it. Hang some dried lavender in your closet and you won’t have to worry about moths eating your clothes.

What does vinegar do to bugs?

Vinegar is one of the best ingredients to make a pest control spray. It is effective in repelling ants, mosquitoes, fruit flies, and many others. Creating a mix is quite simple and is considered safe for humans and pets. Acidity of the vinegar is potent enough to kill many pests.

Which plant keeps spiders away?

The unmistakable scent of mint is a great insect repellent, and can be very effective at preventing spiders from making your premises their home. There are plenty of mint varieties that work well to repel insects, but peppermint is considered the most potent choice.

What spices keep bugs away?

  • Mint. This aromatic herb is great for naturally repelling mosquitos. …
  • Basil. Here is another aromatic herb which mosquitoes and flies don’t like. …
  • Lavender. This herb is actually part of the mint family of plant varieties. …
  • Chives. …
  • Rosemary.

What smell do bugs hate the most?

Insects hate peppermint. In fact, the stick bug uses a milky substance it can emit from behind its head that fills the air with the scent of peppermint. The bug uses this to fight off predators, as the scent is an unbearable irritant to most insects.

How do I keep bugs off my house plants?

Simply put 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 1 Tbsp liquid dish soap (it must be free of bleach, degreaser, synthetic dyes, and fragrances) in a spray bottle, then fill it to the top with warm water and shake. You can spray the mixture onto your plants once a week in order to combat pest issues.

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What to plant with tomatoes to keep bugs away?

Don’t just stop at planting Marigolds with your tomatoes. For further protection from pest bugs, you can also plant basil, beans, bee balm, borage, sweet alyssum, chives, garlic, nasturtium, mint, anise, onion, and parsley.

Do marigolds deter pests?

Marigolds emit a strong odour that will repel greenfly and blackfly. Grow sage with carrots or plants in the cabbage family to ward off pests. Both have strong scents that drive away each other’s pests.

Does mint plant repel bugs?

The pungent nature of mint deters bugs from making your home their home. Pests like ants, mosquitos, and mice will avoid mint plants whenever possible, and it can also help with other menaces like roaches, spiders, and flies.

Does Rosemary keep roaches away?

Rosemary is another herb that can be used to repel roaches simply by placing pieces of it around the house. All you need is to cut your fresh rosemary sprigs into 2-3 inch long pieces and once again put them wherever roaches are likely to go.

Does lemongrass deter insects?

This great tasting herb contains pungent oil, which is what acts as a pest repellent. … It helps in keeping pests and insects away from your lawn. Lemongrass doesn’t harm those nuisance pests; it helps in deterring them away from your property and home.

What plants keep bugs out of vegetables?

  • Marigolds. Marigolds are great for helping repel aphids and mosquitoes, as well as small animals like rabbits. …
  • Petunias. …
  • Geraniums. …
  • Lemongrass. …
  • Rosemary. …
  • Chrysanthemums. …
  • Pitcher plants. …
  • Alliums.

How do I keep bugs off my vegetable garden?

Use physical barriers. Placing a copper ring around the base of plants will help deter slugs and snails. A floating row cover (lightweight fabric) either laid on the plants or held up by wire hoops can be used to keep insects like cabbage loopers, bean beetles, cucumber beetles, and squash vine borers off your plants.

How do I keep bugs and animals out of my garden?

  1. Try Crop Rotation Every Year. …
  2. Attract Spiders to Your Garden. …
  3. Grow Catnip for Stinkbugs. …
  4. Introduce Ladybugs to Eat Aphids & Other Pests. …
  5. Plant Extra Parsley, Dill and Cilantro for Pest Eaters.

Do spiders hate mint?

If you’re someone who shrieks when you see spiders, you may want to try peppermint oil to get rid of them. Peppermint oil is considered to be a natural insecticide. Spiders, although not technically insects, seem to hate it.

Does Mint really repel spiders?

The reason peppermint oils seem to work great as a spider repellent spray is one of the reasons why people like mint: the smell. The overwhelming smell of mint (as well as other strong scent natural oils for spiders) will cause almost all spiders to run the other way.

What Bugs does Lavender keep away?

Lavender has a strong scent that repels moths, flies, fleas, and mosquitoes. Use it fresh or dry some of the flowers to hang around the house or put in with your clothing to keep bugs out.

Can I spray plants with vinegar?

No, you can’t spray houseplants with vinegar, it’s not safe. Vinegar will dry out the leaves and it will give the plant a really hard time to recover. Furthermore, if the vinegar gets in the soil, it will kill the plant altogether.

What smells do spiders hate?

  • White vinegar spray.
  • Mint plant or essential oil.
  • Catnip plants on the exterior of your house.
  • Cayenne Pepper flakes irritate their senses.
  • Citrus essential oil.
  • Marigold essential oil.
  • Peppermint essential oil.
  • Horse Chestnuts around baseboards.

Does peppermint oil keep bugs away?

Peppermint Oil In fact, peppermint keeps most pests away, including aphids, beetles, caterpillars, fleas, flies, lice, mice and moths. … Peppermint oil can also keep some of the spiders out of the areas of the home where they frequent most, in addition to making the house smell wonderful.

What keeps bugs away?

Essential oils can also keep insects away. Citronella, lemongrass, sweet orange, lemon eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender, and cinnamon are just a few of the oils known to repel summer bugs. There are several recipes available online for DIY bug repellants, yard sprays, candles, and diffuser blends.

How do I keep bugs out of my house naturally?

  1. Garlic. If you just rub a few cloves of garlic directly on your skin, you’ll be able to keep away mosquitoes (also works on vampires). …
  2. Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus in any form can keep flies away. …
  3. Peppermint. Rats and spiders both hate peppermint. …
  4. Lavender. …
  5. Vanilla.

How do you keep bugs out of your yard?

  1. Add bug-repelling tech to your backyard. …
  2. Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs. …
  3. Use citronella as a bug repellent. …
  4. Get physical with a patio enclosure. …
  5. Groom your yard. …
  6. Spray yourself with bug repellent.

Do basil plants keep bugs away?

Basil also acts as a good insect repellent for flies and mosquitoes. Very useful using fresh leaves rubbed on the skin. Eucalyptol. According to research conducted by Kansas State University, this compound is effective in eliminating bugs from the kitchen and repelling cockroaches and weevils.

Does mint leaves keep roaches away?

Peppermint. If you’ve ever been around peppermint, you know it has a strong scent. This plant is great at repelling bugs. Cockroaches as well as aphids, moths, fleas, and beetles avoid this plant.

Does cinnamon keep bedbugs away?

The strong aromatic scent of cinnamon spice may help repel bed bugs. Cinnamon oil is an active ingredient in many natural pest repellent products. Keep in mind that cinnamon won’t kill the bed bugs, it will only repel them.

Do houseplants attract bugs?

Yes, indoor plants attract bugs. They are are usually attracted by indoor growing conditions that have high humidity or a lack of air circulation. The most common pests are aphids, spider mites, fungus gnats, mealybugs, scale, thrips, and whitefly. … I’ll also discuss which houseplants are most resistant to pests.