Plants That Repel Fall Garden Pests
Garden pests are instinctive, doing what nature has dictated they do since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, their natural behavior and instinctual hunger for fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, and flowers can cause your autumn garden to suffer. Fortunately, some plants naturally repel fall garden pests, which we discuss here.
Learn to strategically incorporate herbs, flowers, vegetables, and foliage into your autumn garden. This will create a first line of defense against pesky pests like aphids, cabbage moths, hornworms, and slugs. You may even find a solution to repel larger animals like deer, rabbits, and mice.
The Top Herbs for Fall Pest Control
Herbs are natural pest repellents, often used crushed or in the form of essential oils to ward off indoor nuisances like mice, but in this case, you’ll use the whole version of each herb as a repellent plant in your fall garden.
Basil, mint, and sage are some of the top herbs for fall pest control. Many small insects, rodents, and other pests have a strong sense of smell, and these herbs have overwhelming scents to small noses. Basil is an effective repellent for flies, mosquitoes, hornworms, and aphids, while mint deters ants, spiders, and mice. Sage is a natural repellant for carrot flies, cabbage moths, and slugs, making it an excellent companion herb to carrots, cabbages, and other closely grounded leafy greens.
Thyme and rosemary, typically indoor cooking staples, are excellent deterrents to whiteflies and mosquitoes. Both plants are hearty, making them capable of withstanding cooler autumn weather.
Flowers the Deter Common Fall Pests
Autumn flowers add a touch of color and beauty to your garden while warding away certain pests. Marigolds, for instance, are beautiful in bloom but emit a scent that nematodes, aphids, and whiteflies find unpleasant. Flowers like chrysanthemums and nasturtiums contain a natural pesticide, perfect for combating droves of roaches, mites, and squash bugs.
Other flowers that deter common fall pests include:
- Lavender
- Petunias
- Alliums
- Calendulas
- Borage
- Geraniums
Something interesting to know about sunflowers is that they repel with attraction. They are heartier flowers, capable of withstanding typical garden pests, so plant them around the border of your fall garden to keep pesky bugs away from your primary autumn plants.
Vegetables with Natural Pest-Repelling Qualities
Many pests rely on the sense of smell to lead them toward delicious, growing fruits and veggies in your fall garden. Hence why garlic and onions are repellent powerhouses, steering aphids, ants, Japanese beetles, and carrot flies away from your fresh produce. While onions are seasonal repellents from autumn to springtime, garlic can be planted anytime. Use it around the border of your garden as the first line of defense between pests and your plants.
Other repellent vegetables for your autumn garden include:
- Leeks
- Radishes
- Chili Peppers
- Cabbage
- Legumes (like kidney beans, yard-long beans, and black-eyed peas)
Did you know that tomatoes naturally produce solanine, a natural pesticide? Found in the leaves and stems, the compound decreases as the tomatoes ripen. The bitter taste deters bugs, giving the plant time to mature for harvest.
Foliage Plants That Keep Pests at Bay
Ferns and elephant ears add depth, beauty, and texture to your autumn garden but also ward off pests. Ferns are hearty, pest-resistant sources of shade for autumn crops, offering respite from flies and mosquitoes. Elephant ears offer shade with bold, large leaves, and they thrive in moist environments while keeping spider mites and aphids away from other plants.
Other repellent foliage plants for your fall garden include:
- Wormwood
- Catnip
- Southernwood
- Lemon Balm
- Pennyroyal
- Bay Laurel
Rue is a beautiful bluish-green foliage plant, but its smell is unpleasant to insects. It can be used as a companion plant for most fruits and veggies, protecting crops from potential damage caused by pests.
Are you having problems with larger animals eating your fall crops? Hosta plants are thick and leafy, often used as a deterrent for slugs, but they also repel deer, rabbits, and mice.
How to Integrate Repellent Plants into Your Garden
There are various ways to integrate repellent plants into your fall garden. Companion planting is one of the most common, and it pairs pest-repellent plants with more vulnerable plants. The repellent plant acts as a protector, drawing insects away from vulnerable plants or repelling pests away from the garden entirely. For example, tomatoes planted alongside basil will repel tomato hornworms, and marigolds planted near beans will deter aphids.
Other integrated repellent plant methods include:
- Rotational succession planting: Plant one repellent plant after another, keeping pests from getting accustomed to repellent properties.
- Container gardens: Mint is a repellent herb, but it’s also invasive. It can go from beneficial to choking other plants in your garden, so plant them in containers to control the spread while still utilizing repellent benefits.
- Interplanting: Intersperse repellent crops with harvestable crops in your fall garden. This will confuse pests, reducing the risk of infestations.
Maximizing Pest Control with Repellent Plants
While pest-repellent plants benefit your fall garden, routine maintenance and care are the best ways to ensure a bountiful, undamaged autumn harvest. For instance, weeds attract pests, so regularly weeding your garden will keep pesky bugs at bay. Prune and deadhead your crops as they grow to encourage abundance.
Using mulch can suppress weeds and maximize moisture for beneficial insects that eat pests, promoting the healthy growth of your fall garden. Beneficial insects include ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps, all providing natural pest control for a healthier harvest. Include pollinator plants like Bee Balm, Lavender, and Zinnias to attract beneficial bugs and deter pests.
In Conclusion: Protecting Your Autumn Crops from Pesky Pests
While most bugs are good for some things in the balance of a thriving ecosystem, not all are great for your garden. Pest-repelling plants are essential for a sustainable fall garden. It’s a great way to cultivate an autumn harvest without chemicals, yielding fresh, organic fruits, veggies, herbs, and flowers—better than you’d find in most grocery stores.
For more information, check out the following two articles about fall gardens, pest-repelling plants, and vegetables that enhance garden harvests. You can also visit Stoney Creek Farm in Tennessee to learn more about sustainable living.
