10 Plants to Keep Pests Away
There’s nothing more annoying than battling pests around your house. Whether they’re flies, ants, mice, or deer, there's no shortage of creatures that can cause bad effects on your home and garden. There are a lot of tricks to keeping harmful pests away from your home altogether, but one of the most aesthetically pleasing is to take advantage of plants that ward them off. Below, learn which plants do this best and what specific pests they repel.
Houseplants That Ward Off Pests
1. Chrysanthemums
These plants are great for removing toxins within the area and they also repel roaches, ants, ticks, silverfish, lice, fleas, and even bedbugs. Not to mention, these flowers are pretty and are bound to brighten up any space.
2. Peppermint
This popular and inexpensive herb is great at repelling both spiders and mice. These pests despise the aroma of peppermint, meaning that they’ll run away as soon as the scent reaches their senses. This is a great herb to keep on hand for culinary reasons, too, making it a double win. Keep in mind that while peppermint plants can be easily grown in containers, they need a lot of water.
3. Lavender
Not only does lavender smell great, but it also repels moths, fleas, flies, and mosquitoes when you have it within your home. This plant can be grown in containers and they prefer sunny and dry areas. Once the plant blooms, feel free to cut lavender to make a beautiful bouquet. Even as the flowers dry, they can be used as decoration, and they still repel bugs.
4. Rosemary
Rosemary is another herb that's great in the kitchen and has the added bonus of repelling pests. Plant rosemary in containers near doors and windows to ward off pesky mosquitoes and add sprigs of the plant to your clothes drawers to repel both moths and silverfish.
Outdoor Plants That Ward Off Pests
Keeping pests out of your house isn’t your only priority—keeping them out of your garden is another challenge! Below are the plants that best ward off pests within the landscaping of your home.
5. Lemongrass
This plant can be planted in abundance as a great filler in your garden or landscaping, and it is successful in repelling mosquitoes. Lemongrass needs an abundance of sun, making it an enjoyable annual in the summertime.
6. Petunias
These brightly-colored flowers are not only aesthetically pleasing in your garden, but they are also known to repel beetles and aphids. They flourish in the sun, making them a great choice for a window box.
7. Oregano
A versatile herb in the kitchen, oregano is also applauded for its ability to ward off the cabbage moth, which is harmful to any vegetable garden! These plants enjoy sun with occasional shade, so plant oregano in a spot that receives abundant sunshine at certain parts of the day and shade at other times.
8. Amaryllis
These flowers are known to ward off mice and rats, which are certainly unwanted guests in your yard! Amaryllis bulbs create beautiful blooms that have a long flowering period of approximately seven to 10 weeks. These plants require direct sunlight and should be watered sparingly until they bloom, then gradually watered more.
9. Cosmos
This is another plant that deer dislike, preventing them from ruining a beautiful garden. These flowers come in a wide range of colors and are easy to maintain, living in a variety of soil types and boasting the ability to tolerate dry conditions. Use these as a hedge around plants that deer tend to enjoy to keep them away.
10. Chives
Another pest, although they are beautiful animals, is deer. These creatures are known for ruining a garden, but keeping them at bay is as simple as planting vegetation that they tend to avoid. Chives are one of these. The strong scent of chives is generally enough to keep deer away. These self-sowing plants provide pretty flowers in warm weather and work well in both gardens and when planted in containers.
Diversifying your garden or houseplants doesn’t just create a beautiful landscape, it also helps to keep unwanted pests away. Use this as a guide for what to plant to avoid unwanted guests—both inside and out!
