We usually have a variety of herbs in our yard. I want to plant more. Saw this and would be interested in your other suggestions. 49FD59E9-D2C7-4322-8211-5EB490BA0461 by Hanzo posted Jul 27, 2022 at 14:29
I can tell you for a FACT, as a professional Mint grower, Mint does not keep bugs away, especially spiders and murder hornets, both can be found here in our fields! Now, Mint Oil or Extract, that's a whole different kettle 0 Fish, little bit mixed in with warm water drive them away faster then a can of Raid, spray a little around doors and windows and you will be bug free for a few weeks! You can boost it with Witch Hazel and Lemon grass extract, and for the ultimate, Cedar Tree Oil, full strength will really do the job, add some kerosene to the cedar oil for long lasting results! As to the rest of the herbs, it's more where and how you plant then what you plant! One of the most effective anti bug and slug treatments is Tobacco Tea. Heres the inside scoop on this little secret, You can score a half pound of half way good "Cigarette Rollin Tobacco" for around $10.00 U.S.D for 8 oz, at most any halfway decent tobacco shop, make a tea out of it, and take the left overs and mix in your potting soil for your starts or bulbs! Spray the Tobacco Tea on and around your plants and you will be just about bug free! Test it to make sure it doesn't kill or maim your plants and then have at it!
Yeah mixed results. I think I have all of those planted in my garden and I also have all those bugs but the fleas. Better get the fact checkers involved.
Thanks guys. The bug repellent is the side bonus if it works. I like the smell and cooking with fresh herbs.
You know that being said I also have mosquito traps and spray the anti mosquito stuff and they are still everywhere. Wonder if Bill Gates new genetically enhanced cyborg mosquitoes are immune to the normal things that used to work...
Don't know about bug repellents, but many herbs are beneficial when grown in proximity to veggies. As are some veggies, around other veggies. I know that cilantro will grow like a weed, around tomatoes. Basil and parsley are supposed to be tomato friendly, too. If you grow asparagus, tuck a tomato plant in amongst your asparagus plants. I did that, a couple years ago, with a Roma tomato plant, and man did that sucker produce!
In my home I planted some herbs like mint, ginger, turmeric. Recently we planted lavender, Basil and Cilantro. But in my home, we also facing some bugs related problem.
Not sure if the benefits are all that great, but guess if there's years of people stating it worked for them, I'd trust it. The beauty of that list, is that lavender, rosemary, mint (pretty much any mint, including catnip, a close relative) and sage are all perennials. So long as you don't ignore them, and forget to water them every so often, they'll keep coming back, year after year. Basil is an annual, but will "volunteer" grow back the next year, if you allow it to go to seed. You can also propagate it fairly easily. Marigolds are one of my favorite flowers to grow. So long as you continue to "deadhead" them (cut off the blooms, after they die), they'll continue blooming throughout the season. Then you can dry the deadheaded blooms out, and open them up. A standard size marigold flower will contain somewhere around 40-50 seeds, that you can plant again next year! How awesome is that?? I've also read that nasturtiums are great "trap" planting, for aphids are, reportedly, squash bugs. Meaning, they would rather go after the nasturtiums, that you won't care so much about, instead of the squash or pumpkins, that you DO care about! Definitely, look into "companion planting". It's not all about repelling bad bugs. Sometimes, it's about growing two things close together, that are mutually beneficial to each other. Like the year that I planted a Roma tomato plant in my asparagus bed. Man, did that sucker produce!!