Did you know that many herbs are naturally repellant to bugs, and even cats?
Lavender repels flies, silverfish, and fleas, and may also repel tics and mice. Santolina (Cotton Lavender) is the best. Enjoy it in the garden, then put dried sprays in closets and drawers for the winter.
Mint repels flies, fleas, mice, rats, cabbage moth, and ants. An old hikers’ trick is to rub some on your pants to deter chiggers and ticks.
A great herb to repel many insects is sage. It’s also a cooking staple, and dries well for sachets and potpourri.
Marigolds are a time-honored bug-repellant for the garden, especially for nematodes (microscopic round worms that damage plant roots). An article from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) debunks the use of marigolds as a general bug-repellant, but I still like the bright little guys. Plants lots, and allow at least a year for them to start repelling nematodes.
I grow basil for omelets and salads. Happily, this delicious little plant also repels flies and mosquitos.
Tansy, pyrethrum and feverfew repel moths, flies, ants, mice, mosquitoes, cockroaches, mites and bedbugs. Two hundred years ago, tansy was scattered on sickroom floors as a natural repellant.
Rue, another bright yellow flower, repels cats, fleas, and Japanese beetles. Plant it near raspberries and roses.
Lemongrass contains citronella, a natural mosquito repellant. Catnip contains nepetalactone, which some claim is a more effective mosquito repellant than DEET. Pennyroyal contains pulegone, another strong natural repellant. The scientific name for pennyroyal comes from the Latin pulex, meaning flea. Early Native Americans rubbed pennyroyal on their skin.
In fact, for a quick bug repellent while you’re weeding or hiking, rub a few crushed leaves of basil, lemon balm, pennyroyal, or catnip on your arms and legs. Keep applying it often. The bug-repellant component is in the essential oil of the leaves and stems, and evaporates quickly.
An added bonus is that many herbs are perennials. Plant them once, and they’ll thrive year after year. Plant thyme and lavender around the edge of your vegetable garden, and intersperse annuals like basil and marigolds among the veggie plants.
Above all, enjoy! Rub your hands along the leaves and savor the aromas. Experiment with adding fresh herbs to favorite dishes. Dry them, and enjoy fresh-smelling clothes and an aromatic house all winter. How provident that bugs tend to hate the same scents that are so pleasing to human noses!
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