The Right Plants Help You Deter, Distract, & Deal with Garden Pests

You don't need to spray a bunch of pesticides to control pests. You just need to plant the right kind of plants in and around your vegetable garden.

I'd say that planting these plants is a chemical-free way of dealing with the problem, but it turns out that certain plants come equipped with chemicals that help them control pests.

That's right, long before the invention of pesticides, nature had a way of protecting itself from predators, and we can take notes! 

Why do we want to avoid pesticides? Well, there's really no such thing as a pesticide. They should be called insecticides because they kill all kinds of bugs, not just the ones you want to keep out of your garden. Pesticides harm good bugs like ladybugs, butterflies, and bees.

Let's look at the three different types of plants you can grow for organic pest control—bouncers, decoys, and enforcers—and the benefits they can provide for your garden.

Bouncers Deter Pests

The first type of plants you should grow in your garden to control pests are what we call the bouncers. You know how there's always a really big, scary-looking dude at the front door of a nightclub or bar to keep certain people out? That's the kind of plants we're talking about here.

But instead of big and scary (these plants are all, in fact, quite attractive), they're stinky—at least, if you're a pest. There are 3 types of plants in the bouncer category: herbs from the mint family, onion family plants, and marigolds.

Herbs from the Mint Plant Family

Aromatic herbs in this family (the Lamiaceae family) include mint, of course, plus basil, lavender, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and sage. All of these herbs do an incredible job of repelling pests in your garden—bouncing them out of the club so they cannot get in and party. They do this by putting off a strong scent that bad bugs don't like.

The therapeutic smell of rosemary, for example, deters carrot flies, cabbage worms, slugs, and mosquitos. The earthy smell of sage actually disrupts sensory receptors in certain insects, which works to keep out flea beetles, cabbage moths, snails, and slugs. Thyme repels aphids. I could go on and on.

How to Grow These Herbs

Basil grows quickly from seed, but the rest of these herbs are perennials that need some time to get going. I recommend starting these plants indoors at least 6 weeks before your last frost date; otherwise, grab a well-grown plant from your local nursery so you can take advantage of their aromas as soon as your garden season starts.

These herbs work best as bouncers when you put them around the edges of your garden beds. Arp rosemary, basil, lavender, and sage will grow more upright, while thyme and oregano will drape over the sides. Together, these herbs will create a border that protects your plants most susceptible to being attacked by pests.

The exception would be mint, which you might not want to plant in your raised beds (it spreads really fast). Try growing mint in a large container near your most vulnerable veggies.

Onion Family Members

The next plant family that are great at bouncing out the bad guys are those in the onion (Amaryllidaceae) plant family. This includes onions, garlic, and chives. Plants in this family put off a strong scent that pests steer clear of. 

Chives, for example, can repel everything from tiny aphids to huge deer. Green onions deter carrot rust flies, cabbage worms, aphids, and slugs. I refer to my garlic plants as my soldiers in the garden because I have them lined up right alongside my lettuce greens.

How to Grow These Plants

Chives are super easy to grow. In fact, make sure you plant them somewhere you'd like them to stay because they'll come back year after year. They take a long time to start from seed, so I recommend starting them really early indoors (10 to 12 weeks before your last frost) or grabbing some plants from your local nursery.

Onions can be planted by seed, by sets, or by starts. I recommend buying onion starts if you're new to growing onions. Garlic is planted by clove in the fall and grows in the spring and into summer.

I like to grow chives right alongside the edge of a raised bed, next to smaller leafy greens like lettuce and spinach. I interplant larger leafy greens like kale and Swiss chard with onions or garlic in the middle of my bed. This way, all my salad greens have a bouncer nearby.

Marigolds

Marigolds from the Asteraceae family have a super strong smell that stops pests at the front door. They release a compound called pyrethrum (long used in bug sprays to repel mosquitos) that deters squash bugs, bad nematodes, the moths that lay tomato hornworm eggs, and whiteflies.

That's why many gardeners consider marigolds a must-grow if you plan to grow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

Other flowers in the aster family can also help keep out pests. Zinnias, for example, are known to repel cabbage worms, squash bugs, and some beetles.

How to Grow These Plants

Marigolds are annual flowering herbs that are easy to grow from seed as soon as your last frost date has passed. I love to plant low-growing varieties along the border of my raised beds, in between those mint family herbs, so they can bounce away pests and look beautiful while doing it.

Zinnias and taller marigold varieties are wonderful to grow in the ground around your raised-bed vegetable garden.

Decoys Protect Your Vegetables from Pests

Bouncers do a great job of keeping pests from entering through the front door, but sometimes pests can sneak in the back way. That's why we also want to plant some decoys in our garden. Decoy plants, AKA trap crops, help to control pests in your garden by distracting them. They're essentially sacrifices that we give these pests to munch on so they'll leave our best plants alone.

There are many different types of plants you can sacrifice to the pests to keep them off your main crops. My top three groups are flowers, brassicas, and herbs in the carrot family.

Flowers

Some flowers have bright colors and scents that pull pests toward them. That might sound like a bad thing, but remember, these pests are already through the door. These flowers now serve your garden by keeping pests busy on their stems and leaves. Meanwhile, your peppers and lettuce plants are unaffected.

My three top flower decoys are nasturtiums, calendula, and zinnias. Nasturtiums and calendula trap aphids, while zinnias do an incredible job of attracting Japanese beetles.

There's also globe amaranth to keep cucumber beetles off your cucumbers and squash, and sunflowers to trap stink bugs.

How to Grow These Plants

These flowers are easy to grow from seed in your garden. You can plant them along the borders of your raised beds (stick with shorter zinnia varieties since some can grow several feet tall). I love planting trailing nasturtiums right on the edge so that the beautiful leaves can cascade over the side. You can also grow these flowers in the ground or in containers near your raised beds. They're not picky about soil.

Once these flowers are established, you can largely forget about them. They can handle the pest pressure, so you should still get plenty of blooms.

Plants in the Brassica Family

Beyond flowers, you can also use plants in the Brassicaceae plant family as decoys. I'm not sure why, but pests love greens in this family—radish greens, cabbage, kale, mustard greens, collard greens.

Let's be honest: there's such a thing as eating too many collard greens, you know what I'm saying? I mean, they taste really good with a lot of butter, but at some point, you'll get your fill. That's when you can use your collard greens and mustard greens to attract and distract pests like cabbage worms so that they stay off the plants that you care the most about (like your kale and cabbage).

Radishes also do a great job of pulling pests like flea beetles toward them, especially as they get older. You can still get a root harvest, even as pests wreak havoc on your radish leaves.

How to Grow These Plants

You can start mustard greens and collard greens from seed the same time as you're starting your kale and cabbage. That way, they can all go out to the garden together. Radishes will do better if you direct sow them in the garden.

Herbs in the Carrot Family

The last decoy is herbs from the carrot (Apiaceae) family, specifically dill and fennel. These plants attract all the caterpillars. They're both actually host plants for important butterflies, so always check before you squish or remove a hungry little caterpillar chowing down on your dill or fennel plants.

Having dill and fennel in and around your garden will keep the caterpillars off your leafy greens. Dill can also protect tomato plants from tomato and tobacco hornworms.

How to Grow These Plants

Dill and fennel grow great in cooler weather. You can plant them both by seed right in your garden as soon as your soil is workable in the spring. Plant them again in the fall once the temps drop. Some gardeners don't like to grow fennel right next to their vegetables, so you might consider planting it in the ground.

Enforcers

So we've handled security at the door, and then we've distracted many of the pests who still made it through. There are still a few more pests we must control. So what do we do?

We bring in the enforcers. These are the good bugs that eat the bad bugs. You know that expression "fight fire with fire"? In the garden, we do that by welcoming in more bugs—beneficial insects. Many beneficial insects are pest predators, so they'll take care of aphids, hornworms, and whiteflies for you.

We invite these good guys into our space by ensuring there's plenty of food for them to eat in and around the garden. Enforcer plants that bring in beneficial insects include flowering herbs in the carrot family, flowers in the daisy family, and native plants.

Flowering Herbs in the Carrot Family

Cilantro, parsley, and dill are herbs you might want to grow in your garden anyway, and if you let them flower near the end of their lifecycle, they'll attract ladybugs, parasitic wasps, hoverflies, and other predators to feast on those pests. Even if you don't love the flavor of these herbs, planting them for pest control is a no-brainer.

How to Grow These Plants

Dill and cilantro do best when grown from seed right in the garden. Parsley takes a little while to get growing, so you might want to start seeds indoors or buy a little parsley plant. It should last for several seasons, so you'll get your ROI.

Parsley grows more bush-like and does well in the middle of your bed or along the edge. Since cilantro and dill grow tall, I prefer to plant them near the middle of my raised beds, close to my larger plants.

Flowers in the Daisy Family

Pollinator-friendly flowers in the daisy, or aster, family bring all the good bugs to the yard. Cosmos, coreopsis, zinnias, sunflowers, and marigolds have pollen and nectar that attract everything from ladybugs to parasitic wasps (which are like the Terminators of pest control).

You might be surprised to see marigolds in a list of plants that attract good guys since they also repel bad guys. These blooms are, in fact, one of the best plants to draw in beneficial insects.

The more beneficial insects you welcome into your garden, the more you can alleviate any pest pressure. That's why it's always worth it to sacrifice some vegetable growing space to flowers.

How to Grow These Plants

These flowers are super easy to grow from seed. With the exception of low-growing marigolds and zinnias and dwarf sunflowers, you'll want to grow these in the ground near your vegetables.

Native Plants

Finally, you want to have native plants in and around your garden space. Think milkweed, goldenrod, and grasses that are native to your area to attract wildlife and beneficial insects that will feed on the pests. Do a little research to figure out what flowers and grasses are native to your region, and be sure to plant a few around your garden space. These plants will bring in so many of the good guys to fight the bad guys for you.

How to Grow These Plants

Most native plants are larger perennials that should be grown in the ground around your garden space. In most cases, you'll source plants from a nursery, though some native plants, like sunflowers, grow easily from seed.

Bonus

You know all those mint family herbs I mentioned in the bouncer section? Well, if you let those plants flower, they'll also attract tons of beneficial insects, as well. (The same goes for chives.) Double reason to grow them!

Some other plants in this family that attract tons of beneficial insects include bee balm (wild bergamot), anise hyssop, lemon balm, and salvia. These plants grow large and spread out, so it's best to grow them in the ground around your vegetable garden.

Plant Bouncers, Decoys, & Enforcers for Max Pest Control

If you take one thing away from this post (besides a list of great plants to grow), I want it to be reassurance that you don't have to kill every pest you see in your vegetable garden. It's all about controlling them. And now you know how—by planting aromatic herbs, trap crops, flowering herbs, and flowers.

Click on the image below to save this post for later!