![]() ![]() Bodie Pennisi, a professor and landscape specialist at the University of Georgia's Griffin campus, says it's unclear how many plants would be needed to effectively repel insects and how close together they would need to be planted. Please realize that this probably isn't enough to make your garden totally insect-free. ![]() One study on the efficacy of plant repellents explains, "This repellency of plant material has been exploited for thousands of years by man, most simply by hanging bruised plants in houses, a practice that is still in wide use throughout the developing countries." Plants have also long been used in "crude fumigants" or applied in oil formulations to skin and clothing. The many globules on the underside of rosemary leaves are one of the best examples of this. High temperatures can cause the globules to become volatile, evaporating the essential oils and turning them into vapors. The smell of some herbs and flowers, resulting from the distribution of tiny globules that contain essential oils, can help to ward off insects. This may not be as effective as conventional repellent formulas, but it will help somewhat. Even just crushing the leaves in your hands and rubbing the oils onto your skin while you're working in the garden can deter some insects from hovering and biting. As a bonus, you can use most of them to make your own natural bug repellent. In this article, you will learn about 12 plants that could help you manage the insect population in your garden. They don't realize that they can repel bugs-at least partially-using the power of plants.Įven those without a full garden can employ plants in containers on balconies or patios. To prevent their itchy and painful punctures, many people slather themselves in chemical insect spray (DEET, one of the worst offenders, is neurotoxic and has been detected in groundwater). Insects have one of the most important ecological roles in nature, but bites from mosquitoes, gnats, flies, and no-see-ums are highly annoying.
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