This can be poured into a spray bottle for easy homemade bug spray. Yet another way to use fresh herbs is to make a tincture using alcohol or vinegar.
Many people take the freshly picked leaves and rub them between their hands to release the oils, then spread them on exposed skin to ward off bugs.Īnother great way to use the fresh leaves is to infuse them in oil, then use the oil on your self or around the house to keep insects away. Lavender flowers, in particular, make for beautiful pest repellant home decor. Dried herbs can be hung near windows, placed in sachets inside drawers and cupboards, or used in decorations like wreaths and bouquets.
Use the leaves or flowers in sachets, sprays, and infusionsĭehydrate the leaves and/or flowers from pest repelling plants to make a portable pest repellent that can be used wherever you’re having trouble.ĭried herbs and flowers can be just as effective at repelling pests as live ones. Planting pest repellant plants around your property not only helps keep pests away from those zones, you can use the leaves and flowers to ward them off elsewhere too. That may be in and around your home, around the chicken coop, or in the vegetable garden. The best place for pest repelling plants is wherever their meal of choice happens to be. Landscaping isn’t only for good looks, it can help in so many ways.
Related Reading: 9 Natural Ways To Repel Mosquitoes And 4 Methods That Really Don’t Work How to use plants to repel pests 1. Using plants to repel pests naturally means your home and yard will be free from poisons, good insects like butterflies and bees can go about their business, and bad ones like mosquitoes and flies will be driven from your property. Mice that are killed with poison are frequently eaten by wildlife such as owls, hawks, and cats, which poisons them as well. Insecticides are known to destroy ecosystems and have devastating effects on good insects, killing them right along with the bad insects. They’re poison for the insects, and they’re poison for your family. There’s no sugar coating it, common pesticides like insecticides and rodenticides are poison.
Repelling pests naturally will not only save your family from the terrors of rodents and biting insects, it will save you the money of hiring exterminators, and prevent potential health problems from their sprays. Using natural solutions to our problems is better for the planet, better for your family, and usually, better for your wallet. There’s a reason environmentalists are pushing for greener living. Our favorite solution for getting rid of bugs and rodents is using pest repelling plants to ward them off. The best thing about using plants to repel pests is it’s 100% natural, so there’s no harm, and you add more beauty to your garden. Getting rid of household pests is an age old problem with a lot of varied solutions. We all could certainly do with less pests in our lives, especially the type that bite, sting, and raid your pantry.