Where to Plant Flowers to Keep Bugs Away

Use natural methods to keep bugs away from your flowers.

Learn the habits of the flowers you want to grow and the bugs they attract before you plant for the most successful gardening experience. Plant flowers that offer natural pest repellents or plant in areas where bugs are more easily managed.

Crawling Insects

If you plant your flowers in a garden teeming with natural, flowering pest repellents, you can plant flowers just about any place soil and sun will support them. Marigolds keep a host of common crawling insects at bay. Pycnanthemum muticum, mountain mint is another flowering plant known to repel chiggers and ticks, while tansy repels ants.

Flying Insects

Flying insects present another challenge to a flower garden. Selecting plants that are not a food source or draw to flying insects is a good place to start. Basil, can be added as a spicy companion, as it it said to keep away both flies and mosquitoes. Planting your flowers in pots on a hardscape away from lawns, trees and plants known to draw bugs, or far from the part of the yard you use most, are other options.

If All Else Fails

Plant your flowers in hanging baskets, raised containers or in pots inside a screened in porch. Check the undersides of leaves, flowers and underneath the pot each time you water. At first notice of any bugs, spray the plant with a mild soapy water solution or wash the pests away with a rain setting on your water hose.

References

• Natural Home; Keep Bugs Away Naturally; Matthew Foster; June 2008 Web
• Cornell University Extension: Companion Planting