How to Detract Moths in a Garden

Keep moths from your garden with natural, homemade deterrents.

Moths chew on garden plants and flowers in order to survive and reproduce. Although exterminating the moths with pesticides eliminates, or detracts, them from a garden, it also affects the health of the garden's plants. Natural moth repellent prevents moths from residing in garden soil and from breeding. A variety of natural repellents are used to ward off moths, and you may use them at the same time or separately to detract moths in your garden.

Things You'll Need

• 7 to 9 cotton cloths
• Cedar oil
• Lavender or bay leaves
• 10 cheesecloths
• Dried lemon peels
• Sticky band scented with moth pheromones
• Duct tape

Instructions

1. Saturate seven to nine cotton cloths with cedar oil, and place the saturated cloths throughout your garden. The strong odor of the cedar acts as a repellent for moths and is safe to use in your garden.

2. Wrap lavender or bay leaves in a cheesecloth, and tie the cheesecloth's ends together to secure the lavender or bay leaves inside the cloth. Place the cheesecloth containing lavender or bay leaves throughout your garden near flowering plants and shrubbery. The lavender's or bay leaves' odor deters moths naturally.

3. Place dried lemon peels on cheesecloths, and tie each cheesecloth's ends to keep the lemon peels inside. Tie each cheesecloth to an end of a shrub's or other plant's branch. Lemon is an acidic and potent odor that is offensive to moths and keeps them away from anything it is near.

4. Wrap a sticky band scented with moth pheromones around the base of and on trees and shrubs near the outskirt of your garden. Secure the ends of the sticky band with a 1-inch piece of duct tape. The sticky band's moth pheromone scent attracts male moths, and moths that touch the band's sticky surface become stuck and do not have a chance to mate with female moths or damage your garden.

References

• Earth Easy: Natural Insect Pest Control; Other Home Insect Pests
• "American Horticultural Society Pests and Diseases: The Complete Guide to Preventing, Identifying and Treating Plant Problems"; Pippa Greenwood, et al.; 2000