Plants that repel bees are fast becoming a top garden choice to keep insects under control. These bee-repelling plants provide an environmentally friendly method of controlling bees.
Yes, they are a healthier, more eco-friendly option when compared to insecticides made from harsh chemicals, but are they as effective as their toxic counterparts?
Let’s find out below.
Contents
Types of Plants That Repel Bees
1. Cucumbers
The cucumber plant is scientifically called the Cucumis Sativus, and it is a widely utilized vegetable.
Cucumber does have a lot to offer, and even more. Cucumbers belong to the gourd family. While its fruit has little nutritional value, its subtle flavor makes it an excellent addition to meals.
– Characteristics
It is a creeping plant that you plant with support from frames or trellises. The bitter taste of cucumber is a result of its acidic properties. The strong smell from the peels of the cucumber plant is an effective bee repellent.
Cucurbitacin is the chemical in the peels responsible for the strong smell. Common household and garden pests that detest the pungent smell of the peels include slugs, moths, wasps, and ants. Spreading a few slices of raw cucumber where you have minor pest control issues is a cheap and long-term way to get rid of these pesky pests.
– Growth Requirements
The cucumber is a tropical plant. Thus, it should be planted when the average daily temperature is 158 degrees Fahrenheit. Space seeds 36 to 60 inches apart in slightly acidic soil. You must make sure that it receives a lot of water at least an inch every week.
Repelling bees using cucumber peels can be done in two ways. It’s either strewing the peel around your house or garden or planting cucumbers there. If you have planted them, and they are in the soil, they will start producing small flowers, and these flowers will result in spreading a fragrance to repel these pests away.
2. Mints
The mint plant or the genus Mentha, is a popular ingredient and spice in many dishes around the world. While its flavor is loved in cuisine and drinks, bees and wasps hate it. All mint species are generally known for their strong scent, which is even stronger for a tiny natural pest.
– Characteristics
Insects are deterred from settling in your garden by the pungent flavor of mint. Mint plants may help with additional annoyances, including roaches, spiders, and flies, as well as pests like ants, mosquitoes, and mice.
You may also keep crushed mint leaves in a little bowl to keep flies away. Plant some mint in your garden or the space you want to keep the bees out of. The strong scent from the mint will repel them and keep them off your property, due to the pungent chemicals released in the air.
– Growth Requirements
Mints are easy to plant and thrive in light soil and good sunlight. You can purchase a plant from the nursery or get one from an already thriving plant. You must place them in the same location as tomatoes and cabbages to check their growth and nutrient uptake.
On another note, they will need a proper amount of water, as you have placed them in a well-draining soil, and they will thrive, release their fragrance, and keep the bees away.
3. Eucalyptus
The Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) is a shrub plant loved by several animals. The koala, for one, considers the eucalyptus an everyday snack. However, it can very easily repel wasps and other stinging insects like bees as well.
– Characteristics
Eucalyptus plants are very effective against stinging insects like bees and wasps. Thus, they are used as active ingredients in essential oils and topical creams to deter insects. Because it contains a lot of eucalyptols, eucalyptus oil naturally repels insects. It can keep mosquitoes and other biting insects away for up to eight hours after topical application.
According to research, a 32 percent lemon and eucalyptus oil blend offered more than 95 percent protection from insects like mosquitoes for three hours. Moreover, if you consider placing it in doors, it will still give out its strong fragrance.
– Planting Tips
Sow eucalyptus tree seed in fertile soil outdoors, where there is a lot of sunlight; give it regular water. Eucalyptus is best planted in the spring for optimal growth. Remember to always plant outside. Eucalyptus loves sunlight and space.
4. Marigold
Marigolds are beautiful, flowering plants that add spice to your garden. While its color and vibrancy should attract bees to your garden, it actually keeps stinging insects at bay. It is one of the most effective bee and wasp repellents in the group.
It helps deter bees thanks to its strong scent, which the insects find offensive and even toxic. The scent repels them and keeps them away from your gardens and immediate environment. They grow rapidly, and you can have a fully bloomed plant in less than two months.
– Characteristics
Limonene, which is present in marigolds, deters white flies. It is one of the substances categorized as volatile plant compounds, which is the VPCs. Note that as some plants create VPCs to communicate with other plants and to either attract or deter insects.
Its scent can also help to draw helpful insects that consume and eliminate aphids. In this case, they will repel bees, because the odor is not very pleasant to their liking.
– Growth Requirements
These plants are only some of the most common plants in any garden. They are best grown in warm soil, with their seeds spaced about one inch apart. You can start the seedling phase indoors and then move outside after they germinate. However, you must make sure that you would generously water it for the next two weeks after planting till it is fully bloomed.
5. Pitcher Plant
Pitcher plants or the Nepenthes, are one of the most well-known plant-eating garden options to deter wasps and bees. These plants are effective repellent plants.
They reduce the insect pest population by consistently digesting some of them. Bees hate them and know to stay away from the pitcher plant. Placing it in the surrounding area or plating it in your garden is a great way to keep the bees at bay.
– Characteristics
These pitcher-shaped leaves form a passive pitfall trap that engages a prey-capturing tool with a large chamber filled with fluid for digestion. The plants entice and suffocate their prey. They attract wasps, bees, and other insects with nectar.
– Growth Requirements
These carnivorous plants derive their nutrients from insects caught and trapped. To grow a pitcher plant, cut off an actively growing stem and keep it in water, changing the water regularly till it grows roots.
You can move the plant from the jar to the soil, and place it indoors. Note that they thrive in moist, acidic soil with a lot of space and sunlight, as you would provide them these, you will see these greens thrive.
6. Pennyroyal
The Pennyroyal or the Mentha pulegium, resembles the mint family and repels bees like the mint. The plant is portable, with an average height of six to 12 inches. It is easy to grow and does not require much maintenance as well.
Its scent is enough to repel bees, so you do not need to cut it up. Just grow it in your garden or space.
– Characteristics
Pennyroyal contains a chemical that deters fleas, ticks, gnats, mosquitoes, and other biting insects. When applied to the skin, crushed leaves are an effective insect repellant. To help prevent ticks and fleas, the leaves can also be applied to dogs.
– Growth Requirements
You can plant and grow Pennyroyal via its seed or stem cutting. It can grow on sand and clay but is best in moist loamy soil treated with organic matter. Before germination, it is vital to expose the plant to a lot of sunlight.
Conclusion
Using garden plants as a method of insect control is a good idea. However, they cannot completely help repel or control these insects in your garden or space. So, while they do play their part in reducing the numbers, you should sum it up with other effects. But take note of these points:
- All these plants, except the pitcher, only repel the bees. They do not kill them. In case of an infestation, you should seek expert help.
- All these plants always require boggy or moist conditions, just make sure that you do not over water them, or else the plant will be tired.
- Fertilizers are not required. However, treating the soil with organic matter is a good move before planting.
If you’re interested in using these everyday garden plants to help repel mosquitoes, bees, and other insect pests in your garden, start by trying any of these bee-repelling plants.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pest-repelling_plants
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/
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