Plants that repel earwigs are quite common but some work better than others – bay trees and wormwood for example. This article sheds light on those plants. These plants deter earwigs and are effective for other pest control purposes.
This article will unpack hidden secrets about the plants used to repel earwigs from your garden; so keep reading.
Contents
Special Plants That Repel Earwigs
1. Bay Tree
Bay Tree, known by its scientific name “Laurus Nobilis,” is a plant that is effective in pest control. This plant belongs to the family Lauraceae which has an approximate number of 2500 + species. And it is also used in cooking. The bay tree plant is native to the Mediterranean region.
– Benefits
Laurus Nobilis contains several compounds that have antioxidant activities. Laurus Nobilis improves glycemia and lipid profiles that are present in type 2 diabetes patients.
Furthermore, Laurus Nobilis eases your digestion as well as causes a reduction in flatulence and provides relief in urinary tract infections and dental infections.
– Uses
Laurus Nobilis is a flavoring agent in the cooking and culinary industry. But its uses are not limited to only the food and culinary industry, it has also been used as folk medicine.
The essential oil from this plant is used in producing soap and as an aroma in foods and cosmetics. Furthermore, this plant has also been known for other uses in the medicinal field, such as reportedly having antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antitumoral properties.
– Distinguishing Characteristics
Talking about the physical characteristics of the Bay Tree, or the Laurus Nobilis, grows up to 9 to 30 feet with yellow flowers. The leaves are not shed during the winter season and are five to 3 inches long and 1 to 2.5 inches wide. These leaves are green in color.
– Propagation
To have even more of these earwig-repelling plants you can simply propagate them. Cut a 6-inch length from the end of a stem and remove all leaves but the top few. Put it in a good growing medium – dipping it in rooting hormone first, if desired. Thereafter you keep it moist and out of direct sunlight.
2. Wormwood
Common wormwood, scientifically known as Artemisia absinthium, is a plant that is effective in repelling earwigs. This plant is native to temperate regions of North Africa and Europe/Asia (widely naturalized in Canada and the USA).
Wormwood or Artemisia absinthium is a species of the genus Artemisia which contains approximately 500 species. Wormwood is also known as green ginger.
– Benefits
Artemisia absinthium, or wormwood, has been used in non-traditional medicinal practices in the West and as traditional Chinese medicines. Wormwood has been known to alleviate pain, fight parasitic infections, boast antioxidant properties and fight inflammation.
– Uses
Common wormwood has many uses, most importantly in the medical field. Evidence shows that the extract from wormwood reduces the effects of pinworm in children and adults. The chemicals in Artemisia (wormwood) kill bacteria and parasites (in some cases, it may even lower blood sugar levels).
Other uses of this plant in the therapeutic area include treating upset stomachs, common cold, measles, jaundice, anxiety, irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness, and other conditions.
– Distinguishing Characteristics
Artemisia absinthium, wormwood, is a herbaceous perennial plant with fibrous roots. The stems of this plant grow up to a height of 2.5 feet to 4 feet. The stems are tall, grooved, silvery green, and branched.
The leaves of this plant are spirally arranged, colored with greenish gray from above, covered with silky silvery-white tritones, and white from below. Wormwood gives off a strong scent that earwigs hate, and it keeps them away.
– Propagation
Take a 3 to 5-inch long cutting from unflowered new growth in summer. Remove the bottom half of leaves, dip in rooting hormone and place the cuttings into propagating sand. They will be ready to plant out after about six months.
3. Peppermint
Peppermint is a plant that is useful in deterring earwigs. The scientific name for the Peppermint plant is Mentha x Piperita. As the scientific name suggests, it is a hybrid species of mint. It is indigenous in Europe and the Middle East and widely spread in many regions and countries.
– Benefits
The Peppermint plant is famous for peppermint tea. Peppermint tea has many benefits that are backed by science. It does not contain much caffeine or calories and is naturally sweet. The benefits of drinking this tea include solving digestive issues, boosting concentration, and relieving migraines.
But that is not it, and it is also known to be used as a source of freshening your breath. The leaves of the peppermint plant contain essential oils, for example, methanol and menthone.
– Uses
Peppermint nowadays is used for many purposes, but some of the most common uses of peppermint are as a flavoring item for foods and beverages. The oil is made from peppermint, a commonly used fragrance in soaps and cosmetics. Apart from cosmetic use, it has also been used in history for medicinal purposes.
– Distinguishing Characteristics
Peppermint plants are perennial and can reach a height between approximately 10 inches to 40 inches. Further physical characteristics include square stems, dark-green leaves, and clusters of pinkish-lavender flowers.
– Propagation
Take a cutting of about 3 inches long from the top growth. Place the stems in a glass of water. They will take root in a couple of weeks.
4. Sweet Alyssum
Another plant for keeping away earwigs is the sweet Alyssum. Sweet Alyssum, more scientifically known as Lobularia Maritima, is a plant that is a part of a species that is a low-growing flowering plant in this family. Sweet Alyssum or Lobularia Maritima is also known as Sweet Alison.
This plant belongs to the family “Of brassicaceae.” This plant attracts a tachinid fly predator that eats earwigs so you can use this plant as a nice earwig trap.
– Benefits
Alyssum or Lobularia Maritima are grown for their beauty in the garden and because they attract beneficial insects in the field, such as ladybugs and hoverflies. The insects that get attracted by Alyssum are beneficial for other plants as well because these insects feed on pests and other insects that might damage your plants.
– Uses
There are a lot of uses for Sweet Alyssum (Or Lobularia Maritima). It is useful in saving your garden plants from earwigs and repelling pests of another kind. Sweet Alyssum may lure aphids away from vegetable plants in your garden.
The plant may be used for attracting beneficial pollinators to your garden. If you want to deter weeds in your garden, you may plant Sweet Alyssums in bare spots or between your vegetables in row spaces as this plant fills open spaces in your garden, repelling pests and other insects and keeping your crops safe.
Another use of Sweet Alyssum is that you may hang them in baskets as they will trail as they grow more, providing a better look for your garden. You can use this plant as a groundcover by simply planting it beneath or around other plants that allow the area to be shaded and inhibit weed growth.
– Distinguishing Characteristics
Now let’s look at what this plant looks like and what features help you distinguish this plant and easily recognize it from other plants in a garden.Sweet Alyssums grow to three to nine inches and have a wider spread. This shallow-rooted plant is an excellent seasonal ground cover for some of your other plants. In color, this plant consists of white, pink, yellow, lilac, red, and violet clusters of flowers having green leaves.
– Propagation
This plant proliferates from seeds. Start the seeds indoors before the last frost and transplant them outdoors the possibility of frost has passed.
5. Onion
Another plant that acts as an earwig repellent is onion, or if we refer to it by its fancy scientific name, then Allium cepa. The plant gives off a pungent smell like garlic, which acts as a natural earwig repellent. The onion is also known as the common onion or as a bulb onion that belongs to the genus of Allium.
– Benefits
We’ve all heard of Onion. It is a very common item in our households that we often use for cooking purposes. But it is not just a food item; it also has some health benefits. Let’s take a look at these health benefits.
Onions have a high level of antioxidants and compounds with sulfur. Consumption of onions has been shown to reduce the chances of several nasty diseases, such as cancer, and problems with high blood sugar levels.
Furthermore, the study also shows that consuming onions improves overall bone health in the human body. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects are a few other benefits of this vegetable plant.
– Uses
As shown by science and research, the onion plant effectively hides scars. Yes. Applying a gel that contains onion for ten weeks or more has shown a reduction in the appearance of scars on your body. Although some people may prefer to show off their scars, this plant is an effective choice for scar reduction on your body.
Apart from scar reduction, although having insufficient evidence in some cases, this plant has been known to tackle patchy hair loss by applying onion juice to your scalp for eight weeks, improving hair growth a bit.
In some other cases, it has also been known to tackle diabetes problems with the consumption of 20 grams of onion while you are dieting reduces the blood sugar levels in your body, which helps in controlling diabetes.
– Distinguishing Characteristics
Onions, or Allium cepa, are biennial plants with fibrous roots with around three to eight glaucous and distichous leaves. It is also known as a bulb onion.
Why?
Because it is shaped like a light bulb made of concentric and enlarged fleshy leaf bases. The Onion’s inner leaf base thickens as it develops, whereas the outer leaf base dries over time, becomes thin, and shows various colors on its outer side.
– Propagation
They can be propagated through vegetative propagation through their bulbs. This is where parts like the roots, stem and leaf are used.
6. Fennel
This plant is not what you would classify as an earwig repellent. It has no distinct features like pungent smells used to deter earwigs. Rather, this plant does the next best thing.
It fits best as the answer to the question “How to get rid of earwigs.” It attracts the greatest enemy of the earwig – the tachinid fly. Foeniculum vulgare is Fennel’s scientific name, but don’t be scared by reading that difficult name. Fennel belongs to the carrot family, being a hardy perennial herb.
– Benefits
Apart from attracting the earwig’s worst nightmare, this plant has many health benefits. Let’s list and discuss some of those benefits down below. Fennel has fibers and other heart-friendly nutrients (potassium and folate), which help maintain a healthy heart.
Although not proven facts, Fennel has also been known to act as a source of making your skin healthier and better, provide anti-inflammatory benefits, may aid you in managing your weight, and improve anemic symptoms.
– Uses
Fennel is and has been used in the therapeutic area as a traditional medicine for many diseases and ailments, such as digestive problems, problems with reproductive and respiratory systems, etc.
– Distinguishing Characteristics
It’s a perennial plant that grows to a height of about 4 to 6 feet and approximately 1.5 to 3 feet in width. Optimal growing conditions for this plant are in full sunlight, preferably with moist and well-drained soils.
– Propagation
Planting Fennel is usually propagated directly from seed and requires an ambient temperature between 59 – 68 degrees Fahrenheit to germinate. It should be planted in early spring or fall when temperatures are suitable.
Conclusion
Earwigs are some gardeners’ worst nightmare. Above, we’ve discussed six plants that come in handy for repelling earwigs.
These are necessary for planting in your garden if you want unwanted and nasty pests to destroy your plants.
- Pungent smells aid in deterring earwigs.
- Some of these plants attract the tachinid fly, a nemesis of earwigs.
- A lot of these plants have health benefits apart from repelling earwigs.
- Only some plants are 100 percent beneficial. Some of them have side effects as well.
Using these plants and other methods can prove effective in repelling earwigs and keeping your garden safe and sound!
- Grow Mango Tree Indoors: Best Tips and Tricks For You - September 21, 2023
- Are Lilacs Deer Resistant? 10 Other Deer Resistant Plants - September 19, 2023
- 7 Plants With Red Stems To Add Color to Your Garden - September 18, 2023
