Natural Pest Control: Using Herbs & Flowers to Protect Your Vegetable Garden

Herbs do more than flavor food—they're powerful allies in chemical-free pest management. Strategic planting repels insects naturally, reducing or eliminating pesticide needs.

Targeted Herb Companions for Common Pests

• Ants: Pennyroyal, spearmint, southernwood, tansy
• Aphids: Garlic, chives, onions, coriander, anise, nasturtium, petunia (near fruit trees)
• Borers: Garlic, onion, tansy
• Cabbage moth: Mint, hyssop, rosemary, southernwood, thyme, sage, celery, catnip, nasturtium
• Colorado potato beetle: Green beans, horseradish, dead nettle, flax, catnip, coriander, tansy, nasturtium
• Cucumber beetle: Tansy, radish
• Cutworm: Tansy
• Flea beetle: Wormwood, mint, catnip; interplant with tomato
• Japanese beetle: Garlic, larkspur, tansy, rue, white geranium
• Leafhopper: Petunia, geranium
• Mexican bean beetle: Marigold, potato, rosemary, savory, petunia
• Mites: Garlic, onion, chives
• Nematodes: Marigold, salvia, dahlia, calendula, asparagus
• Rose chafer: Geranium, petunia, onion
• Slug: Rosemary, wormwood
• Squash bug: Tansy, nasturtium, catnip
• Tomato hornworm: Borage, marigold, opal basil
• Whitefly: Nasturtium, marigold

Planting Strategies

• Border gardens with petunias, marigolds, geraniums.
• Contain invasive catnip in large clay pots.
• Interplant vegetables thoughtfully for mutual protection.

Herb/flower companions keep gardens "green" and prevent heartbreak from pest damage—naturally.

Reserve chemicals for severe infestations; let plants do the preventive work first.