I am a reformed bug/insect hater. I grew up hating any kind of bug, insect, spider, flying pest, etc. Then I grew up and started gardening. I learned to love certain bugs and even spiders who kill the bad bugs. When I moved in a rental home some six years ago there were no bugs in the yard whatsoever (except earwigs and ants). I am happy to say that by the time I moved it was bug city! To me it meant the land was thriving if all the bugs wanted to come and hang in my garden. Heck I was (and still am) eyeballing a bug and insect hotel. We hope to have bees and soldier flies soon. Bring me all the bugs!!!
That said, there are certain bugs that are just pests and I want to deter them if possible, like the ones that eat my garden (aphids, snails) eat me (mosquitoes), or the ones that just “bug” the crap out of me (gnats, flies). Here is a handy dandy list of essential oils you can use to get control the population of pests like the above and also slugs, moths, ants, beetles, caterpillars, fleas, ticks, and weevils. Hope it helps!
How to Disperse:
- Add three parts water to one parts vinegar along with a healthy dose of oils. Mix well and spray.
- Add oils to 2 Tbsp carrier like sweet almond oil and polish surfaces.
- Apply oils to cotton balls or strips of cotton muslin and disperse them as desired.
- Add oils to 2 Tbsp baking soda. Shake well and sprinkle where needed.
All of God’s creatures do serve a purpose. Sometimes I have to wonder what the purpose of the ant is! My hubby and I just attended a Bee Keeping class, can’t wait to get started!
We have ants terrible right now – Im thinking its because of all the rain they are seeking dry shelter. I have some essential oils and I will try this out. I never knew you could use essential oils for bugs : )
This is the spring I will try this! We do love essential oils. In New England, it seems like ticks and mosquitoes get worse every year.
I am going to bookmark this for later use! We have issues with ants at different times of the year and sometimes we see a palmetto bug or two. Do you know of anything that deters them? I was hoping to find something that was safe to use around kids and pets so essential oils would be great.
What a great list. I love using essential oils and have for many year. I used to make a salve for my daughter when she was bit by bugs using oils. They are great for cleaning also.
I love this whole concept of using oils to control pests. I never knew that something like this was effective. I especially need it for ants and till try this next time we have an issue.
WE do this with peppermint oil for spiders in our basement every winter. It works great. I love learning new oils to get creative with.
Yes you will learn to truly hate them even if you want to. Thank you for these tips. Will try each.
My garden is infested with catepillars. I can’t even make a dent picking them off. Do I just combine the peppermint and spearmint with water and spray?
Yes, and spray on the leaves but diluted so as not to burn them. Another alternative is BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis). It a natural method for controlling these guys specifically. It is bacteria. It won’t harm anything but the caterpillars. http://amzn.to/29etogx
Define “healthy dose.” I’m not sure how much is enough but not too much.