3 Plants That Deter Aphids

There are countless species of aphids, and they are therefore able to infest and inhabit a large number of plants. However, there are some plants that aphids dislike and today, we’ll look at three plants that deter aphids. 

What Plants Deter Aphids?

Several different plants deter aphids, although it is difficult to find plants that will deter every species of aphid with a wide range of aphid species. 

Below we will look in-depth at three different types of plants that will deter many species of aphids. Some others are also said to work, but these plants are the most highly praised by gardeners as effective repellents. 

The ones we will look at are alliums, marigolds and lavender:

Alliums

Alliums are a family of plants that consist of a variety of flowering root vegetables and herbs. Many different alliums work to deter aphids. Here is a quick list of examples. 

• Onions
• Garlic
• Chives

These bulbs are great to grow in your garden because, as stated, they do repel aphids, and they are also known to repel other pests that you may find in your garden, such as squirrels. 

Aphids are believed to be repelled by the presence of alliums due to their strong smell. Garlic, in particular, seems to be the best at getting rid of aphids. This is because of all the alliums it is the most pungent smelling.

To utilise the knowledge that aphids intensely dislike alliums, you can intersperse a variety of them throughout your garden to keep aphids away from specific areas. 

If you have a rose bush, then planting garlic around the soil is the best thing you can do to repel aphids. Rose Aphids will inhabit rose bushes in massive colonies that can quickly destroy your plant. However, they are arguably one of the most easily deterred species of aphid in the presence of garlic. 

Marigolds

Marigolds are known for their bright colours and distinct odour. Thankfully, this characteristic odour also acts as a repellent and helps deter aphids from coming into your garden. 

If you choose to use marigolds to keep aphids at bay, you should be careful when purchasing your flowers and making sure to get ones from the scented strain. As some people dislike the smell of marigolds, an unscented strain has been developed, but planting these will not help to deter aphids. In fact, without their off-putting smell, the bright orange colours of these flowers will be very attractive to aphids and will likely bring more colonies into your garden. 

As well as their smell, there are other reasons why these flowers help to keep aphid populations low in your garden. They attract other beneficial insects to your garden, such as ladybugs, and as well as pollinating your flowers, they will eat aphids. 

Ladybugs are a primary predator of aphids so planting flowers that are attractive is also a good idea to keep aphids in your garden under control. 

Lavender

Lavender is a very popular plant for gardeners and for a good reason. They are pretty, have a lovely, sweet smell and, since they are in this article, they also work for repelling aphids. 

Despite having a fragrance that many people adore, it is a smell that is very strong and one that aphids evidentially dislike. You can easily intersperse lavender within other plants, and the scent is strong enough to keep aphids away from all of the nearby plants. 

You will also, like with marigolds, attract other species of insects that are both beneficial to your garden and act as primary predators for aphids. 

Planting lavender is a good choice because they are hardy and can withstand dry summers, and summer is the season in which aphids are most commonly found. They will also come back year after year, meaning that you will not have to replant your repellents. 

If you do not want to plant lavender in your garden, then you can still use an aphid’s dislike of the plant against them. Essential oils are frequently used to keep aphids at bay, and lavender oil is the most effective of these oils. Make a diluted solution of lavender essential oil with soapy water to help to deter aphids. After doing a test patch on your plants to make sure they do not react badly to the solution, spray it around your garden to repel aphids. 

Do Aphids Dislike Trap Plants?

When trying to control aphids, the term trap plant is often used. Aphids like trap plants. They work by attracting aphids to one particular area so that the rest of your garden stays aphid free. 

These plants are usually very hardy and can withstand hosting an aphid colony. Below are some examples of useful trap plants to use to control the aphids in your garden. 

• Sunflowers
• Nasturtiums
• Nettles

Final Summary

To summarise this article’s main points, here is a quick overview of what we’ve learned. There are several plants that aphids dislike, which include alliums, marigolds and lavender. Aphids dislike these plants because of their strong odours. 

You can also use the essential oils of these plants to make an aphid repellent spray. 

Aphids do not actually dislike trap plants, they are very attracted to the bright hardy plants, and they are used to bring aphids into a certain area of the garden and drive them away from areas with more sensitive plants.