Cucumber Magic: If grubs and slugs are ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices of cucumber in a small aluminum pie pan, place it in your garden and soon your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
{Disclaimer: I don’t know if this really works, but, it’s worth a try.}
Dalmatian Pyrethrum Chrysan-themum cinerarifolium. This variety of chrysanthemum is the source for many natural insecticides for flying and crawling insects. It is one of the least harmful to mammals or birds, but the dried flowers of the pyrethrum daisy will kill or stun the insects the moment it touches them. It is one of the safest pesticides to use on pests and their bedding to keep fleas and ticks away. The powder is the result of drying and crushing the flowers.
English Pennyroyal Mentha pulegium. A small-leaved herb that has spikes of lavender flowers, pennyroyal is a member of the mint family. Ground pennyroyal is one of the most effective tick deterrents available. Dust powder made from the leaves around areas where the pet sleeps and plays.
Feverfew Chrysanthemum parth-enium. Feverfew blooms midsummer through fall. The flower heads are used to make a pesticide to kill many pest insects.
Lavender Lavandula angustifolia. All of us know lavender as a beautiful aromatic herb that is used to scent food, soaps, cosmetics and many other products. If you dry bunches of lavender and hang them in the closet, they will repel moths and make your clothes smell good at the same time.
Lemon Basil Ocimum basilcum v. citriodorum. An aromatic herb with small pretty flowers and lemony fragrance, lemon basil is a fine culinary herb. When planted in the garden close to tomatoes, it deters white flies.
Mugwort Artemisia vulgaris. Mugwort leaves are used to repel moths. They can be made into sachets or dried and hung in the top of the closet.
Peppermint Mentha piperita. Peppermint helps repel ants, aphids, cabbage lopers, flea beetles, cabbage worms, squash bugs and white flies. Plant it near susceptible plants or make a tea from the crushed leaves and spray it on infested plants.
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis. Rosemary leaves dried and powdered are used as a flea and tick repellent. Dust the powder around where your pet sleeps.
Sage Salvia officinalis. Sage is helpful planted next to cabbage to improve the taste and repel cabbage worms and moths.
Tansy Tanacetum vulgare. Leaves are used to repel ants and moths in sachets or when strewn around. The small yellow flowers are used in potpourri.
Wormwood Artemisia absinithium. Grows tall with gray silky foliage and spikes of small flowers. Powdered dust made from the leaves and sprinkled on plants and soil will deter many insects. It is not toxic; the bugs just don’t like the fragrance.
Tansy, rue and anise are good at repelling aphids, a perennial garden pest. Chamomile and hyssop will help discourage cabbage moths on your cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. Basil and dill planted near your tomato plants will help keep tomato hornworms away. Dill and fennel are also good food plants for butterflies, particularly the swallowtail. They lure the caterpillars from other plants.
Beetles and squash bugs on your squash and cucumbers, plant mint, oregano or tansy nearby. Catnip and savory will discourage flea beetles and bean beetles on your bean plants, parsley and rosemary will keep carrot flies away from your carrots.
You can used dried herbs to make fragrant potpourri or sachets that will repel insects in the closet or storage chests.
Mint, rosemary, rue, tansy, thyme, wormwood, southernwood, lavender, pennyroyal and lemon geranium are all excellent at repelling moths that get into your winter clothes.
Put the dried herbs in a cloth bag {cheese cloth} that is loosely woven enough to let the air circulate and let it hang from a hanger in the closet or tuck it into a drawer or chest for the summer. When it comes time to get out your winter clothes, they’ll smell good and be moth-free.
Town & Country Gardening 
Nice resource. I wish that these tactics were employed on farms instead of neonics like imdacloprid 😦
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They have a terrible odor and that is hard on those with allergies. They rarely bite and if they do they probably are going after a mite and not you! Thanks so much for the info!. The other scourges here are ticks. OMG are they thick this year. Never seen them so bad,
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I would love to find something that works on ladybugs. Yes, I know they eat aphids, bt they have taken residence inside the home and while I have made headway vacuuming them daily.. they have worn me to a frazzle.
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Getting Rid of Ladybugs
Though ladybugs do not pose a major threat to the health or structure of your home, you do want to discourage them from taking up residence in the long run. Prevention, removal, or relocation are three ways to get rid of ladybugs, even if you have a colony forming. Here are the top ways to get ahead of your ladybug infestation or prepare for a possible infestation.
1. Sweeping and Vacuuming
As simple as it may sound, gathering up ladybugs with a dustpan or vacuum is one of the easiest ways to remove a colony. For example, vacuum up a large group of ladybugs and immediately empty the vacuum bag outside. Physically relocating the colony will discourage more from joining if the infestation has not grown too large. After they are removed, wash the area with soap to eliminate any chemical trails used to attract more bugs.
2. Dish Soap
If your infestation has grown out of control and it is too difficult to simply relocate the colony, dish soap is a simple way to get rid of a large range of small bugs in your home. Spray a colony with soapy water or leave a bowl that combines soap and water near a light source where they gather. The thickness of the soap keeps the ladybugs from leaving the water easily.
3. Duct Tape
Hard-to-reach ladybugs can be lifted up with duct tape wrapped around your hand or finger. This allows you to safely remove the colony and relocate them outside. You can also simply leave duct tape out to act as an easy trap.
4. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth offers an easy way to kill bugs in your home. The white powder can typically be found online or even at your local home repair store. Sprinkle the powder around your colony or at the edges of common entry points to both deter and eliminate new infestations.
5. Light Trap
Make a ladybug-friendly light trap at home with common items in your kitchen. Cut a plastic soda bottle in half and flip the top half into the bottom portion to create a funnel. Add an LED light into the funnel, leaving room for the ladybugs to enter the bottom of the bottle. The beetles will flock toward the light but then get stuck in the trap, ready for release outside.
6. Surround Your Home With Mums
When the fall rolls around, fill your home, garden, and porches with mums—a plant ladybugs particularly hate. Since this is the prime season ladybugs will come looking for a place to stay for the winter, the smell of the mums will deter them from filling your property.
7. Natural Repellent
A range of herbs and essential oils can also deter ladybugs from gathering or entering your home in the first place. Be sure to check if these items are safe for pets and children if they are in an easy-to-access location. In the case of essential oils, dilute a few drops in a carrier oil or a spritzer bottle and spread across the areas where the bugs congregate.
Lavender oil
Citronella
Lemon or orange oil
Cloves or clove oil
Bay leaves
I hope one of these ideas is helpful. Happy Gardening
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Thanks good to know!!
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