Essential Oils for the Pest Control of Aphids

Pepper

• The peppers that make hot wings burn your mouth at your favorite bar and grill produce the essential oil that gardeners use to repel aphids. The chemical that makes peppers burn your mouth, capsaicin, also irritates and repels several different types of pests including aphids. Many manufactured natural and organic pesticides on the market use the oil of peppers in their formulas because it is non-toxic, renewable, natural and topically applied. It can also be made into a topical spray treatment at home.

Lavender

• Slugs, aphids and other bugs avoid the oily, fragrant leaves of the lavender plant in a garden. It only makes sense that eventually someone took note and began to use lavender oil on other plants as an aphid repellent. The same qualities that make it so valuable in aromatherapy, cosmetics and perfumes also makes it abhorrent to aphids while being all natural and gentle on the plants it is sprayed on. It is also widely available, a staple at natural food and health stores.

Garlic

• Garlic is world-renown for being a natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent. Sometimes combined with pepper extract and sometimes administered on its own, its pungency and anti-microbial properties make it an effective natural aphid repellent. It is used in some manufactured natural pesticides and repellents on the market after being used for years by organic gardeners and farmers from home.