Essential Oils for Pest Control

I don't love the idea of chasing a fly all over the store I work at just to trap it in a container and set it free. Nor do I like the idea of navigating a spider onto my finger and giving him a free ride to my balcony - however, I think if you can save a bug, save a bug. There is something morally weird about killing being the first option. That's why I am not okay with pesticides, aside from what they do to the food I eat. If your company researches, creates and distributes chemicals that cause things to die, some soul searching might be useful. That's why I like to use essential oils to re-route little pests that what to eat the vegetables I have been growing for me and my household.

Bugs have certain scents that really bother them and if you use a hint of that oil they will instantly pull an about-face  and leave your sacred area alone. I've also used them to communicate with my sister's cat that ' no I'm not leaving these gluten free muffins on the stairs for you to eat ' and also, ' this jacket looks nicer without your hair on it, thanks '.

The best way to do this is with some water in a reusable bottle. A few drops of essential oil in 500ml should work. For ground crawlers you can actually drizzle the liquid in a line on the ground around your plants or other chosen boundary. For flyers, spray it on the leaves of your plant.

This list of which oils to use for specific pests looks about right from what I'm come across usually. It's taken from aroma-essence.com:

Photo by: Sarah Goertz

ANTS - Peppermint Spearmint
APHIDS - Cedarwood Hyssop Peppermint Spearmint
BEETLES - Peppermint Thyme
CATERPILLARS - Spearmint Peppermint
CHIGGERS - Lavender Lemongrass Sage Thyme
CUTWORM - Thyme Sage
FLEAS - Peppermint Lemongrass Spearmint Lavender
FLIES - Lavender Peppermint Rosemary Sage
GNATS - Patchouli Spearmint
LICE - Cedarwood peppermint Spearmint
MOSQUITOES - Lavender Lemongrass
PLANT LICE - Peppermint Spearmint
MOTHS - Cedarwood Hyssop Lavender Peppermint Spearmint
SLUGS - Cedarwood Hyssop Pine
SNAILS - Cedarwood Pine Patchouli
SPIDERS - Peppermint Spearmint
TICKS - Lavender Lemongrass Sage Thyme
WEEVILS - Cedarwood Patchouli Sandalwood 

You can also dilute these in a carrier oil like sweet almond or apricot kernal, and then use it as a bug repellent on your skin.