Vegetable Companion Planting For Insects

Vegetable companion planting for insects embraces the benefits of both attracting pollinating insects and deterring pest insects. With a well-designed garden, either in the ground or in containers, you can gain some benefits of homesteading through growing your own food.

Companion planting is a great way to efficiently grow plants that aid each other. Whether it’s increased size or taste, improved soil, reducing problem pests and diseases, attracting pollinators, or providing shade or ground cover, planting certain plants together can greatly benefit your garden.

In this post we will examine many plants that benefit other plants by attracting pollinators and/or repelling pest insects. Other reasons for companion planting are covered in Vegetable Companion Planting for Abundance and Flavor. We will also look at a few kinds of plant that should not be planted near each other. For an easy reference, see this handy Vegetable Companion Planting Cheat Sheet.

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Why do I have more insects, but my plants are doing better?

In one of my early vegetable gardening experiences, someone suggested to me that I should plant Marigolds in the garden to help to discourage bugs. That year we had more bees, butterflies, and lady bugs, and it was the best garden we had ever had.

There is a difference between beneficial bugs/insects and nuisance ones. When doing healthy companion gardening, you may be inviting the beneficial insects. Don’t think companion planting has been a failure merely by the number of bugs and insects.

To “bee” or not to “bee.”

First, we will take a look at why we want beneficial insects. Essentially pollinators, like bees and butterflies, will benefit any vegetable plant that flowers and needs pollinating before growing its fruit. Pollinators will help produce more vegetables per plant for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons, squash, etc. They are also important for fruit trees to produce more fruit.

Bees and butterflies are well-known pollinators. They go from flower to flower taking and depositing pollen among the plants.

Predatory wasps take some pests to their homes to eat. Additionally, parasitic wasps lay their eggs on or in other pests, which are then eaten by the larvae when they hatch. Note: These are not yellow jackets, which are actually pests themselves.

Besides pollinators and wasps, there are other beneficial insects. These eat nuisance pests and include lady bugs, praying mantids, ground and soldier beetles, wolf spiders, tachinid and syrphid flies, hoverflies, and green lacewing’s larvae.

When beneficial insects are plentiful, each plant has a greater harvest and the nuisance insects are more controlled.

Related: What vegetables grow well in container gardens?

What can I do to attract the beneficial insects?

The obvious choice to attract pollinators is flowers. Some of the most popular are nasturtium, marigold, calendula, sweet alyssum, lavender, zinnias, and borage. Beneficial insects may be attracted to the flowers or the scents.

Flowering herbs are another great attraction to beneficial insects. Whether you want the herbs for adding variety to your meals or you just want their benefits in the garden, herbs are a necessity that make fantastic companion plants.

Which plants both attract beneficial insects and repel nuisances?

There are specific plants can be added to your vegetable garden that serve the dual purpose of attracting beneficial insects and repelling nuisance ones.

Flowers

Many flowers are multi-purpose. Besides being beautiful to look at, they both attract beneficial insects and deter the pests.

Nasturtiums

If you only have room for one, Nasturtiums are an overall top pick for a companion plant with most any vegetable. They are especially helpful around beans, potatoes, squashes, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, corn, peppers, and eggplants.

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They repel potato, bean, and other beetles, squash bugs, potato bugs, whiteflies, and draws aphids away from nearby plants. Be sure to control the aphid infestation on them before they overflow back into your garden.

Marigolds

Marigolds deter potato bugs, soil nematodes, bean and other beetles, hornworms, and squash bugs. Especially great with tomatoes, cucumbers, summer and winter squash, peppers, beans, and broccoli.

Geraniums

Geraniums attract Japanese beetles away from pepper plants and when they eat their leaves, the beetles become paralyzed so you have a chance to get rid of them. Geraniums also deter cabbage worms. Awesome companion to pepper plants.

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Sweet Alyssum

Sweet Alyssum grows low to the ground and its many small blossoms entice many beneficial insects, such as parasitic wasps, tachinid flies, lady bugs, lacewings, etc., who in turn support the cause of removing aphids, whiteflies, tomato worms, and other fruit worms. Benefits peppers and broccoli.

Annual Herbs

In addition to commonplace flowers that are beautiful, aromatic herbs also have delightful flowers that attract beneficial insects and repel other nuisances. Plant herbs singly here and there among your other plants, then use them to flavor your cuisine.

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Note: Some of the stronger aromatic herbs may negatively affect the flavor of cucumbers or squash.

Calendula

Calendula helps to control nematodes and other pests in addition to enticing helpful insects. It is an overall great companion plant, but especially for summer or winter squash.

Borage

Borage attracts bees and deters hornworms, cabbage butterflies, and cornworms, which is especially helpful with tomatoes, corn, beans,  squashes, cabbage, melons, cucumbers, and strawberries.

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Lavender

Lavender is a perennial combination flower, herb and shrub that is especially great near brassicas (the cabbage family). It attracts ladybugs, bees, and butterflies. Fleas, moths, mosquitoes, and spiders don’t like the smell, so they stay away.

Basil

Basil discourages spider mites, thrips, asparagus and flea beetles and aphids while attracting pollinators. When planted near beets or turnips they deter each other’s pests. Also great with tomatoes, peppers, beans, eggplant, asparagus, potatoes, and okra.

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Dill

Dill deters cabbage moths, cabbage butterflies, aphids, squash bugs, and spider mites. Especially great companions with onions, cucumbers, squash, peppers, corn, brassicas (cabbage family), and asparagus.

Parsley

Parsley, if allowed to flower in the second year, attracts predatory wasps and controls aphids. Wonderful with broccoli, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, corn, and onions.

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Chamomile

Chamomile attracts beneficial insects and repels some pests, such as aphids, ticks, and mosquitoes. Onions and garlic benefit from it. Note: people who are allergic to ragweed are often aggravated by chamomile too.

Perennial Herbs

Several herbs that entice beneficial insects and repel pests are perennials, such as marjoram, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, and chives. You may want to plant them in containers, then place the containers in opportune places in your garden.

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Note: Some of the stronger aromatic herbs may negatively affect the flavor of cucumbers or squash.

Marjoram

Marjoram may need protection during the winter and is especially great with eggplant, corn, and brassicas (cabbage family).

Sage

Sage repels flea beetles, carrot rust flies, and cabbage butterflies from brassicas, carrots, beans, and potatoes. Note: sage contaminates the flavor of cucumbers and may stunt the growth of onions and garlic.

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Rosemary

Rosemary, deters cabbage moths, bean beetles, and flies from brassicas, beans, and peppers and attracts bees to pollinate summer squash.

Thyme

Thyme attracts predatory insects and repels moths, which is especially helpful to brassicas and strawberries.

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Oregano

Oregano is an overall great companion plant for just about everything and protects against squash bugs and attracts bees.

Mint

Mint has over 7000 varieties, which includes the popular peppermint and spearmint, but also other aromatic herbs addressed separately above, such as basil, oregano, sage, and lavender.

Mint plants are very invasive, so keep them well pruned in pots to prevent unwanted spread and place them around your garden to deter pests and attract beneficial insects.

Chives

Chives are part of the garlic and onion family (allium), so they have similar results as companion plants as they repel aphids, flies, red spider mites, and beetles. They are great near tomatoes, brassicas (cabbage family) and carrots.

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Other plants that discourage pests

Some plants attract the pests to themselves and away from the plants you really want. One example of this is pepper maggots that prefer hot cherry peppers. Pepper maggots will leave your other pepper plants alone if planted near the peppers you desire.

Garlic, onions, and leeks (allium family) discourage aphids, beetles, flies, spider mites and other pests from your garden, especially lettuce, strawberries, cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale, collards, carrots, parsley, celery, cauliflower.

Tomatoes and asparagus assist each other because tomatoes repel asparagus beetles while asparagus repels nematodes away from the tomatoes.

Radishes left unharvested protect cucumbers from cucumber beetles, squash from squash bugs, and spinach from leaf miners.

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Potatoes help control bean beetles when planted near beans.

Avoid these combinations

Some types of plants attract the same insect pests, which then pass from one plant to the next. Avoid planting these close together…

Cucumbers, melons and squashes

Corn and tomatoes attract tomato worms and corn earworms to each other.

Families of plants, such as alliums (garlic and onion family).

Chard attracts aphids to share with chamomile.

For a more comprehensive list of plants to avoid planting together see Vegetable Companion Planting for Abundance and Flavor and Vegetable Companion Planting Cheat Sheet.

Three Sisters

One popular method of companion planting is the “Three Sisters Method.” Corn in planted in the center with beans planted around the corn. Winter squashes or pumpkins are planted in the third ring. Plant each “ring” after the inner one has become established to prevent overwhelming the inner ring.

For the purposes of pest control, the squash or pumpkin plants are dense enough to keep weeds and critters, such as racoons, away from the corn.

A similar companionship is corn and cucumbers. The cucumbers keep pests, like racoons, from the corn, while the corn provides support for the cucumbers.

Besides attracting and discouraging insects, companion planting arrangements have many other benefits, such as soil quality, improved flavor, shade, and creating a natural trellis. For a more complete discussion of these and other companion planting benefits, see Vegetable Companion Planting for Abundance and Flavor.

Vegetable companion planting for insects invites beneficial pollinating insects while repelling nuisance pest insects. Many of the same plants accomplish both and there are additional plants in your garden which also deter pests from each other. Companion planting has many other benefits besides inviting and controlling insects. For a quick and easy guide, be sure to check out our Vegetable Companion Planting Cheat Sheet.