Sasha CampbellYou may have heard the term “trap crop” before, but what exactly does it mean? A trap crop is a plant used to lure pests away from your garden [1].
These crops are also known as decoy crops or sacrificial plants and are used to help protect valuable plants from pest attacks.
There are many trap crops out there, and each one has its unique benefits. In this article, we will highlight some examples and explain how to use them to protect your vegetable garden.
Below is a list of trap crops you can use on your organic farm.
1. Nasturtium
Nasturtium is a great decoy plant you can try. It attracts pests such as leafhoppers, cabbage worms, aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, and flea beetles.
When these pests flock to the nasturtiums, they will leave your vegetables alone.
Beans, cucumbers, cabbage, squash, and many other vegetables benefit from the addition of nasturtiums planted along the garden borders.
2. Lovage
Lovage is fantastic at attracting tomato hornworms, celery worms, tarnished plant bugs, and leaf miners.
Therefore, you can use this plant to keep these pests from plants like potatoes, tomatoes, and even some fruit crops.
3. Chervil
Pests that are likely to infest chervil include aphids, carrot rust fly larvae, and slugs.
The best part about this trap crop is that it attracts beneficial insects, such as bees and hoverflies. This makes it an excellent option for managing pests in your garden.
You can plant chervil between rows of or next to vulnerable plants like lettuce, broccoli, carrots, radishes, cabbages, and kale.
4. Dill
The pests that dill attracts are varied. Some of these pests that like dill include spider mites, parsley worms, aphids, and tomato hornworms.
Another beauty of this herb lies in its ability to attract beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, hoverflies, and lacewings. Plant it between rows of good companion plants.
5. French Marigold
You won’t go wrong with French marigold. It is a highly effective and practical trap crop.
Slugs, Japanese beetles, and many bugs love French marigolds.
Another perk is that it kills harmful nematodes and attracts hoverflies and ladybugs. Plant it between the rows of crops or at the garden’s edges.
6. Radish
Plant radishes near your prized crops. They provide food for insects like aphids, cabbage maggots, cutworms, flea beetles, and harlequin bugs.
When planted with compatible vegetables, this root crop helps repel insects. This protects the nearby plants from harm.
Plant squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers with your radishes. They grow well together.
7. Blue Hubbard Squash
You also can’t go wrong with Blue Hubbard squash.
This squash works well as a trap crop. It attracts pests like cucumber beetles and squash bugs. Additionally, it provides food for your kitchen.
Squash vine borers are also fond of this plant.
8. Sunflowers
Sunflowers draw many pests. These include weevils, wireworms, earwigs, snails, and cutworms.
Specifically, they save your vegetable crops from these pests when planted between rows or at garden borders. They also attract birds, which can help keep harmful insects under control.
9. Millet
Grasshoppers, midges, thrips, and other pests (including hairy caterpillars) generally attack millet plants.
Plant some millet near your vegetable plants, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly the pests flock to it.
10. Amaranth
Cucumber beetles, leaf miners, and beet webworms are known to attack amaranth. Therefore, plant it near crops that these pests go after, and they’ll likely flock to it instead.
11. Sorghum
Pests like armyworms, corn earworms, white grubs, sugarcane borers, and corn aphids will target sorghum.
The trick is to keep it in a different part of the garden so that the pests won’t travel to your other plants.
12. Zinnias
Zinnias also help protect your vegetables by luring away harmful pests. In particular, zinnias attract aphids, thrips, beetles, caterpillars, spider mites, and scales.
Zinnias also attract rabbits.
By planting a few of these bright flowers around the garden beds and affected plant plots, you can deter these pests.
13. Mustard
Mustard attracts its fair share of pests. This is because it attracts certain insects. These include diamondback moths, aphids, flea beetles, and grasshoppers.
You can plant mustard crops as part of a “decoy trap plant” strategy in your vegetable garden.
14. Eggplant
Eggplant is also particularly susceptible to attracting a wide variety of pests.
It is an attractive resting spot for hornworms, leaf-footed bugs, Colorado potato beetles, and stink bugs. Two-spotted spider mites and some beetle species also like eggplants.
Plant it next to crops with which it is compatible.
15. Geranium
Geraniums attract many pests. Common ones include mealybugs, Japanese beetles, scales, greenflies, budworms, cabbage loopers, and mites.
You can plant them in your yard and watch as the pests flock to them, rather than to your prized plants.
16. Okra
Okra is another ideal choice [2]. It’s great for attracting stink bugs, corn earworms, beetles, leaf-footed bugs, spiders, ants, and caterpillars.
Okra flowers are great because they attract helpful insects. Wasps, dragonflies, green lacewings, and ladybugs will come to your garden. These insects help keep pesky bugs under control.
17. Tansy
Tansy is especially good at attracting the ragwort seed fly, cinnabar moths, and tansy beetles.
By planting tansy around affected crops, you can create a barrier that these pests will not cross.
Where to Buy Seeds
SeedsNow is an excellent online medium to start. You can also check with your local garden store.
Takeaway
Trap cropping is a clever way to manage pests in your garden, and it is a technique that has been used for centuries. By planting a crop that’s attractive to pests, you can keep them away from the good stuff and reduce the damage they do.
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