Native Plants

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Tuesday - July 23, 2013

From: Rochester, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Pests
Title: Bug repelling plants from Rochester NY
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I live in Western NY (zone 6?) and have a shady area where I hang my swing, but it's so buggy under the tree I can't use it! The soil is very dry, rocky. Is there a plant/shrub that I can grow there to repel insects?

ANSWER:

Frankly, it's not the plants that attract or repel insects; it's the conditions favorable for insects that are most often the problem. Usually we are asked for mosquito repelling plants. Here is a previous Mr. Smarty Plants answer that addresses that. It is from Austin, in Central Texas, which is somewhat dfferent from Monroe County, NY but the principle is the same. Another previous answer from North Carolina indicates one possible source of insects in your area. One more which deals with reputed mosquito-repelling plants.

Now, all you said was "insects," so let's see if we can find some more answers dealing with other possibilities:

Bees

Bees in trees

Bees attracted by aphid honeydew

Flies