Garden Blog

Seen on the right hand side of this photo is Amaranth. You can tell the bugs have had a feast if you look at the leaves. However, if you look at the tomatillo in the foreground, you can see it is relatively untouched by pest damage. — Seen on the right hand side of this photo is Amaranth, my favorite trap crop. You can tell the bugs have had a feast if you look at the leaves. However, if you look at the tomatillo in the foreground, you can see it is relatively untouched by pest damage.

What is a Trap Crop?

A trap crop is a beautiful thing that will save your sanity. It is one of the best defenses in your bug fighting arsenal.

Specifically, a trap crop is a plant that attracts bugs away from your precious food. They are also known as sacrificial plants, planted with the intent of them being devoured by pests.

Sunflowers are always a gorgeous addition to the garden. They come in many variations. This trap crop is the best of both worlds.

Trap Crop Examples

My personal favorite is amaranth. This is a hardy plant that can withstand the damage from things like spider mites, leaf miners, slugs, cucumber beetles, aphids, etc. While my amaranth is currently riddled with holes, the plants right next to it remain mostly untouched.

Who doesn’t enjoy a lovely sunflower? The bugs sure do. They are a trap crop as well for leaf-footed bugs that plague your tomatoes. Those pesky stink bugs are also drawn to sunflowers as well as aphids.

Some trap crops are dual use. Marigolds for example are typically used to repel pests, but they can also attract pests. For example, those terribly frustrating thrips invading your dahlias. Attract them away by planting marigolds nearby.

Nasturtiums are somewhat of a gray area in the gardening world. The debate being whether they repel versus attract pests. Either way, they have been known to help with aphids, mosquitoes, squash bugs, borers, beetles and other pests.

Pictured above is a nasturtium. Their flowers come in many colors and some even have variegated leaves. They are both beautiful and useful. Did you also know they are edible?!

Which Option is best?

Selecting a trap crop is going to depend on the pests that are in your garden specifically. The options listed above are just a handful out of many. They are plants that I have in my own garden. I deal mainly with aphids, slugs, squash bugs, borers, mosquitoes, and stink bugs. Therefore, I have a variety of these plants spread throughout the garden.

There are other trap crops I could be utilizing as well. These include radishes, Chervil, red clover, geraniums…..the list goes on. Do your research based on what type of pest you are having issues with. Also note what you are trying to keep them away from. Herbs for example can also be trap crops, but you may not want your herbs decimated. Therefore, you would want something more attractive than your herbs to pull pests away.

Where do you plant trap crops?

It may work to plant trap crops along the border of your garden. You would hope to draw them completely away. However, this may not be enough. You may need to intersperse trap crops amongst your garden beds. This is what I choose to do because I do not have room around the perimeter of my garden.

If you have trap crops directly next to other plants, you may pull the trap crop out once the bugs have invaded. Then stick another trap in its place. Rotating out plants is a way to keep the population down.

Final Thoughts

Using a trap crop is a great organic way to prevent pest damage to your other plants. It is truly one of the best tools I utilize in the garden. There is also the added benefit of their flowers attracting bees. So not only do they attract bad pests, they also attract pollinators that are necessary. Most options are also typically plants that are pretty, so they serve as encouragement as well.

For more organic pest control options, go check out my blog on Natural Pest Control for Garden.