Natural Mite Repellent

Mites appear tiny and insignificant, but a few of them -- most commonly spider mites -- can pose a mighty big health risk to your garden as they feed on your plants' leaves and stems. Before turning to toxic pesticides to tackle the problem, try a few all-natural ways to kill and repel mites and defend your yard's health and beauty.

Folklore says garlic repels bloodsucking vampires. Pungent garlic cloves may also ward off sap-sucking mites. While you can find garlic extract in commercially prepared, ready-to-use insect sprays, make your own mite repellent at home. Simply blend a small hot pepper with six garlic cloves and allow the solution to sit overnight. Then, strain it through a cheesecloth into a spray bottle, add 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap and 1 cup of water, and mist the concoction on the affected plants. The soap kills many pests on contact while the garlic repels any mites that dare return to the scene of the crime.

Mites are attracted to dry, dusty conditions. Keeping your plants watered and regularly misting them with water makes your garden less attractive to the pests. Additionally, spraying your plants with water is often enough to knock the mites off of your plants and kill them, keeping mite populations too low to do much damage. Don't forget to spray the undersides of the leaves, which is where mites tend to congregate.

Adding the right plants might be the answer to mite problems. Companion planting is the practice of growing specific plants in your yard to help repel pests. Several pungent herbs actively repel mites, aphids and other pests. Dill (Anethum graveolens), an annual, may discourage mites. Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum), which grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8, also repels mites. Finally, consider growing mite-repelling annual coriander (Coriandrum sativum).

Trim off affected stems and leaves when you notice signs of infestation, such as clusters of mites or the webs they leave as they reproduce. This actively reduces the mite population and also increases air flow and circulation. Increased air flow repels mites because they prefer still, dry habitats.

Specialty nurseries, online stores and mail order catalogs sell various predatory mites that feed on the type of mites that attack your garden plants. Examples include Galendromus occidentalis and Mesoseiulus longipes. These mites are repelled by the same things that repel nuisance mites, so this method may not be successful if you've used other strategies for making your garden mite-resistant.