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Catnip used as Pest Repellent

Violet_Z6
20 years ago

Posted by Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 01 at 8:17


Here's one I started this past Spring. I planted catnip in my squash & pumpkin rows/hills to see if it really does work to repel certain pests (SVB, Squash Bugs, Cuke Beetles, etc.).

Results so far:


Little damage from all 3 pests listed above. A few squash plants (zukes) were killed by SVBs but these plants were on the edge of the test plots. Squash Bugs & Cuke Beetles were around but not nearly as concentrated as last few years (just luck?).


My daily chore would be to crush some of the leaves on the catnip plants to make the pungent aroma ever more present in the plots. Also, I would pick some catnip and "rub" the crushed leaves on some of the exposed root/stems to make those areas even more "pungent".


No damage found on Pumpkin plants so far, but it is nearly impossible to get in there to see nowadaze, a real jungle out there.

Problems: In the beginning the catnip actually attracted Flea Beetles to the squash & pumpkin leaves causing quite a bit of noticable damage. This was very evident on the leaves nearest the catnip where the flea beetles would be concentrated. I have read on several "companion plant" sites where catnip repels flea beetles but this is not the case in my garden, no way!

Extra Bonus: Recently the catnip went into a full blooming period. The assorted bees (Bumble, Carpenter, various wasps, etc.) that were attacted to the pollen were also helpful in pollenating my pumpkins & squash too.

Future outlook: My squash plants are about exhausted now anyway and my pumpkin vines have extended well beyond any catnip effects (except for the original root/stem area). So this probably ends the experiment for this year. Once the pumpkins die back I'll examine and compare and pest damage (esp SVB) for it's proximate location along the vines.


vgkg


Follow-Up Postings:


RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Trudi_d 7, Long Island (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 01 at 9:45

Hi Vgkg,

What variety of catnip did you try? I have a pink nepeta mussini that had no bug damage at all, it is a butterfly and bee magnet. I will give the catnip a try as I have had a bit of SVB damage on the jack be littles.

So far the only thing I've found to work in my garden against the SVB is a bucket of compost dumped over the plant crown. I manage to bury a few stems at the same time and these root and continue to make healthy new shoots.

Last week my jack be littles were nearly done in from PM which I finally got under control with a spray of milk and baking soda, but the SQB damage was already making the plants wilt. I dumped the compost on the crowns and their straggly stems and within a day the plants perked right up. Now there's new non-wilting healthy new growth. Hopefully they're revitalized.

Trudi

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 01 at 11:26

Hi Trudi, to be honest I don't know which catnip variety I have. I first bought the seed many years ago (I believe a shelf pack of Burbee brand on their herb rack) and it has faithfully reseeded itself every year since then. Normally I let it grow where it starts but this year I transplanted about 10 seedlings into the squash & pumpkin hills. The flowers are a purplish color on med-long spikes. The aroma is very over powering from the crushed foliage, very strong indeed. Sounds like your compost dump idea works well too for the SVBs. vgkg

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: moon NY 5 (moonsrainbow@aol.com) on Tue, Aug 21, 01 at 21:17

I never heard of catnip being such a good repellant! Will definitely try this next year, as I'm a great fan of mixing veggies and flowers/herbs. One plant that I've had good luck planting with cantelopes, another cucurbit, is nasturtiums. Last year, our pumpkins and squash were both hit very hard with SVBs and developed bacterial wilt. This year, I interplanted nasties with the cantelope and haven't seen one of the little striped *^$@#$*^##@'s! Not exactly scientific, but you bet I'll plant them again next year!

Moon

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Tue, Aug 21, 01 at 22:46

Hi Moon, the season is not over yet and I may have just been a little luckly so far this year with the catnip. I'm not 100% sure of what it repels yet but it's also a good attractant for the flea beetles as mentioned above. Also attracts certain benes like bees. Will need to perform some squash & pumpkin plant autopies in Oct.

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

The rose that is completely surrounded by catnip is not getting eaten by those pesky little green rolled-up caterpillars. Neither is the rose in the herb bed, which has catnip as well as oregano, thyme, etc. But the other two non-rugosa roses, which are not surrounded by herbs, are getting munched.

Are you sure that the catnip attracted the flea beetles to the squash, in that order? I had flea beetles all over the squashes this spring, and there wasn't any catnip around. Maybe flea beetles like catnip AND squash?

I also saw a pair of goldfinches sitting on the catnip one morning, having catnip seeds for breakfast.

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Wed, Aug 22, 01 at 12:59

I'm fairly certain about the catnip being attacked first and then speading to the squash & pumpkins both. Even the young catnip seedlings had the FBs & bite marks on them before the other crops were put in. The damage was quite vivid on my pumpkin leaves which was on the pumpkin leaves closest to the catnip. Also, my watermelon patch (where the catnip grows wild) showed the exact same FB damage where the melon leaves intermingled with the catnip. Once I saw this going on I immediately ripped out all the catnip in the melon patch. The damage was done but slacked off after that and the FBs moved over to my eggplants as usual. Normally I don't think the FBs have ever bothered with my melons with their other favorite goodies nearby.
Trudi may have a point on the variety of catnip being a factor. I had just always assumed that there was only one type. Anyone have a photo site of various catnip plants? Doubtful I'm sure. vgkg

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

Catnip is usually Nepeta cataria, with white flowers, but there are other species in the Nepeta genus, like Nepeta mussini (catmint), which is what Trudy has. Or so I'm informed, anyway :-).

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Wed, Aug 22, 01 at 15:20

Oops, I need to correct myself. I said a couple of messages back that my catnip has purplish flowers. Wrong! They are white, a subtle white which turns sorta purplish as they fade back. Purple-gray may be more descript. Bees love em' no repelling there on the bees, esp carpenter bees. vgkg

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

I have big gobs of Nepeta mussini this year from small plants I set out last year, and love to go by rubbing the leaves, although they are getting a bit dry and the flowers passed now- but the bees still love them. I look forward to the goldfinches (especially since my thistle didn't come in this year). THat was the cat mint I planted a few years ago.

Recently I set in a catnip plant (Nepeta cataria) nearby and hope it settles in. I was going to set up a Nepeta hedge to distract the neighbor's cat from our bird feeders, but will plant out into the vegetable garden as well. Is it better than marigold then?

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent?

  • Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Sat, Aug 25, 01 at 23:33

Squash autopy report: Well, I pulled up all my unproductive squash plants today. Checked them out closely and found that about 1 in 4 had been attacked by SVBs. Very subtle invasion but all these plants were mostly gone now. The others that were untouched by SVBs were also non-productive yet still alive (guess squash plants eventually die of age before frost). A couple of the SVBed ones were right next to the catnip so it may not have helped. On the bright side there were only 2 Squash bugs to be found among the 15 squash plants pulled out.

The pumpkins are still very much alive, some of the first early leaves are dried up now (mainly the leaves first attacked by the "attracted" flea beetles). Vines are still healthy and putting out blossoms down the line and a few more pumpkins too. No noticable SVBs or Squash Bugs here either. Will report on these vines once they die. vgkg

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

There was a news report today that catnip has a mosquito repelling chemical in it thats more effective than DEET.

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Wed, Aug 29, 01 at 7:38

Interesting HB, next time I'm out there looking like one of those human arms in the "Off" commercial (probably tonite) I'll try rubbing some crushed leaves on one leg & one arm to see if there's a difference. Catnip is as potent as basil in aroma so anything is possible. Might get attacked by the neighborhood cats tho ;o) vgkg

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Trudi_d 7, Long Island (My Page) on Wed, Aug 29, 01 at 10:22

I just collected my nepeta mussini seeds, the flower color is very pale pink. I have plenty to share. If anyone would like some you can send me a SASE, please email me directly for the SASE info.

Trudi

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Gyurkovitz USDA10/SS23 CA (r.gyurkovitz@verizon.net) on Wed, Aug 29, 01 at 12:13

An article about catnip as a mosquito repellent was found in this month's OG (you can tell my gender by the magazine I got, glad I'm the subscriber and not my wife, I'd be P#####!). On the flip side, this issue seemed to have a lot of good material in it, I'm sold on the idea of a couple of chickens, now how to convince my wife...

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

Gyurkovitz, when you've convinced Mrs. Gyurkovitz, tell me how, so that I can convince Mr. Alfie. Mr. Alfie is agin it. As he is the only one in the Alfie household who has actually kept chickens, i.e. knows what he's talking about, it's been hard to change his mind.

Vgkg, I tried lemon balm on one arm and leg and nothing on the other last year, and it really did work. Tons of bites on the nothing-ed side, compared to one or two on the lemon-balmed side. I wonder if all members of the mint family work.

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Wed, Aug 29, 01 at 12:54

Hi Alfie, it makes me wonder if the skeeters just "prefer" the untreated limbs? If I rub catnip all over my body maybe many skeeters are still hungry enough to bite me anyway. Kinda like Limburger cheese, I'd prefer the Sharp Chedder but if I were starving I'd still eat the limburger.
Last nite was the worst yet for the skeeters down here, I "deeted" myself all over but yet some of the brave ones still landed & bitted anyways.

A thought about deet, if a tanker truckload of deet crashed on the highway it probably would be considered an enviromental disaster by the EPA, but smearing it all over our bodies is ok by the FDA? Go figure!? vgkg

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

Hi vgkg,

Mmm, good thought about the deet. Lived in Africa for a year and the folklore had it that a dose or two of malaria was probably less harmful than rubbing deet all over every day. Have no evidence to back this, (but I can say that I was pretty miserable during my bout of malaria!)

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

Thanks to Alfie for clarifying the difference between catmint and catnip; saved me the trouble! Since I have to fence my catnip to allow it to survive the depredations of my own and the neighborhood cats, I have but one plant. However, since the cats care nothing for lemon catnip, and because it self-sows with the same gleeful abandon as the regular sort, and because I much prefer its aroma and taste in tea to the standard (which to me smells like skunk, although I confess I do not find that scent--at a reasonable distance!--terribly off-putting), I have masses of that around, duking it out in one wild corner with the lemon balm, equally enthusiastically self-sowing calendula, and several mullein plants that I encourage for their medicinal properties as well. ANYhow--my point is this: if plain ol' catnip is a good 'skeeter repellent, seems my lemon catnip would be even better, as it has that citronella-like scent, same as lemon balm. We, happily, have not too many mosquitoes this year, but I will sure give it a try tomorrow for the ravenous black flies that have plagued our area the last couple of summers. I have little hope, though, since the lemon balm did not faze them...CK

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Vgkg 7-Va Piedmont (My Page) on Wed, Oct 10, 01 at 21:35

Ok, this is my final summary on this experiment. I closely examined my now defunct pumpkin root/stems to check for any SVB damage. The largest variety (Prizewinner) did not have any damage and the root/stems were in good condition. But it appeared that the other 2 varieties (Jack-0-lantern & Big Max) both did have some SVB damage but it was late in coming. There was also SVB damage in spots further down the vines where there was no catnip nearby.

To repeat the main disadvantage, is that catnip does attract flea beetles which do a lot of leaf damage. I did notice very light Squash bug activity this year but cannot say for certain the reason. Normally the Squash Bugs are more numerous.

Next year I may just use isolated catnip and cut off trimmings to use around the root/stems. It's more work but "picked" catnip doesn't seem to attract the flea beetles like the live plants they like to congregate upon.

On production, I had 7 plants total which produced 16 pumpkins ranging in size from ~5 lbs to ~190 lbs. The Jack-o-lanterns produced the most at 10 pumpkins on 3 plants.
vgkg

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

  • Posted by: Jeff 6a PA (thunder@access995.com) on Mon, Dec 17, 01 at 9:31

Hey, Folks! When you plant your gardens with catnip, beware! Cabbage moths just love catnip plants. Maybe even more than cats do. As soon as they appear in Spring those "white butterflies" seek out our catnip plants and hover near all season long.

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

NEWS, Catnip oil repels mosquitoes 10 times better than DEET!
It's ture go goole it up. Iowa State University study proves it! I use the stuff and IT WORKS!
A new mosquito repellent made with 100% pure catnip oil is HERE!
Follow-Up Postings:

RE: Catnip used as Pest Repellent

Companion planting does work. But I have found that it gains strength and influence when more than one companion is employed. Consider it the double-barrelled approach.

I often combine a herb with marigolds and nasturiums. You must also include the companions that will attract the beneficials which reinforce all your pest controls. You definitely need to use a chart to match plants and avoid antagonists. I have compiled one for my vegetable garden that I am will to share. E-mail me with "Veg Com Chart" in the subject; all others will be deleted so type in the subject. It is drawn from comparing over 24 charts and text lists looking for similarity of planting agreement.

I have also found great results from spraying of compost tea, horse manure tea and seaweed extract. In combination, the plants are strong and healthy so able to add their own defences to the profusion of pests and diseases. Companions alone will not give 100% so the total picture must be seen. A strong healthy plant that give anticipated yields is the desire so use all the tools.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plants for Pest Control

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Comments (22)

  • trudi_d
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here's one I started this past Spring. I planted catnip in my squash & pumpkin rows/hills to see if it really does work to repel certain pests (SVB, Squash Bugs, Cuke Beetles, etc.).

    Results so far:


    Little damage from all 3 pests listed above. A few squash plants (zukes) were killed by SVBs but these plants were on the edge of the test plots. Squash Bugs & Cuke Beetles were around but not nearly as concentrated as last few years (just luck?).


    My daily chore would be to crush some of the leaves on the catnip plants to make the pungent aroma ever more present in the plots. Also, I would pick some catnip and "rub" the crushed leaves on some of the exposed root/stems to make those areas even more "pungent".


    No damage found on Pumpkin plants so far, but it is nearly impossible to get in there to see nowadaze, a real jungle out there.

    Problems: In the beginning the catnip actually attracted Flea Beetles to the squash & pumpkin leaves causing quite a bit of noticable damage. This was very evident on the leaves nearest the catnip where the flea beetles would be concentrated. I have read on several "companion plant" sites where catnip repels flea beetles but this is not the case in my garden, no way!

    Extra Bonus: Recently the catnip went into a full blooming period. The assorted bees (Bumble, Carpenter, various wasps, etc.) that were attacted to the pollen were also helpful in pollenating my pumpkins & squash too.

    Future outlook: My squash plants are about exhausted now anyway and my pumpkin vines have extended well beyond any catnip effects (except for the original root/stem area). So this probably ends the experiment for this year. Once the pumpkins die back I'll examine and compare and pest damage (esp SVB) for it's proximate location along the vines.


    vgkg

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Vgkg,

    What variety of catnip did you try? I have a pink nepeta mussini that had no bug damage at all, it is a butterfly and bee magnet. I will give the catnip a try as I have had a bit of SVB damage on the jack be littles.

    So far the only thing I've found to work in my garden against the SVB is a bucket of compost dumped over the plant crown. I manage to bury a few stems at the same time and these root and continue to make healthy new shoots.

    Last week my jack be littles were nearly done in from PM which I finally got under control with a spray of milk and baking soda, but the SQB damage was already making the plants wilt. I dumped the compost on the crowns and their straggly stems and within a day the plants perked right up. Now there's new non-wilting healthy new growth. Hopefully they're revitalized.

    Trudi

  • moonsrainbow_aol_com
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Trudi, to be honest I don't know which catnip variety I have. I first bought the seed many years ago (I believe a shelf pack of Burbee brand on their herb rack) and it has faithfully reseeded itself every year since then. Normally I let it grow where it starts but this year I transplanted about 10 seedlings into the squash & pumpkin hills. The flowers are a purplish color on med-long spikes. The aroma is very over powering from the crushed foliage, very strong indeed. Sounds like your compost dump idea works well too for the SVBs. vgkg

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I never heard of catnip being such a good repellant! Will definitely try this next year, as I'm a great fan of mixing veggies and flowers/herbs. One plant that I've had good luck planting with cantelopes, another cucurbit, is nasturtiums. Last year, our pumpkins and squash were both hit very hard with SVBs and developed bacterial wilt. This year, I interplanted nasties with the cantelope and haven't seen one of the little striped *^$@#$*^##@'s! Not exactly scientific, but you bet I'll plant them again next year!

    Moon

  • alfie_md6
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Moon, the season is not over yet and I may have just been a little luckly so far this year with the catnip. I'm not 100% sure of what it repels yet but it's also a good attractant for the flea beetles as mentioned above. Also attracts certain benes like bees. Will need to perform some squash & pumpkin plant autopies in Oct.

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The rose that is completely surrounded by catnip is not getting eaten by those pesky little green rolled-up caterpillars. Neither is the rose in the herb bed, which has catnip as well as oregano, thyme, etc. But the other two non-rugosa roses, which are not surrounded by herbs, are getting munched.

    Are you sure that the catnip attracted the flea beetles to the squash, in that order? I had flea beetles all over the squashes this spring, and there wasn't any catnip around. Maybe flea beetles like catnip AND squash?

    I also saw a pair of goldfinches sitting on the catnip one morning, having catnip seeds for breakfast.

  • alfie_md6
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm fairly certain about the catnip being attacked first and then speading to the squash & pumpkins both. Even the young catnip seedlings had the FBs & bite marks on them before the other crops were put in. The damage was quite vivid on my pumpkin leaves which was on the pumpkin leaves closest to the catnip. Also, my watermelon patch (where the catnip grows wild) showed the exact same FB damage where the melon leaves intermingled with the catnip. Once I saw this going on I immediately ripped out all the catnip in the melon patch. The damage was done but slacked off after that and the FBs moved over to my eggplants as usual. Normally I don't think the FBs have ever bothered with my melons with their other favorite goodies nearby.
    Trudi may have a point on the variety of catnip being a factor. I had just always assumed that there was only one type. Anyone have a photo site of various catnip plants? Doubtful I'm sure. vgkg

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Catnip is usually Nepeta cataria, with white flowers, but there are other species in the Nepeta genus, like Nepeta mussini (catmint), which is what Trudy has. Or so I'm informed, anyway :-).

  • Charles_connecticut
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oops, I need to correct myself. I said a couple of messages back that my catnip has purplish flowers. Wrong! They are white, a subtle white which turns sorta purplish as they fade back. Purple-gray may be more descript. Bees love em' no repelling there on the bees, esp carpenter bees. vgkg

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have big gobs of Nepeta mussini this year from small plants I set out last year, and love to go by rubbing the leaves, although they are getting a bit dry and the flowers passed now- but the bees still love them. I look forward to the goldfinches (especially since my thistle didn't come in this year). THat was the cat mint I planted a few years ago.

    Recently I set in a catnip plant (Nepeta cataria) nearby and hope it settles in. I was going to set up a Nepeta hedge to distract the neighbor's cat from our bird feeders, but will plant out into the vegetable garden as well. Is it better than marigold then?

  • hbremmer
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Squash autopy report: Well, I pulled up all my unproductive squash plants today. Checked them out closely and found that about 1 in 4 had been attacked by SVBs. Very subtle invasion but all these plants were mostly gone now. The others that were untouched by SVBs were also non-productive yet still alive (guess squash plants eventually die of age before frost). A couple of the SVBed ones were right next to the catnip so it may not have helped. On the bright side there were only 2 Squash bugs to be found among the 15 squash plants pulled out.

    The pumpkins are still very much alive, some of the first early leaves are dried up now (mainly the leaves first attacked by the "attracted" flea beetles). Vines are still healthy and putting out blossoms down the line and a few more pumpkins too. No noticable SVBs or Squash Bugs here either. Will report on these vines once they die. vgkg

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    There was a news report today that catnip has a mosquito repelling chemical in it thats more effective than DEET.

  • trudi_d
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Interesting HB, next time I'm out there looking like one of those human arms in the "Off" commercial (probably tonite) I'll try rubbing some crushed leaves on one leg & one arm to see if there's a difference. Catnip is as potent as basil in aroma so anything is possible. Might get attacked by the neighborhood cats tho ;o) vgkg

  • Gyurkovitz
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I just collected my nepeta mussini seeds, the flower color is very pale pink. I have plenty to share. If anyone would like some you can send me a SASE, please email me directly for the SASE info.

    Trudi

  • alfie_md6
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    An article about catnip as a mosquito repellent was found in this month's OG (you can tell my gender by the magazine I got, glad I'm the subscriber and not my wife, I'd be P#####!). On the flip side, this issue seemed to have a lot of good material in it, I'm sold on the idea of a couple of chickens, now how to convince my wife...

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Gyurkovitz, when you've convinced Mrs. Gyurkovitz, tell me how, so that I can convince Mr. Alfie. Mr. Alfie is agin it. As he is the only one in the Alfie household who has actually kept chickens, i.e. knows what he's talking about, it's been hard to change his mind.

    Vgkg, I tried lemon balm on one arm and leg and nothing on the other last year, and it really did work. Tons of bites on the nothing-ed side, compared to one or two on the lemon-balmed side. I wonder if all members of the mint family work.

  • Lisa_Australia
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Alfie, it makes me wonder if the skeeters just "prefer" the untreated limbs? If I rub catnip all over my body maybe many skeeters are still hungry enough to bite me anyway. Kinda like Limburger cheese, I'd prefer the Sharp Chedder but if I were starving I'd still eat the limburger.
    Last nite was the worst yet for the skeeters down here, I "deeted" myself all over but yet some of the brave ones still landed & bitted anyways.

    A thought about deet, if a tanker truckload of deet crashed on the highway it probably would be considered an enviromental disaster by the EPA, but smearing it all over our bodies is ok by the FDA? Go figure!? vgkg

  • weedlady
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi vgkg,

    Mmm, good thought about the deet. Lived in Africa for a year and the folklore had it that a dose or two of malaria was probably less harmful than rubbing deet all over every day. Have no evidence to back this, (but I can say that I was pretty miserable during my bout of malaria!)

  • vgkg Z-7 Va
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks to Alfie for clarifying the difference between catmint and catnip; saved me the trouble! Since I have to fence my catnip to allow it to survive the depredations of my own and the neighborhood cats, I have but one plant. However, since the cats care nothing for lemon catnip, and because it self-sows with the same gleeful abandon as the regular sort, and because I much prefer its aroma and taste in tea to the standard (which to me smells like skunk, although I confess I do not find that scent--at a reasonable distance!--terribly off-putting), I have masses of that around, duking it out in one wild corner with the lemon balm, equally enthusiastically self-sowing calendula, and several mullein plants that I encourage for their medicinal properties as well. ANYhow--my point is this: if plain ol' catnip is a good 'skeeter repellent, seems my lemon catnip would be even better, as it has that citronella-like scent, same as lemon balm. We, happily, have not too many mosquitoes this year, but I will sure give it a try tomorrow for the ravenous black flies that have plagued our area the last couple of summers. I have little hope, though, since the lemon balm did not faze them...CK

  • thunder_access995_com
    22 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ok, this is my final summary on this experiment. I closely examined my now defunct pumpkin root/stems to check for any SVB damage. The largest variety (Prizewinner) did not have any damage and the root/stems were in good condition. But it appeared that the other 2 varieties (Jack-0-lantern & Big Max) both did have some SVB damage but it was late in coming. There was also SVB damage in spots further down the vines where there was no catnip nearby.

    To repeat the main disadvantage, is that catnip does attract flea beetles which do a lot of leaf damage. I did notice very light Squash bug activity this year but cannot say for certain the reason. Normally the Squash Bugs are more numerous.

    Next year I may just use isolated catnip and cut off trimmings to use around the root/stems. It's more work but "picked" catnip doesn't seem to attract the flea beetles like the live plants they like to congregate upon.

    On production, I had 7 plants total which produced 16 pumpkins ranging in size from ~5 lbs to ~190 lbs. The Jack-o-lanterns produced the most at 10 pumpkins on 3 plants.
    vgkg

  • Heatherness
    21 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hey, Folks! When you plant your gardens with catnip, beware! Cabbage moths just love catnip plants. Maybe even more than cats do. As soon as they appear in Spring those "white butterflies" seek out our catnip plants and hover near all season long.

  • organicdan
    20 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    NEWS, Catnip oil repels mosquitoes 10 times better than DEET!
    It's ture go goole it up. Iowa State University study proves it! I use the stuff and IT WORKS!
    A new mosquito repellent made with 100% pure catnip oil is HERE!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Plants for Pest Control

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