Pest-Attracting Plants to Avoid

Flowers and shrubs add beauty and dimension to your yard but, unfortunately, some also attract pests. We’ve rounded up the top pest-attracting plants for you to steer clear of:

• Sunflowers: While sunflowers add a cheerful yellow hue to gardens, they also attract spiders. The plant’s height and shape make it particularly appealing to arachnids, as spiders are drawn to tall plants that support larger webs.
• Japanese barberry bushes: These invasive shrubs are popular because they tolerate a range of soil conditions, but many homeowners don’t know that they’re also a common hiding spot for ticks. Japanese barberry has denser foliage than most native species, and therefore the plants retain higher humidity levels – ideal for ticks, who die when humidity levels drop below 80 percent.
• Queen Anne’s lace: Due to the placement of its nectar, Queen Anne’s lace is especially attractive to pollinators with a short proboscis (elongated mouthpart). With the flower’s nectar located right at the base of its tiny blooms, pollinators such as honeybees and wasps can reach it easily.
• Water plants: Mosquitoes need standing water to breed and are drawn to as little as a thimbleful of stagnant water. Because of this, plants that grow in water or require a considerable amount of watering, such as taro, water lilies, and water lettuce, all have a higher chance of attracting them.
• Peonies: According to the University of Missouri, ants and peonies have a mutually beneficial relationship. Peonies produce a sugary sweet nectar that is especially attractive to ants, who feed on it while simultaneously fending off other insects also looking to feed off the flowers.

  

If you like these pest-attracting plants and still want to add them to your yard, we recommend putting them in places where people don’t go as often. Planting them on the perimeter of your property helps to divert pests away from where you entertain.

Pests are also attracted to plants that are weak and lacking in water or nutrition, so taking care of your plants and keeping them hydrated is also a form of home pest control.

If you have an insect problem and need a trustworthy pest control company, we can help. Request a quote or call 855-855-4873 and one of our pest control professionals will work with you to address your needs.