How to Use Nasturtiums as Trap Plants for Pest Control
Most gardeners spend years battling aphids, beetles, and other destructive pests with sprays and treatments that offer temporary relief. Thankfully, there's a smarter approach that works with nature instead of against it. Gardening expert Madison Moulton explains how to use nasturtiums as trap plants for pest control.
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The idea of deliberately attracting pests sounds counterintuitive. Most garden advice focuses on keeping bugs away from your plants entirely. But some pests are going to show up regardless of your prevention efforts. The question is, where do you want them to feed?
That’s where trap crops come in. These are designed to draw pests where you want them, keeping them away from your more prized plants.
Nasturtiums are amazing pest magnets. Once you understand how to use this to your advantage, you’ll wonder why anyone tries to fight pests the hard way. Follow along for a complete guide on how to use your nasturtiums as trap plants.
What Are Trap Plants?
Trap plants are crops that you deliberately grow to lure pests away from the plants you actually want to harvest. They are attractive targets that distract insects from your important vegetables and flowers.
Most pests have strong preferences for certain plants. This predictable behavior means you can essentially bait insects into going where you want them. If they encounter these plants first, they probably won’t make it all the way to the plants you’re trying to protect.
Good trap plants need to be attractive to target pests, preferably more than your main crops. They should be tough enough to survive significant bug damage without dying immediately. And they need to be plants you don’t mind losing, since the whole point is sacrificing them for the greater good.
Location matters enormously with trap plants. Position them upwind or around the edges of your garden to intercept pests before they reach valuable crops. Plant them early enough so they’re established and attractive when pest populations start building in your area.
Trap Plant Benefits
Using trap plants changes your relationship with garden pests entirely. Instead of trying to control pests, you can essentially decide where pest activity happens in your garden.
Monitoring becomes infinitely easier when you know exactly where to look for problems. Rather than checking every plant in your garden for early signs of pest damage, you can focus your attention on designated trap areas where issues will show up first.
You’ll use far fewer pesticides with nasturtium trap plants. When pests concentrate on trap plants, you can treat just those areas if needed or pull the plants completely, leaving beneficial insects undisturbed throughout the rest of your garden. This targeted approach protects the good bugs while dealing with the bad ones.
Trap plants often attract beneficial insects right along with the pests. Predatory insects follow their prey, so your nasturtium patch becomes a feeding station for the natural enemies that provide ongoing pest control.
Why Are Nasturtiums Good Trap Plants?
Nasturtiums produce chemical compounds that many insects find absolutely irresistible, often causing them to bypass nearby vegetables entirely. One major garden enemy they help with is aphids.
Aphids love nasturtiums almost as much as we do. Plant nasturtiums as trap plants near your roses and you’ll probably see aphids migrate to the nasturtiums first. Cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and flea beetles also show strong preferences for nasturtiums over many vegetable crops. The peppery compounds in nasturtium foliage trigger feeding responses in these pests, making the plants more attractive.
Nasturtiums keep producing new growth even when heavily damaged by pests. This resilience means they continue functioning as trap plants throughout the entire growing season, unlike some crops that shut down after moderate pest pressure.
Both flowers and foliage attract different types of beneficial insects. While the leaves draw in pests, the flowers bring in hover flies, parasitic wasps, and other predators that help control pest populations naturally.
How to Use Nasturtiums as Trap Plants
Using nasturtium trap plants requires good timing, placement, and knowing when to take action. Get these elements right, and you’ll see dramatic reductions in pest pressure on your main crops.
Timing and Establishment
Start nasturtiums a few weeks before planting your main crops. This head start ensures your nasturtium trap plants are established and attractive when pest populations begin building in spring. Seeds germinate quickly in warm soil, so you don’t need a long lead time.
Keep succession planting nasturtiums every month throughout the growing season. As older plants become too damaged or less attractive to pests, fresh young plants take over the trap function.
Direct seed nasturtiums where you want them rather than starting transplants. They establish fast from seed, and you have much more variety to choose from.
Strategic Placement
Position nasturtiums upwind from protected crops whenever possible. Many flying insects follow scent trails to locate host plants, so trap plants positioned where prevailing winds carry their scent will intercept more pests.
Create border plantings around vulnerable vegetable patches. A ring of nasturtiums around your cucumber or squash beds catches pests before they reach the center where your food crops are growing.
Use container-grown nasturtiums for maximum flexibility. Pots can be moved as pest location shifts or as different crops become vulnerable throughout the season. This mobility lets you adapt your nasturtium trap plant strategy as conditions change.
Plant climbing varieties near trellised crops to create vertical barriers. Train nasturtium vines up stakes positioned between your main crops and areas where pests typically arrive from.
Monitoring and Management
Check trap plants daily during peak pest seasons. Early detection allows you to intervene while pest populations are still manageable and before they spread to valuable crops.
Learn to recognize when pest loads become excessive on trap plants. A few aphids or cucumber beetles are fine, but when nasturtiums become covered with pests, it’s time to take action before populations explode.
Remove heavily infested nasturtium plants when pest numbers get out of control. Bag them up and dispose of them away from your garden to prevent pests from dispersing to other plants.
Integration With Other Strategies
Combine nasturtiums with other companion plants for broader pest control. Marigolds, basil, and other pest-deterrent plants work alongside nasturtium trap crops to create comprehensive protection systems.
Use nasturtiums to protect specific high-value crops that are particularly susceptible to pest damage. Position trap plants around roses, tomatoes, or other plants where pest damage is common and costly.
And don’t forget that nasturtiums serve multiple functions beyond pest control. The edible flowers and leaves are great in salads too. As long as they aren’t too damaged by pests, you can still enjoy them in the kitchen.
No single strategy solves all pest problems, but nasturtium trap plants can dramatically reduce pressure on your most important plants while you implement other control measures.
