From Squirrels to Bugs, 15 Natural Repellents for Every Pest Plaguing Canadian Gardens

“Pests” like squirrels, rabbits and even raccoons can be cute, but they’re far from adorable when they’re destroying the hard work you’ve put into your garden. It’s natural to want to keep pests like animals and bugs out of your garden, but what can you do if you don’t want to use harsh chemicals or deterrents into your backyard? Luckily for us green-thumbed Canadians, there are plenty of environmentally-friendly ways to shoo away pests – to help get you started, here are 15 natural repellent ideas for the most common pests plaguing our gardens.

Brian McCourt is a contractor, design expert and co-host of HGTV Canada’s Backyard Builds.

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Squirrels: Spice Things Up

Are you sick of squirrels stealing your harvest, digging up bulbs or just making a mess of your garden? Squirrels love to forage (especially in the fall, when they’re stocking up for winter) – and your garden looks a bit like an all-you-can-eat buffet to the bushy-tailed creatures. What squirrels don’t love, however, is spice. A sprinkle of cayenne pepper (or pepper flakes) on and around your plants will keep squirrels (naturally) away.

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Rabbits: Mountains of Marigold

Are rabbits using your vegetable garden as a salad bar? Marigold flowers look pretty, but they smell terrible to certain insects and animals, like rabbits. Planting marigolds in your vegetable garden may help deter rabbits – and they also look great and add bright colour to your garden.

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Rabbits: Smart Statues

For a natural (and fun) way to keep rabbits out of your garden, you can also try this playful trick: because rabbits are scared of owls and hawks, a statue that looks like these predators makes your garden a no-go zone. Just be sure to move the statue around regularly to keep up the ruse!

Vegetable garden framed by fence with bamboo poles as deer deterrent

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Deer: Fencing Lessons

One of the easiest ways to deter deer from your garden is to physically block them out by installing a fence around your garden or plants – but keep in mind that deer are champion jumpers, so a small fence won’t be very effective. When it comes to deer fencing, there are a few ways to go, but a tall fence (at least six feet), double-layer fence or stockdale fence are good options to consider.

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Mosquitos: Turn on the Fan

A gentle breeze does more than just keep you cool on a hot day: mosquitoes don’t bite when it’s windy, so turning on a fan outside makes a great natural repellent.

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Mosquitos: Lavender Dreams

If you’ve spent a lot of time and effort building a beautiful backyard, there’s nothing more annoying than having little winged pests flying around and ruining the relaxing atmosphere. If mosquitoes are an issue in your garden, you might want to turn to the power of scent to help. Plants like lavender and basil have strong scents that mosquitoes don’t like, so incorporating them into your garden can help give mosquitoes the boot.

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Mosquitos: Drainage Issues

Another way to push mosquitos out of your garden is to be mindful of areas that attract them – like standing water. Dealing with drainage issues in your yard is good for your lawn’s health and can help prevent bugs from swarming. Don’t forget about keeping standing water out of things like planters or kids’ outdoor toys in the yard too.

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Raccoons: Night Lights

Raccoons love to snack on garden-fresh food – but having these cute-but-aggressive creatures in your yard can put your home at risk in a number of ways. Many people don’t know that once raccoons make a nest and have babies, there are bylaws in place to protect them – and you’re stuck with your new housemates until the babies are grown. Your best bet is to keep raccoons away from your home by securing your trash and not leaving pet food outside, but you can also naturally keep raccoons out of the garden by adding light to your space. Because raccoons are nocturnal, they don’t like (and avoid) light, so outdoor lighting can help discourage foraging.

spinach in raised vegetable bed with bird netting secured over the top

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Birds: A Wide Net

If birds are pecking at your vegetable plants, they can become real pests. Adding netting around your garden is a natural way to help – try using butterfly netting to keep birds out, but beneficial bugs in.

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Aphids: Suds Up

Aphids are super common (they look like little white specs on your plants) – and super bad for your garden – because they feed on the nutrient-rich liquids in plants. To control these small sap-sucking bugs in your garden, try spraying plants with dish soap and water: you can learn how to make the mixture at home here.

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Aphids: Lemon Aid

If you don’t want to go the soap route to keep aphids away, try giving them a spritz of citrus. Spraying a mixture of real lemon juice and water on plant leaves can help get rid of the pests, too.

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Dogs: Prickly Plants

Whether it’s a family pet or neighbourhood pooch in the yard, digging dogs can be doggone annoying. To discourage dogs from playing in (read: destroying) your garden, try creating a physical deterrent by using prickly plants as garden edging.

person using leftover egg shells to fertilise potted potato plants

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Slugs and Snails: Egg Shells

While they may seem harmless, slugs and snails love to eat leaves – which means they can be serious pests in your garden. One natural way to help deter these slimy creatures is to place crushed egg shells around your plants. The bonus? Egg shells are calcium rich and good for garden soil.

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Ants: Minty Fresh

Peppermint can be a good, natural way to keep ants away from your plants. Many essential oils have pest-repelling properties and a few drops of peppermint oil in water makes an effective spray to repel ants. Try spritzing a mixture of three drops of peppermint essential oil in a gallon of water around the outside of planters or garden boxes.

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Beetles: A Sprinkle of (Epsom) Salt

Magnesium sulphate – commonly known as Epsom salt – is a natural repellent for beetles in the garden. There are multiple ways to use Epsom salt as a pest deterrent: two common methods are to mix Epsom salt and water to make a spray or sprinkle the dry salts around plants’ bases.