5 Easy-to-Grow Herbs That Naturally Repel Fruit Flies
Fruit flies can become a particularly frustrating problem in late summer, when warm temperatures and plenty of ripe fruit create ideal conditions for them to multiply. While the best way to get rid of fruit flies is to remove what’s attracting them in the first place, growing certain aromatic herbs indoors can provide an extra layer of protection.
If your kitchen is currently attracting fruit flies, start by clearing away overripe fruit, wiping down surfaces, and emptying the trash regularly. Then consider adding one or more of these five herbs to your kitchen windowsill. Their strong scents are thought to help deter fruit flies, while giving you a fresh supply of herbs for cooking.
Even better, these are useful herbs to grow indoors year-round, so you can keep them close at hand without needing a dedicated herb garden. If countertop space is limited, a sunny kitchen window box or compact self-watering herb planter, just like this one from Walmart, can work just as well.
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1. Basil
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Rebecca Sears, a gardening expert from Ferry-Morse, says, ‘One of my must-have herb recommendations is basil as it’s easy to grow and provides fresh sweet and spicy leaves for your favorite meals throughout the season. Its strong aroma can not only help your kitchen smell great, but it can also help repel fruit flies.’
She recommends placing the plant near your fruit to help keep pesky bugs away. Somewhere with plenty of light is best.
‘Soil should be kept consistently moist but not waterlogged. Maintain a pH of 6.0 to 7.5, which can easily be determined by using a soil test kit,’ Rebecca says. Soil tests are available from Walmart.
Regular pruning encourages growth and releases more of the plants’ natural oils into the air, enhancing their ability to keep fruit flies away.
As CMO and resident green thumb for the Green Garden family of brands, Rebecca Sears nurtures the company’s heritage but also looks to develop new products and solutions to help gardeners of all skill levels fuel their passion and become more successful in the garden. Rebecca has been gardening from coast to coast, first realizing her passion while living in Portland, Oregon, inspired by the public gardens throughout the city. When she relocated to the northeast, she built upon her knowledge and craft, and now her backyard garden grows larger each year.
2. Rosemary
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A sprinkling of rosemary is excellent for elevating your roast potatoes or homemade bread, and its strong scent is said to help keep fruit flies away.
Grow rosemary indoors in pots with good drainage, or in a sunny planter near your door or window – its early springtime blue flowers will attract butterflies. Rosemary is a Mediterranean herb that prefers free-draining conditions and can suffer if its roots are left sitting in wet compost, so resist the temptation to overwater it.
You could also hang up handfuls of fresh sprigs to intensify the pest-repelling effect and bring a rustic farmhouse look to your kitchen.
You can find Southern Living® Chef’s Choice® Rosemary Plant at Trees.com (formerly Fast Growing Trees), which has a higher oil content than other rosemary varieties.
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3. Lavender
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Rebecca says the essential oils in lavender’s leaves and flowers contain linalool and linalyl acetate compounds that provide its scent. ‘While this distinctive scent is pleasant to many, it’s too strong for fruit flies and acts as a natural repellent.’
Lavender needs a lot of light, so place it in a sunny spot. It’s ideal for a bright kitchen window. Water sparingly, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings.
We love the compact ‘Hidcote’ lavender, available from Nature Hills, which would look gorgeous in a sunny window box. Be sure to read up on how to prune lavender to keep it healthy for longer. The ‘Sensational’ lavender at Trees.com (formerly Fast Growing Trees) is also ideal for containers.
4. Sage
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Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a great herb for adding depth to savory dishes – particularly stuffing, roast meats, butter sauces and fall recipes. It is also useful to have on hand for Christmas cooking, so harvesting the herbs for Christmas cooking can help you make the most of your plant later in the year.
Its distinctive, aromatic foliage is also said to help repel fruit flies, making it another useful herb to have around the kitchen in late summer.
Sage is naturally well suited to sunny, dry conditions, so it is a relatively easy herb to grow provided you don’t keep its roots too wet. Keep it somewhere with plenty of sunshine, whether that’s a bright kitchen windowsill or a sunny spot outdoors, and grow it in free-draining compost.
Sage is drought-tolerant once established, so it is better to let the compost dry out slightly between waterings than to keep it constantly damp.
It’s also a particularly attractive herb to grow in a pot, thanks to its soft grey-green foliage and pretty blue-purple flowers in summer. These flowers are popular with bees and other pollinating insects, giving sage an added wildlife benefit beyond its culinary uses.
Sage seeds are available to buy from Burpee.
5. Peppermint
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The scent of peppermint is highly disliked by fruit flies, says Rebecca. What’s more, she highlights how growing peppermint indoors and outdoors is easy, making it a great herb for beginner gardeners or home chefs who love to cook with fresh ingredients. It’s also a lovely option if you’re interested in growing your own herbal tea.
‘Peppermint spreads horizontally, so choose a wide pot with good drainage to provide your plant with ample space,’ Rebecca says. ‘This plant also prefers a moderately humid environment and moist, but not soggy, soil.’
You can find organic peppermint seeds at True Leaf Market.
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Looking for more planting solutions to tackle unwanted bugs? These flowers to plant in a vegetable garden to deter pests are worth checking out – plus, they’ll up the aesthetics of your homegrown patch.
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