Which mulch repels insects

Even after a light rain, the wet mulch will appeal to mosquitoes. Since mulch conserves moisture, it's an appealing nesting area for insects, particularly spiders. Around a home, ornamental mulch is typically a good thing. Spiders like wood dust. It also attracts other insects that spiders eat. Again, moisture plays a factor here, too. Spiders are no different. Mulch also provides good shelter, warmth, and hiding places. When choosing mulch for your landscaping needs, there are many different choices.

While all mulches have advantages and disadvantages, some types will benefit your plants by deterring unwanted pests. Organic mulch is great for your yard, but it can attract insects. Of course, some of these insects are welcome, like spiders, which keep populations of plant-destroying, harmful insects at bay. Some organic mulches, like compost, can attract insects like earwigs, saw bugs or pill bugs.

This is an inorganic product made from polyethylene that comes in aluminum-coated, black or clear sheets. The aluminum-coated and clear plastics work best at controlling bugs because they reflect the sunlight. While creating a reflection, plastic mulch blinds and confuses insects, which causes them to stay away from ornamental plants and gardens. Use plastic mulch to keep whiteflies, aphids and leafhoppers under control.

Chip or bark mulch is made from cypress or cedar trees and is very helpful for repelling bugs. Both cypress and cedar contain natural chemicals and oils like thujone that deter insects. Cedar chips repel, inhibit, or kill insects like:.

Spread cypress or cedar mulch around your landscape plants or garden to keep insects away. This wood is also resistant to decay, which allows it to last longer than other mulches. Straw mulch is effective in the garden for decreasing insect population and keeping insects like cucumber beetles away from your squash and cucumber plants. It also deters insects from laying eggs and multiplying around and in your garden.

Also, straw mulch protects your plants from fungus and other conditions that cause plant rot. If the mulch was not harvested using parts of the plant containing these oils, it will not repel the specifically listed insects.

Before the s and '60's, when cypress was first harvested for mulch, many of the trees cut down were from old growth forests. The mulch produced from these trees contained a large mass of heartwood, the main contributor to the supposed insecticidal properties.

Hundreds of years will pass before a cypress tree accumulates a large mass of heartwood. Cypress trees harvested today are younger and contain substantially less heartwood. Many studies have been conducted on the insect-repelling effects of using plastic mulches. One study conducted by the University of Tennessee studied the differences in repelling effects between black plastic mulch and silver reflective mulch in tomatoes. The results were a significant reduction in insects such as aphids, thrips and stinkbugs on the reflective silver plastic compared with the traditional black plastic mulch.

Some colors of mulch, such as yellow and red, can actually attract beneficial insects such as pollinators. Termites can eat cypress sapwood without any ill effects. But termites will have less reproductive success when they feed off cypress hardwood. Another cypress mulch problem is that cypress groves are being clear cut faster than they can be replaced. There are several insect-repellant mulches that you can use to enhance the look of your landscape. Cedar mulch is one of the most popular mulch options.

Cedar mulch is very effective at repelling and killing bugs since it contains the chemical thujone. Cypress mulch and cedar mulch are both touted as being insect-repellant, but cedar mulch is more effective at repelling and killing insects.

They are both aromatic types of wood that have chemicals that repel insects and even inhibit mold. Cypress wood will slow down the spread and life cycle of certain bugs, but the thujone oil in cedar will deter and kill more insect species. However, cedar is such a potent insect-repellant it will keep beneficial insects like ladybugs away from your garden as well.