Companion planting guide › Mint to repel garden pests

Mint to repel garden pests: does it work?

Q: Does mint to repel garden pests work?

Evidence rating: Folklore-unproven. No good field evidence that mint planted near crops repels pests. Mint oils and flowering aromatic strips are different from a living mint plant.

Sources (0)

All sources (works cited) →

Folklore-unproven Popular claim without supporting field evidence, or tested and not supported.

No good field evidence that mint planted near crops repels pests. Mint oils and flowering aromatic strips are different from a living mint plant.

Ben-Issa R., Gomez L., Gautier H. (2017). Companion Plants for Aphid Pest Management. Insects 8(4):112 (peer-reviewed review).

Mechanism

Claimed: aromatic oils repel insects.

What the research found

In apple orchards, aromatic plants including Mentha canadensis increased predator abundance during their flowering period, which is an insectary effect, not repellency (reviewed in Ben-Issa et al. 2017).

Caveats

Mint spreads aggressively by runners; grow in containers.

How to try it

Grow mint for harvest or for flowers that feed beneficials, not as a repellent.

Other Folklore-unproven pairings (4)

Evidence summary checked 2026-10-14. We cite only peer-reviewed studies, university extension and USDA/ARS sources; results may differ in your region. Not professional advice.