Ant Repellent Plants

• Keep ants off your plants with fragrant herbs.ants & aphis image by Marek Kosmal from Fotolia.com
  
  Ants are resilient household and garden pests and not easy to eliminate. Besides, since there are so many species of them, one control method that works for one group doesn't necessarily kill another. But a fact sheet on Cornell University's website says that certain garden pests avoid plants that have a strong scent. Ants are among these fragrance-loathing bugs. So if you can't exterminate them, at least keep them at bay.
  
  

Catnip

• European settlers brought catnip to North America as a home remedy for colds, fevers, headaches and other ailments. But it turns out that catnip, a type of perennial mint, is also an ant repellent. Stems of catnip, whose repelling power comes from nepetalactone--the essential oil the herb produces--are spread on the ground in the area you'd like to keep ant free.
  
  

Pennyroyal

• Another herb in the mint family, pennyroyal produces an essential oil toxic to humans. In fact, MedlinePlus, a website of the National Institutes of Health, says that deaths resulting from pennyroyal ingestion are reported. But as long as you leave the plant in the ground, it won't harm you. Instead, the same killer essential oil will release its fragrance, repelling the ants.
  
  

Sage

• Sage, a culinary, medicinal and aromatic herb, repels ants with its deep antiseptic fragrance, while its blue to purple summer blooms attract butterflies to your herb bed. Sage requires no pampering to thrive and is interplanted with other crops to protect them from ants.
  
  

Pyrethrum

• Pyrethrum is an aromatic plant of the daisy family and a native to warm climates. The insecticide made of the plant's dried flowers, also called pyrethrum, is the most widely used pest control method in the U.S., says Laura Pickett Pottorff writing for Colorado State University. Pyrethrum planted near the ants' pathway gives out a strong scent, repelling the small bugs.
  
  

Lavender

• Lavender and its sweet perfume, highly concentrated in the purple flowers but also present in the foliage, also repels ants. But the trick is finding a place where it will thrive. The majority of the lavender species need dry soil with low fertility and full sun. This plant also does poorly in heavy clay soils, favoring a light and airy medium. In humid, cool climates, the other ant-repelling herbs are a better bet.