Tip:
The trap crop is the most attractive to pests when it is flowering and producing fruit or seeds. Plant your trap crop at least 2-3 weeks before the crop you are protecting. For more about how to get the most out of your trap crop, see how to trap crop.
Trap Crops:
Attract the bad to save the Good!
Crop to Protect / Pest |
Trap Crop |
|
Cabbage Cabbageworm, Flea Hopper, Mustard Aphid
|
Chinese Cabbage Mustard Radish
|
|
Cabbage Diamondback Moth, Cabbageworm |
Collards
|
|
Cabbage & Squash Cabbage Caterpillar, Harlequin Bug
|
Red Giant Mustard
|
|
Cabbage Family Aphids (blackfly, greenfly, whitefly), Flea Beetle, Cucumber Beetle, Squash Vine Borer
|
Nasturtium Radish (for Flea Beetle)
|
|
Carrot Carrot Root Fly, Thrips
|
Onion and Garlic
|
|
Corn Corn Seedling Maggot
|
Rye
|
|
Corn Leafhopper, Leaf Beetles, Mustard Aphid, Spider Mites, White Fly
|
Beans & other Legumes |
|
Cucumber, Vegetables Cucumber Beetle
|
Amaranth
|
|
Garlic & Onion Thrips
|
Basil
|
|
Potato Colorado Potato Beetle
|
Tansy
|
|
Solanaceous Family (nightshade) Colorado Potato Beetle, Spider Mites, Whitefly
|
Eggplant |
|
Squash Cucumber Beetle, Squash Bug, Squash Vine Borer |
Blue Hubbard Squash
|
|
Squash, Cucumber Squash Bug |
Millet |
|
Tomato Tomato Hornworm
|
Dill, Lovage |
|
Tomato Colorado Potato Beetle
|
Potato |
|
Tomato Eastern Leaf-Footed Bug
|
Sunflower
|
|
Vegetables Stink Bug
|
Buckwheat Sunflower Cleome Millet
|
|
Vegetables Slugs
|
Chervil, Marigold |
|
Vegetables Mexican Bean Beetle, Stink Bug
|
Green Beans |
|
Vegetables Thrips, Nematodes, Slugs
|
Marigold |
|
Vegetables Aphids
|
Nettles |
|
Vegetables Stink Bug, Tomato Aphids
|
Okra |
|
Vegetables Heliothis Moth species, Leaf-footed Bugs, Stink Bugs
|
Sunflower |
|
Vegetables Japanese Beetle |
Zinnia Four O’Clock Marigold |
|
Vegetables, Tomatoes Stink Bug, Corn Earworms, Leaf-Footed Bugs
|
Sorghum |
|
Vegetables, Tomatoes Cucumber Beetle, Squash Vine Borer, Squash Bug
|
Squash |
|
Roses Japanese Beetle |
Four O’Clock Geranium
|
|
Strawberry Lygus bugs aka: Tarnish bugs
|
Mustard |
Sources:
Stephen Scott. “Trap Crops—Organic Pest Management for Gardeners” Terrior Seeds, 2021 https://underwoodgardens.com/trap-crops-organic-pest-management-for-gardeners/
Bob Westerfield & S. Kris Braman. “Trap Cropping for Small-Market Vegetable Growers” University of Georgia Extension, 27 December 2017 https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C1118&title=Trap%20Cropping%20for%20Small-Market%20Vegetable%20Growers
Park Seed. “Protect Your Favorite Plants with Trap Crops” Park Seed Company, 1 May 2017 https://blog.parkseed.com/2017/05/01/trap-crops/