Description
Essential Oils for the Home & Garden
If you are trying to limit your exposure to toxic and synthetic chemicals in your garden and home essential oils can be valuable tools. They are well-known for their wellness virtues for humans, and can also be precious allies to protect your plants naturally and ecologically.
These oils have been used for thousands of years for their medicinal and cosmetic benefits, and their power lies in the hundreds of chemical constituents they contain. Whether you are trying to chase away garden pests from your vegetable or flower garden, protect your plants against diseases, or simply to improve their overall health, we can use these natural defences to our advantage in both our home and garden, using products you can store in your medicine chest. How cool is that!
Vetiver Essential Oil
Vetiver Essential Oil (Vetiveria zizanioides) is a deeply grounding and earthy essential oil steam-distilled from sustainably harvested vetiver roots, a tropical grass native to India. Long valued in perfumery and natural wellness practices, this oil is especially prized for its calming effects on the mind and body.
In the Garden
Vetiveria essential oil is used as a natural botanical pesticide. Its active component nootkatone shows strong toxicity, feeding deterrence, and repellency against destructive insects like Flies, Termites, Ants, Ticks, Cockroaches, Mosquitoes, Weevils, Beetles, and specific Crop Larvae. Its deep, earthy scent and active compounds like nootkatone and vetiverol make it highly capable of deterring an even wider range of bugs.
Its pest-control properties come from active chemical compounds like nootkatone, α-cedrene, and khusimol. Nootkatone is a key sesquiterpene known for strong insecticidal and repellent action. Khusimol is a major alcohol component contributing to bioactivity. α-Cedrene and Zizanol are compounds that disrupt pest behaviors.
Vetiver essential oil is generally considered safe and non-toxic for most beneficial agricultural insects acting primarily as a targeted repellent rather than a broad-spectrum killer. Research indicates that vetiver does not harm and often supports beneficial populations like parasitoid wasps that control whiteflies and other soft-bodied bugs on nearby crops.
Formosan Subterranean Termites (Coptotermes formosanus)
Studies show vetiver essential oil repels and is toxic to subterranean termites. Formosan termites were introduced in South Africa during the 20th century via international shipping and cargo transport, and have established themselves here. This termite is recognized globally as an invasive species and one of the world’s worst wood-destroying pests. While native subterranean and harvester species are far more widespread locally, Coptotermes species remain a recognized component of regional pest management data.
How to Use It
Diffusers: Diffusing vetiver essential oil can help keep mosquitoes from flying around your indoor and outdoor living spaces.
Topical Application: When applying to the skin, always dilute vetiver essential oil in a carrier oil like jojoba, almond, or coconut oil.
Sprays: Mix a few drops of the essential oil with water in a spray bottle to spritz around outdoor furniture and home entryways.
Garden Spray
Thoroughly coat the top and underside of all leaves where pests hide. Reapply the spray every 2 to 3 days to prevent diseases and repel pest. Reapply until the problem completely clears.
Mix 10-20 drops of the essential oil in 1 Litre of water with an emulsifier. Shake well, and regularly while spraying down the foliage of plants or surfaces.
In the Home
Vetiver Essential Oil is a deeply grounding and earthy essential oil steam-distilled from sustainably harvested vetiver roots, a tropical grass native to India. Long valued in perfumery and natural wellness practices, this oil is especially prized for its calming effects on the mind and body.
With its rich, smoky, and slightly sweet aroma, Vetiver oil is thick in consistency and dark amber to brown in colour. Its base note perfume adds depth and longevity to blends and has long been valued in perfumery. In natural wellness practices, this oil is especially prized for its calming effects on the mind and body. Vetiver supports emotional balance, soothes the skin, and promotes restful sleep, making it an excellent addition to grounding blends and night time rituals.
Therapeutic Properties:
Vetiver essential oil is valued for its wide range of wellness benefits, including:
- Grounding: Helps calm racing thoughts and bring emotional balance
- Relaxing: Alleviates stress, nervous tension, and anxiety
- Sleep Support: Encourages deep, restorative sleep
- Skin Nourishing: Soothes dry, irritated, or inflamed skin
- Antioxidant: Helps neutralize free radicals and protect skin from oxidative damage
- Add a few drops to a diffuser to create a peaceful, meditative atmosphere.
- Dilute with carrier oil for use in massages or skincare applications.
- Combine with Epsom salts and other relaxing oils for a deeply calming bath soak.
How to Use Essential Oils for Pest Control
When it comes to organic gardening, prevention is better than cure, and spraying crops regularly with essential oils to prevent insect infestation and disease is the most effective method. This will not only chase pests away, but also make your garden smell great!
Always use pure essential oils, and because they are so potent, always dilute them first.
How to dilute essential oils
One of the drawbacks of using essential oils in the garden is that the levels of terpenes and other constituents can vary greatly depending on the region where the plants are grown, genetics, climate and other seasonal factors. Therefore, maintaining consistency in the chemical profile of the oils is hard.
For example, Rosemary oil extracted from plants growing in two different regions of Italy will contain varying levels of α-pinene, ranging from 11% to 36%. Another study showed that essential oils extracted from different chemotypes of garden thyme did not have the same toxicity against the bean weevil.
This is the reason why, if you look for exact recipes for the oil you wish to use in the garden, you will find many different quantities of oil versus water used.
Another factor to take into account is the actual number of drops in a milliliter can vary greatly depending on the thickness of the liquid: Thicker liquids like essential oils produce larger drops, meaning it takes fewer drops to make 1mL. Different dropper bottles or droppers also have varying nozzle sizes, which changes the volume of a single drop.
In standard pharmaceutical measurements, 1 mL is equal to approximately 20 drops (meaning 1 drop is about 0.05 mL). Therefore, 10 drops are typically equal to about 0.5 mL.
This is why physicians do not rely on counting drops, as this can lead to incorrect dosing. Instead they use an oral syringe, a graduated measuring cup, or the specific dropper provided with the medicine.
CAUTION:
Because the actual number of drops in a millilitre can vary greatly depending on the thickness of the liquid and varying nozzle sizes, which changes the volume of a single drop, I recommend starting with the lowest recommended dosage. You can always increase it later.
Preventative Spraying
A general guideline when mixing sprays to deter insects, and for anti-fungus protection is to mix 4–8 drops of Essential Oil in 1 Litre of water with an emulsifier.
Garden Sprays
At certain times of the year various pests and diseases will be more prevalent, so for stronger protection dosages can be increased.
Generally you will find recommended dosages are between 10-20 drops per Litre of water.
Always Test Sprays First
Unless you apply very high doses of essential oils, they are perfectly safe to use in the garden. However, because the strengths of essential oils vary, to ensure they do not cause leaf burn, it’s important to always test your spray on a small, isolated area of the plant first. Wait at least 24 hours to check for damage before applying it everywhere.
A good method of remembering which leaves you tested your spray on is to tie string or ribbon onto the stems that have been sprayed.
Take Notes
Taking note of which plants were tested and the dosages used, will soon give you a good indication of the strengths your plants need for protection.
Mixing your spray
The Emulsifier:
Soap is essential as an emulsifier as essential oils do not mix with water and will float to the top, potentially burning your plants. A gentle liquid dish soap, pure liquid Castile or Black soap can be used.
Approximately one teaspoon of liquid soap emulsifier is used in one litre of water. Witch hazel, Vodka, or apple cider vinegar also emulsifies oil and water.
The Method:
In a small glass container, mix your essential oils with your emulsifier, then add some of the water and stir well. Warming the water helps with emulsification. Add the oil mix to the spray bottle with the rest of the warm water. Agitate well and also regularly whilst spraying.
Applying your Oils
Spraying in the middle of a hot, sunny day can cause leaf burn, so always apply the mixture in the cool of early morning or late afternoon. Remember to agitate the spray bottle well before use, and regularly while spraying. Ensure that you spray underneath the leaves where insects commonly hide.
During the cooler times of the day beneficial daytime pollinators are not that active. Never spray plants if you can see beneficial pollinators like bees around the plants. Even organic sprays can be abused in the garden, so as they say “everything in moderation”.
NOTE: The strength of the oils will evaporate, so reapply to plants after rain, every 2 weeks, or as needed.
Cotton Ball Method
To target specific insects in large numbers, like ant hills or rodent burrows, take some cotton balls and add a few drops of essential oils to them. Place the cotton ball right onto the ant hill, burrow or other insect grouping. This will cause them to relocate immediately. If that doesn’t work immediately you should repeat the process using a stronger solution.
You can also rub the oils onto any hard surfaces to create a long-lasting barrier.
Hanging Strips to Deter Pests
Add essential oils to a bowl of warm water and soak strips of pretty material or ribbon in the water before hanging onto the branches of fruit trees, or near edible gardens and ornamental shrubs.
Is there a waiting period before harvesting?
You should not eat vegetables and fruits immediately after spraying them with essential oils. These oils are highly concentrated and consuming them without a waiting period or proper cleaning can cause digestive upset, inflammation, or irritation of the mouth and oesophagus.
Essential oils degrade in sunlight and waiting 24 hours should be sufficient. Ensure that you always wash your food well and all will be fine.
Storing Essential Oil Mixes
Try to mix up only sufficient spray to use in a day, or within 24 hours of mixing. Once exposed to water and oxygen, oil-based garden sprays begin to separate, degrade, and lose their effectiveness.
If you do have any left-over, store it in a glass bottle in a cool, dark place, not in your plastic spray bottle, as essential oils break down quicker in plastic. Agitate well before using again.
