5 Trap Cropping Mistakes to Avoid in Your Garden

You may be familiar with companion planting. It’s all about growing neighboring flowers and herbs that help enhance your crop growth. But there is another way to enhance vegetable growth by baiting bugs with other species. Trap plants are like “disposable” neighboring plants that lure pests away from your important vegetables and fruits. They are sort of sacrificial, because you need to destroy them to effectively reduce pest populations.

Unfortunately, this method can go terribly wrong if you make the mistake of forgetting about the trap crop. Instead of luring pests out of the garden, you may unintentionally create more habitat for them, perpetuating insect infestations for seasons to come.

At best, some mistakes can render this pest management strategy ineffective. At worst, trapping mishaps could create insect nightmares. Rest assured that you can lean on my six years of professional farming experience to help avoid these pitfalls. Let’s dig into the most common trap cropping mistakes you should avoid, and what to do instead.

What is Trap Cropping?

This method of integrated pest management strategically uses bait plants to lure pests away from desirable crops. The insects are distracted by the cheaper, disposable “traps” and less likely to attack your garden. 

Science proves that trap plants can be effective companions for managing agricultural pests. However, you absolutely must destroy the trap plant at the right time in order to kill the insects. Moreover, it’s vital to choose the right trap species for your target pest. 

5 Trap Cropping Mistakes to Avoid

This clever technique requires experimentation and careful observation to execute properly. Bugs may have small brains, but they have strength in numbers. If you’re up for the challenge, take care to avoid these mistakes. 

Failing to Remove the Bait

The number one biggest mistake you can make is forgetting about the bait plant! If you leave your trap in the garden, the pests can rapidly get out of control and hop over to your vegetable beds.

Let’s say you planted nasturtiums to draw cucumber beetles away from your cucumber crop. The beetles love nasturtium foliage and flowers, so they will rapidly dine and multiply on the sacrificial plant. 

However, once beetle populations explode, the nasturtiums can become a reservoir for more reproduction. It is absolutely essential that you destroy the nasturtium in order to knock down the populations at the perfect time. If you forget about the nasturtium, it essentially becomes a breeding ground for a bigger cucumber beetle infestation.

What To Do Instead

Observation is key to effectively executing this pest management strategy. You must check your crops and the neighboring bait plants regularly to ensure that pests are attacking the sacrificial species.

Moreover, you must be aware when the threshold is reached. If pests are ignoring your vegetables and eating over half of the trap plant, then it is probably time to remove the trap. Once the halfway park is passed, the pests may start leaping over to eat your veggies.

Depending on the pest, you can use a simple organic spray or manual removal to kill the bait plant. Aphids can be removed with a heavy blast of water, while cucumber beetles, thrips, or flea beetles may require an application of neem oil spray.

Tomato hornworms and potato beetles typically require manual removal, but cabbage worms and other caterpillar pests can also be treated with Bt (the bacterial pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis). 

Regardless of the pest-killing method, it is best to remove the infested distraction from the garden ASAP. Once it is infested, it’s job is done. Leaving it any longer can be a recipe for disaster.

Forgetting to Monitor

Don’t make the mistake of planting trap crops and forgetting about them. While perennial gardens and native species can typically fend for themselves, vegetable gardens require regular monitoring.

The frequency of monitoring increases as the weather warms and more pests awaken. During spring and summer, it is recommended to do a pest monitoring walk around your garden at least once per week, ideally more if you have had problems with infestations in the past. 

Insects are like weeds; you may see a few at first, but if you return in a few days, they can rapidly multiply their populations. It’s best to catch the infestations early so you don’t have to employ harsh methods like chemical sprays or entire crop removal. The bait plants are meant to be attacked by bugs, but we don’t want them to become breeding grounds for pests. 

What To Do Instead

Check your garden every other day during peak spring and summer pest activity. After harvesting your crops and tending your beds, head over to the area and inspect the plant. Notice how many pests are present and how much foliage they’ve destroyed. 

As a good rule of thumb, it’s time to kill the distraction plant when it has been halfway destroyed and moderately infested. You don’t want to wait until it’s heavily infested, as this can create more pest issues.

Monitoring also involves simply sitting in your garden to observe how the insects behave. This can be a meditative practice and arguably the most effective way to get in touch with your garden ecology.

Bring a comfortable chair or sitting pad and sit down to quietly observe the bugs. If you notice them hopping from your sacrificial plant over to your crop, you’ll know it’s time to take action.

Planting Too Far or Too Close

Sacrificial plantings need to be grown close enough to your garden beds to lure away pests, but not so close that the bugs easily hop between the trap and the desired plant.

It is a common mistake to grow trap crops too close to the main crop. Never grow a pest-luring species in the same bed as your vegetables. This makes it too easy for insects to hop between the hosts.

However, if you plant the bait species too far away, the insects won’t be able to smell the distraction. They may settle down and feed on your vegetables because they haven’t noticed anything else more desirable in the area.

What To Do Instead

Experts recommend planting distraction species around the perimeter of the desired vegetable you want to protect. Aim for at least 3-8 feet from the bed. Closer spacing is ideal for smaller plants like lettuce or carrots, while wider spacing is necessary for larger crops like squash or cucumbers. Experimentation is necessary for your specific garden. You need to watch the bugs carefully to know if the lure is too close or too far away.

Leaving Debris is a Big Mistake

Many of us are aware of the ways that diseases spread on garden debris. But did you know that many insects overwinter in dead plant material as well? Fallen leaves, dead stems, and rotten fruits are easy places for insects to lay their eggs or hide.

Aphids, leafhoppers, and many species of beetles overwinter on fallen leaves and debris on the ground. Many moths and caterpillars lay their eggs on withered foliage. Root maggots can also survive in the soil at the base of the lure or host plant debris.

What To Do Instead

As soon as your trapping strategy is complete, remove the entire lure plant and take the dead parts out of the garden. You do not want to compost this material! Instead, burn it or throw it in the trash. Take care to rake the soil around it and pick up fallen seed heads or fruits. 

Use this same cleanup strategy for your main crops, especially if you’ve had repeated issues with the same pests. Many insects can infest several members of the same family. For example, hornworms attack tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, and sometimes eggplant. 

All of these crops are members of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family and share other pests as well. Any debris from one family member could become a nursery for future generations of moths and their larvae. You can also use crop rotation to help prevent recurring issues in the same areas.

Choosing the Wrong Species

If your main crop is more desirable than your trap plant, pests will gravitate towards your precious vegetables instead of the distraction. Many gardeners think that bait planting doesn’t work because they accidentally chose the wrong species. 

It’s very important to choose a species with a proven track record of attracting your pests. If the sacrificial species doesn’t have a strong fragrance, lots of foliage, or other pest-attracting qualities, it won’t be able to draw attention away from your veggies.

It is also a mistake to plant expensive baits. After all, you are going to destroy them. There is no reason to waste money on fancy seeds for these sacrificial lures. Choose the cheapest possible seeds to ensure that your pest management plan doesn’t break the bank or detract from your actual gardening budget.

What To Do Instead

Take note of which garden species fall victim to the most pests. Radishes tend to attract loads of flea beetles, while nasturtiums often harbor cucumber beetles and aphids. ‘Blue Hubbard’ squash has a proven track record for attracting the most squash bugs, while mustards are a great distraction for cabbage moths.

You can use observation or basic research to choose the right species. As long as you have properly identified the bug, there are plenty of resources available (such as local extension offices and university research) to aid you in choosing the best distraction species for your region and your target pest.

Key Takeaways

Forgetting about your trap crop is the most detrimental mistake you can make with this pest-removal strategy. Be sure to monitor your garden several times per week and spray or destroy the trap plant once it is moderately infested or over 50% damaged. Be sure to plant your lure species 3-8 feet away from the vegetable or fruit you wish to protect.