As you devote more time to your garden, you begin to realize this fact: not all bugs are enemies. Yes, that’s right. Some bugs are actually beneficial to your garden.
Creating a safe habitat for these good bugs is the best way for organic pest control, and keeping your plants healthy. Let’s learn more about them.
Why Do You Need Bugs in Your Garden?
Good bugs play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem in your home garden.
The good bugs represent food that birds and other forms of wildlife eat. These animals produce waste that enriches the soil with nutrients.
But this isn’t what I’m about to discuss today.
Beneficial bugs feed on the harmful pests that suck the sap of your plants, killing them slowly. They’re crucial for an organic garden where you grow food for your family.
How Do Pests Damage Your Plants?
Common garden pests like aphids, beetles, mites, and caterpillars are probably the culprit if you have reduced yield, damaged fruits, discolored leaves, or wilting foliage.
They can stunt your crops’ growth and eventually kill your plant if neglected.
The sap in your plants keeps the leaves healthy. It’s a nutrient-rich fluid that flows through your plant’s leaves and stems, carrying food to the cells and helping plants grow.
Pests suck on this sap, depriving your plants of essential nutrients; the damage doesn’t stop there.
Pests can also carry different pathogens that harm your plants. Your home-grown crops will be more prone to bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases that eventually kill your plants.
Which Beneficial Bugs Can Help Me Have a Healthy Garden?
Now that you know about the bugs to fight, the following beneficial bugs are the natural predators of the harmful pests that destroy your crops.
You should help them grow by enriching their habitat with food and not killing them. Here are some of my best bug friends:
1. Ladybird Beetle
Ladybugs or ladybird beetles play a crucial role in aphid control. One ladybug can consume up to 50 aphids a day – amazing, isn’t it?
In addition to sucking on the sap, aphids produce a sugary liquid called honeydew. This sugary liquid attracts ants to your garden and increases the chances of deadly fungal infections, another danger averted by ladybugs.
2. Praying Mantises
Praying mantises are ninja warriors that can consume different kinds of pests.
Whether you’re dealing with a beetle, fly, cricket, or caterpillar infestation, these guys will be amazing natural predators.
3. Lacewings
Lacewings work with other natural predators to keep pest populations in check by feeding on larvae.
They’re called aphid lions for a reason, as even the larvae of lacewings can help you eliminate aphids without needing a chemical pesticide that you don’t want to add to your home-grown food.
4. Hoverflies
Hoverflies don’t only take care of the annoying aphids but they also help with pollination. It’s a win-win situation!
How Can I Make My Garden a Safe Haven for Good Bugs?
Want to attract good bugs to your garden? Here are my best tips:
- Plant various flowers that provide good bugs with nectar. Pick native plants to attract local bugs.
- Place shallow water dishes to hydrate different natural predators.
- Avoid pesticides that don’t differentiate between killing good and bad bugs.
Final Thoughts
Organic pest control is the way to go when growing your food in the garden.
You don’t need to use tons of chemicals when you have these beneficial bugs around. They’ll take care of the annoying pests and keep your crops healthy.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.