The Beneficial Insect

Need a gardening partner?

Beneficial Insects are the go to guys & gals

Beneficial insects are our  vegetable garden sidekicks.

We vegetables see a ka-zillion insects pass through our raised garden bed every day.

Good bugs ?  Bad Bugs ?

Most are helpful and not garden pests.

Who is this valuable Insect ?  What does she do ?

Pollinators  ...

           ... Bees and Butterflies ...

           ... ants .. beetles .. wasps .. moths .. flies too.

Hunters and Predators ...

           ... Ladybugs / Lady Beetles .. eat aphids by the thousand
 
           ... Hoverflies .. weird like wasps that like to eat aphids

           ... Lacewings .. feed on caterpillars, aphids, and beetles

           ... Ground Beetles .. targets most garden bad bugs

           ... Predatory Wasps .. a search and destroy expert .. mostly for caterpillars

           ... Spiders .. hunt and eat leafhoppers, aphids,and caterpillars

Parasitic Insects ...

                  ... Parasitic Wasps .. caterpillars

                  ... Tachinid Flies .. caterpillars ..  the only natural pest control for Earwigs

Soil Builders ...

                  ... young ground beetles, ants, and wasps  move soil when tunneling

                                      They aerate the garden soil and move nutrients to the surface.

Scavengers ...

                  ... Earwigs and Ants .. fence sitters between good bugs vs bad bugs

Any employer needing help knows the work place needs to be attractive.

How to Attract the these workers?

An attractive vegetable garden design is the best bet ....

.... in a raised garden bed .. container vegetable garden .. or a garden plot.

Beneficial Plants in the backyard garden are an attraction !

Plant the right flowers, vegetable and herbs and they will come.

.... Build a home in the vegetable gardens for these good bugs.

.... The good bugs need to eat too  ..

     .. so putting up with some bad bugs might be in the plan ..

     .. some plant damage may have to be tolerated by the gardener

.... Pesticides may eliminate the good insect ...

... as well as the target, her food .. be careful !

Attract them when herb gardening and companion gardening ....

.... Cheaper than buying good bugs.

In our raised bed gardens, containers and herb garden ...

... numerous good insect attracting plants can be found.

.. Our gardener's wife has used marigolds as a border plant for years ..

        They will border some of the raised garden beds this year.

.. Cosmos has attracted butterflies, bees and humming birds too

..  Alysum will be planted near last years aphid problem.

.. Yarrow with it's aphid repelling scent ... colourful blooms lure

     butterflies,  ladybugs, hoverflies and bug eating wasps.

       Yarrow stalks and leaves act as compost accelerator

           in thecompost pile.

In the herb gardens, and companion planted potted herbs are a multitude of growing herbs

that attract the benificial insect ...

... dill .. basil .. sage .. parsley .. garlic .. lavender .. mint .. and more.

Our vegetable gardener's partner in natural insect pest control .. the Beneficial Insect.

Attracting them is a no brainer ..

... Lure them in ...  they will then go to work.

Our gardener thinks there might be other ways to attract these insects ...

... apparently a ladybug house is in the works !

We vegetables will report on this when it happens !

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More articles about Backyard Gardening and Insects that may interest you.

Ladybugs

Companion Gardening

Garden Pests