Here’s the thing about pest control professionals: they are not just good at extinguishing pests from your home, they are also efficient in eliminating pesky insects from your garden and, basically, all around your property.
Aside from your house, your garden is also likely to attract insects, including termites. More often than not, you’ll probably spot a few bugs crawling around your lovely flower plants or the sturdy trees that stand proudly in your garden. Learn which of these insects are beneficial for your garden, as well as the numerous ways to avoid attracting pests!
Not ALL Insects are Bad for Your Garden
Contrary to what most people think, not all insects are bad for your garden. Some of them are actually helpful, especially when you are trying to eliminate different types of garden pests. Here are some of the insects that will actually help you combat those pesky garden pests:
- Brachonids, Chalcids, and Ichneumon Wasps – These small insects are helpful in eliminating leaf-eating caterpillars, which will eat away the leaves and flowers of your plants. You can attract such insects into your garden by planting crops like carrot and celery; these plants are easy to grow and they attract brachonids, chalcids, and ichneumon wasps easily.
- Ladybugs – Ladybugs and their larvae are known to consume different pests such as aphids, mites, whiteflies, and other soft-bodied insects. Attract this helpful insect by planting members of the daisy family, tansy, or yarrow in your garden.
- Lacewings – Lacewings and their larvae often feed on bad bugs including aphids, caterpillars, leafhoppers, whiteflies, and insect eggs. Composite flowers – such as black-eyed susan’s, goldenrod, and yarrow – are some of the plants you need to grow in your garden in order to attract lacewings.
- Hoverflies – Like ladybugs and lacewings, hoverflies also consume aphids and other garden pests. You also need to plant composite flowers in your garden to attract this type of insect.
- Praying Mantis – Like most insects in this list, you can also use the presence of praying mantises in your garden to eliminate garden pests. Providing water and ground cover, as well as planting fragrant and colorful plants in your yard, will surely encourage praying mantises to stay in your garden.
- Spiders – This insect is one of your most important allies. Just like praying mantises, spiders consume all types of garden pests.
Tips to Prevent Garden Pests
Apart from trying to attract the insects mentioned above, there are ways to prevent pests from invading your beautiful garden. Here are some of them:
- Build organic and healthy soil – One of the most efficient ways to prevent garden pests from bugging your garden is to use healthy and organic soil. Natural composting methods and utilizing compost fertilizers are very effective in growing healthy and strong plants.
- Keep foliage dry – Wet foliage may attract and lead to the growth of different insects and fungal damage to your plants. Make sure to water the plants early in the morning to keep their foliage dry throughout the day.
- Minimize the potential insect habitat – Consistently cleaning your garden will help minimize the appearance of debris and weeds in your yard. This is necessary because scattered weeds are potential nests for various garden pests.
- Rotate your crops – Some insects are attracted to specific plants only. So when growing your plants, mix different types. Through this, you can avoid the spread and re-infestation of pests.
Try attracting the right insects and following the tips mentioned above. When every mentioned technique fails, then it’s time to contact your trusted pest control provider.