When you take up gardening, you very quickly learn about the war most gardeners wage against certain creepy crawlies that invade their flower beds. But the important thing to remember is that not all bugs are bad, and in fact play a key part in defending your garden.
Adult lady beetles eat aphids, mites, and mealybugs, and their hungry larvae do even more damage to garden pests. Ground beetles are the predator of slugs, snails, cutworms, cabbage maggots. One of their larvae can eat more than 50 caterpillars. Worms provide good soil conditions for your plants.
So how can you best protect your growing garden from the bad bugs, and keep the beneficial bugs on your side?
Natural defences
One way you could try to protect your garden from certain pests is by spraying repellent all over the area. Installing mosquito yard spraying systems around the parameters of your garden will keep your plants protected, and ensure you and your family don’t suffer from nasty bites.
If you don’t like the smell of bug spray, then there are some natural repellents you could consider. Planting lavender, basil, mint, or lemongrass in your flowerbeds could contribute to the fight against mosquitos, while leaving your garden with either a fresh smell, or plenty of herbs to use in your cooking.
However, insect repellent doesn’t discriminate between good bugs and bad bugs, and it could have an adverse effect on your plants.
Obstacles
Flying pests aren’t the only threat to your garden. At night, slugs and snails emerge from their hiding places to feast on small leaves, the outer edges of your flowers, and fruits and vegetables nearing harvest. Fortunately, there are easy solutions for deterring their efforts.
Empty bags of gravel around your flowerbeds to make it more difficult for the mollusks to gain access to your plants, because they can’t travel on abrasive surfaces. Slugs like dark and moist locations, so clearing out debris, accumulated leaves and rotting wood will make your garden less appealing for them.
A barrier of salt will prevent them from getting into your house when they look for warmth during winter. My personal favourite is [amazon_textlink asin=’B007RMW1OW’ text=’Nematodes’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mygardening411-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’bebd6fc9-9cbc-11e7-a937-572722d86a56′]
Attracting allies
All good alliances are mutually beneficial; the good bugs keep the bad bugs away from your flowers and produce, and you provide them with some sort of food or shelter as compensation.
To attract ground beetles, plant some perennials among garden plants for stable habitats, or white clover as a groundcover in orchards. Ladybugs are attracted by angelica, coreopsis, dill, fennel, and yarrow. Goldenrods, daisies, alfalfa, and yarrow will attract the formidable minute pirate bugs, which will attack almost any insect.
You don’t just have to make alliances with bugs to protect your garden; building a pond will provide a home for frogs and toads, who will happily feast on any flying pests. Installing a [amazon_textlink asin=’B00EQ4CF4U’ text=’bird bath’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mygardening411-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’6e862844-9cbc-11e7-a31c-e1cabdd0b1b5′] or bird feeder in your garden will attract the predator that all insects fear.
Some insects have their uses, and others must be banished from your garden.
