Using Bug Biology in Your Garden

Biology, Bugs & Insects Useful To Your Garden

 You've worked very hard to establish your new garden - preparing the layout, preparing the soil, planting the seedlings. You can just taste those red sun-ripened tomatoes! One of your foremost concerns is probably pest control. If the wrong critter begins making a lunch out of your tomatoes, by dinnertime all that hard work you devoted to your garden was merely a waste of time. However, there are some bugs and insects that will actually benefit your garden…

Like all living things bugs and insects must feed. "Good" predator bugs that will feed upon the "bad" bugs and insects in your garden include the praying mantis, ladybugs (ladybird beetles), green lacewing larvae and big-eyed bugs.

Bees are another great addition to your garden. Bees pollinate. The more pollination, the greater yield of fruit and vegetables. Without pollination your garden is worthless.

Certain species of wasps are also a valuable addition to your garden. Earthworms will work and build your soil for you.

Many of these helpful garden critters are sold in quantity by insectaries including your local garden centers, mail order companies and seed companies.

Snakes generally scare people and the first thing that usually pops into someone's mind when they are fortunate to happen across one is to kill it before it escapes. However, the general public is becoming better educated and now garden snakes are making their way into the heart of avid gardeners.

Ladybugs are perhaps the most popular addition to a garden because they feast on aphids. These little helpers have become increasingly popular and can be purchased in most garden centers from $15 and down. To release them into your garden so they can begin working for you, first wet down your garden. You'll want to wait until after sunset to put them in the garden. One reason is they do not fly at night. Ladybugs can be stored in the refrigerator; the cold will put them into a non-threatening state of dormancy where they can then be set out for the following three evenings.

Some things that you can plant to attract these helpers are dill, lavender, parsley, baby's breath, yarrow in yellow and pink, fennel both bronze and green varieties, clover, goldenrod and sunflowers.

If you'd like more in-depth information on attracting bugs to your garden visit your local garden center and library. By the way, enjoy those tomatoes!