Introduce some good beneficial bugs that will eat your destructive bugs for breakfast.
Maybe you never thought of purchasing bugs but you can order beneficial insects at your local nursery. Deciding which insects to introduce into your garden depends on the type of pests you are plagued with. Ladybugs are one of the best-known beneficial bugs. Ladybugs eat aphids, white flies, spider mites and mealy bugs. Ladybugs are purchased as adults and simply released into your garden. As soon as your ladybugs land in your garden they will begin to eat the harmful bugs.
Another great bug to introduce into your garden is the light green lace wing fly. Lace wings should be purchased as eggs which you spread around your garden plants. As soon as the eggs hatch the hungry larvae will eat caterpillars, moth eggs, aphids, mealy bugs and almost anything else that gets in its way.
Parasitic nematodes are effective for killing pests that live under the soil such as weevils and grubs. Nematodes are microscopic worm-like parasites and there are many different varieties for different types of problem pests. When you purchase nematodes they will come with different instructions for introducing them successfully into you garden.
One of the larger beneficial insects is the praying mantis. Praying mantis's are purchased as eggs that you place among your shrubbery. When the praying mantis hatches he will eat beetles, flies, aphids, and many other insects. A praying mantis is an interesting and gentle insect that is fun to have around the garden.
Don't forget that spiders are also very beneficial bugs to have around the garden. Spiders do not eat plants and they trap many insects each day in their webs. Wolf spiders, jumping spiders and other small spiders do not build webs but attack insects on the ground. These types of spiders can kill caterpillars, beetles, and leafhoppers.
In order to keep the beneficial insects in your garden you will need to introduce different varieties of plants that will attract them. Good insects like dill, fennel, marigold, coriander, and clover. If you have a few of these planted in your garden your good bugs won't leave in search of a better home. Your beneficial insects will enjoy nectar and pollen from your flowers in addition to dining on your destructive insects.
If you introduce beneficial insects into your garden beware of using any sort of pesticide. Pesticides will kill your beneficial insects as well as the bad ones.
