Beneficial insects are nature’s pest controllers, pollinators, and decomposers. Encouraging these insects in your garden can reduce the need for pesticides and promote healthier plants.
Common Beneficial Insects:
- Ladybugs: Devour aphids, whiteflies, and scale insects.
- Praying Mantises: Feed on caterpillars, beetles, and moths.
- Lacewings: Their larvae prey on aphids, mites, and mealybugs.
- Bees: Essential pollinators for fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
- Hoverflies: Their larvae eat aphids, while adults pollinate flowers.
How to Attract Them:
- Plant Diversity: Grow a variety of flowers, herbs, and vegetables to attract different insects. Flowering plants like dill, fennel, yarrow, and cosmos are excellent choices.
- Provide Shelter: Create habitats using mulch, rocks, and small shrubs. Build insect hotels for solitary species like lacewings and mason bees.
- Avoid Chemicals: Eliminate or minimize pesticide use, as they can harm both pests and beneficial insects.
- Provide Water: Set out shallow dishes of water with pebbles for insects to land on.