Helpful Garden Insects

Not all bugs are bad!! There are many insects that are helpful to your landscape.  Certain insects deter the bad insects from destroying your plants and they can also increase pollination.  Before you go squashing those little critters read on and see why you should keep them around.

Dragonflies are great to have on your property! They eat about 600 insects such as gnats, flies and mosquitoes per day!  They normally live near water areas and can survive up to 2 months.  Ponds will attract dragonflies as well as frogs that will feed on mosquitoes.

Lady Bugs eat about 400 aphids, mites and scales per day.  They are said to be “good luck” if you believe in luck!  Pollen producing flowering plants will attract lady bugs.

Spiders feed on as many as 2,000 insects per year such as grasshoppers, crickets, flies, bees, moths.  They are not so creepy after all!

Beetles come in many different species. They usually hide during the day in dark cool places and feed on small insects at night.  They are attracted to light so you may find them creeping into your home at night! Just shoo them out to do their work!

Green Lacewings are very helpful.  They eat Aphids, mealybugs, scales, spider mites, thripes, and white flies.

Hover Flies look like small wasps but eat fruit tree spider mites, green flies and caterpillars.

Educate yourself on the larva and eggs of these good insects.  Plant some plants that will attract them and carefully plan your pest control based on keeping your good guys naturally on your property.