According to The Gardeners Guide to Global Warming, it’s predicted that as global temperatures rise, “We will see more infestations from both native and exotic pests, such as gypsy moths, bagworms and vine weevils.”
OMG, what’s eating my plant? Good and bad bugs have been around since life in the garden began. No one enjoys seeing their beautiful flowers chewed or leaves stippled, puckered and with holes that are getting worse each day! The focus of gardening, is to keep the garden as a whole, balanced and healthy. Though it’s frustrating to see aesthetic damage to your plants or injury to edible crops, keep in mind hat only 10% of garden pests are “harmful” in a garden context. The rest, (90%) are considered “benign” or “beneficial” and can help provide control over those that really are the offenders!
Here are 14 Good, Predator, Beneficial Insects you Need to Know:
1. Aphidius Wasp
2. Assasin Bug
3. Big Eyed Bug
4. Damsel Bug
5. Ground Beetle
6. Hover Fly
7. Lacewing
8. Ladybug
9. Minute Pirate Bug
10. Parasitic Wasp
11. Praying Mantis
12. Robber Fly
13. Spider
14. Tachinid Fly
In a garden context, these beneficial insects prey upon numerous bad bugs…
Here are just of few of the best known garden PESTS:
1. Aphids
2. Earwig
3. Cutworm
4. Lace Bug
5. Leafminer
6. Mealybug
7. Sawfly
8. Scale
9. Slug and Snail
10. Spider Mite
11. White fly
If you want to learn more about good bugs versus bad bugs, I highly recommend reading the concise hands-on guide, “Good Bug Bad Bug”
- How to attract beneficial insects into your garden
- Organic products for pest control
- Proper id of pest and plant host
- How to boost beneficial population
- How beneficial insects work
And lastly, keep in mind that university-based research has found that plants that are stressed out have weaker immune systems and are more attractive to pests. Healthy plants emit volatile odors into the air that send a signal to “pests” to get lost and move on – aim to grow healthy plants and a healthy garden!
Happy gardening,
ps: You can pick up a copy of this handy book on Amazon – spriral bound and very helpful when you need to know who to evict, crush or keep around -> Good Bug Bad Bug: Who’s Who, What They Do, and How to Manage Them Organically (All you need to know about the insects in your garden)