Not all insects are harmful to plant in the garden. In fact, beneficial insects still co-exist with harmful pests, they play an important role in natural pest control. And beneficial insects could be just what you need to defeat harmful bugs for good. So, filling your garden with beneficial insects means you don’t have to use pesticides and other chemicals to eliminate their invasive. And here is a list of the 12 best beneficial insects and tips on how to attract them that you should know.
In addition, there are a lot of different benefits when you attract them to your garden. For instance, you will save money on pest control, help balance the ecosystem, or improves your soil, especially they require little to no effort! For these good reasons, they are deserved to be attracted to your garden. Thus, it’s time to check them in our post today!
#1 Ladybugs
Not only are ladybugs harmless, colorful, and oh-so-adorable, they are also staunch defenders of the garden. They can put away the nasty critters that destroy your plants such as aphids, mealy worms, leafhoppers, and mites. To attract them, you can plant dill, fennel, cilantro, and yarrow in the garden to lure in orange, red, and yellow ladybugs.
#2 Tachinid Fly
Tachinid flies are known for their strange hatching habits. A tachinid fly will insert its larvae into a destructive bug, such as a Japanese beetle, gypsy moth, cabbage looper, sawfly, or tent caterpillar, to name just a few. This live host will serve as an incubator for the larvae and when it is ready to hatch, it will eat the bug from the inside out, killing it as it emerges. Plus, tachinid flies help pollinate your garden, making them extra desirable. To attract them, you can plant dill, parsley, clover, and other green herbs.
#3 Aphid Midges
Aphid Midges can help combat an aphid invasion. To attract them, you can plant dill.
#4 Braconid Wasps
Braconid wasps attach their larvae to the tomato hornworm, a serious plague for tomato growers everywhere. The larvae begin to grow and feed on the hornworm as they mature. These flying insects are friendly and will only sting if provoked. To attract them, you can grow nectar plants with small flowers and dill, parsley, and wild carrots.
#5 Praying Mantis
The praying mantis is actually a wonderful creature to have around and will help you get rid of caterpillars, moths, beetles, crickets, and more. To attract them, you can grow shrubs, dill, and marigolds.
#6 Ground Beetle
Ground beetles enjoy snacking on slugs, snails, cutworms, cabbage maggots, caterpillars, and other bugs that spend time crawling on the ground. To attract them you can start a compost pile and plant lots of perennials.
#7 Spined Soldier Bugs
Spined soldier bugs are the natural predators of caterpillars, beetle larvae, and love to eat Colorado Potato Beetles and Mexican Bean Beetles, specifically. They are attracted to colorful perennial flowers that they can return to season after season. Scatter perennials among your vegetables to lure them to the area.
#8 Damsel Bugs
Damsel bugs are a wonderful go-to bug for eating harmful creatures such as mites, aphids, cabbage worms, and caterpillars. To attract them you can plant spearmint, fennel, and caraway.
#9 Minute Pirate Bug
The minute pirate bug is a phenomenal insect to attract if you have a serious pest problem. They aren’t exactly picky about their food and will pretty much eat any bugs they come across. However, they are particularly fond of thrips, spider mites, and aphids. They will be drawn most easily by a decomposing leaf pile in a corner of the garden. However, you can also plant alfalfa and daisies to encourage the minute pirate bug to stop by.
#10 Mealybug Destroyers
Mealybug Destroyers are extremely effective in dealing with mealybugs. Mealybugs look like small pieces of fluff on your plants and can leach the sap out of the stalks, causing harm and taking nutrients away from the fruit of the plant. To attract them, you can plant dill, goldenrod, sunflowers, and fennel to bring these knights in shining armor to the rescue of your at-risk plants.
#11 Green Lacewings
Lacewings are not only a beautiful insect to watch flit around your backyard, but they are also extremely practical and eat a number of nasty pests in their larvae stage including aphids, whiteflies, leafhoppers, and mealybugs. To attract them, you can plant coriander, angelica, or dill.
#12 Bees
Bees are essential for the pollination of any garden. If you grow any type of fruit or vegetable or pollinating flowers. To attract them, let’s plant perennials, colorful annuals, and lots of fruits and veggies. Bees will come wherever there is nectar to be had.