There are tonnes of evil insects in your garden – waiting to destroy your crops at any time. You spend a lot trying to get rid of them, right? Both time and money in the form of pesticides and losses. If you want to optimize your efforts, delegate bug control to… bugs and other extraordinary creatures! Beneficial insects have been used in the fight since 1880; with organic farming gaining more and more popularity, their role is undeniable.
Pesticides can be damaging to your garden in the long run
You’ve decided to go for pesticides – understandable since you want to maximize your efforts and you just can’t let pests ruin your crops. The trouble is that by using pesticides you’re not only killing the bad bugs but the good ones too. Which means you’re left vulnerable to attacks by different pests which move into the spot of the previous ones. Guess what? You’re going to need more pesticides to get rid of them! At the same time, there are pests which have developed resistance to pesticides. A nasty situation, right?
Enter the good bugs.
Beneficials can prevent pests outbreaks
1. Insects like lacewings, ladybirds, fireflies and a few types of wasps can save your garden from being damaged by numerous insects like aphids and cutworms. Most garden supplies centers sell those, so you don’t have to find them yourself (it won’t be easy!). Just release them into your garden and let them do what they do best – eat your enemies. A garden with a healthy amount of beneficials is less likely to become infested with pests in the long run.
2. There are even parasites that can be used in the garden – like aphid parasites (parasitic wasps), parasitic nematodes and fly parasites. Bacteria can also be helpful – Bacillus Thuringiensis is a form of beneficial bacterium which acts on different pests. Each type of the bacterium acts on a specific insect and kills it when it starts eating treated plants.
3. You can further maximize your efforts by using colorful sticky insect traps locally – at plant height, every 4 feet. You can find them ready-made at garden supplies centers, or make them at home.
4. A border of insectary plants like fennel, calendula, coriander, dill, and cosmos can also attract beneficials to your garden (plus, they look and smell so lovely!).
5. Birds, bats, and toads are also an excellent way to keep pests at bay. Researchers have found that attracting the right birds to your garden can drastically diminish losses to pests.
Using all these methods as a comprehensive approach towards pests can save you a lot of time and resources. Not only your produce will be cleaner, but you will be helping the whole region by promoting beneficials.
Have you tried introducing any of these ‘clean’ pest control methods in your garden? Share!
