Everything You Need to Know About Bugs and Your Garden

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What bugs are good for gardens?

If you have a garden, then you already know that it’s a hot spot for bugs. We’re sure you’ve noticed plenty of different types, but do you know which ones are good or bad?

To be quite honest with you, there are quite a few bugs that are beneficial, and they range from beetles to ladybugs.

Beneficial bugs for your garden

Now that you know some bugs are beneficial for your garden, let’s take a look at the different types and why they’re helpful. Therefore, in this section, we’ll be giving you a few examples of some of the good bugs out there. Not every bug will be doing something for your plants, but that doesn’t mean that they lack a purpose.

The bee

The bee is always going to be at the top of the list. This is due to the fact that those common bees you see flying around your garden are actually super helpful. This is due to the fact that bees are excellent at spreading pollen (how plants reproduce), which means that they can help keep your garden growing.

The ladybug

The ladybug is an excellent bug to have in your garden because it will help you keep the predators away. This is due to the fact that the ladybug actually preys on 3 common insects that are bad for your garden:

• Aphids
• Whiteflies
• Colorado potato beetles

So when it comes to ladybugs, think of them as little defensive bugs for your garden. They won’t do damage, and they’ll keep the bad bugs away. Curious about what ladybugs can damage? Check out our article What Can Ladybugs Damage?

Ground Beetles

Ground beetles are another great bug for your birthday, and this is for similar reasons as the ladybug. Ground beetles are great for eating dangerous garden insects like:

• Worms
• Slugs
• Caterpillars

So just like the ladybug, having a ground beetle around will help keep your garden safe from predators. These beetles are also excellent for your soil, which means that when they pass away your plants will thank you.

Green lacewings

This is a bug you may be a little bit less familiar with, but as the name suggests, these bugs are green and have wings. Now, at first, their build might make you want them out of your garden, but they actually prey on all of the bugs we’ve talked about so far like slugs, caterpillars, aphids, and more.

So while ground beetles are good for getting some of the more ground-based insects, you’ll definitely want to keep the Green Lacewings around for those hard to reach dangerous bugs.

Good to know: Now, not every bug is good for your garden, but some are definitely much better than others. When it comes to looking at good bugs for your garden, you’ll always want to make sure that they prey on the bad bugs, and don’t eat your crops.

How to introduce bugs into your garden

If you want to start introducing some of the beneficial bugs we talked about into your garden, it’s not exactly the easiest process in the world. This is due to the fact that each bug is going to require its own special lure plant that will get them to enjoy your garden. So in this section, we’ll be showing you a few plants you’ll want to keep in mind.

What are some good all-around plants?

Some plants are going to be better, but luckily there are some great plants that will help you attract more than just one bug. This is due to the fact that a lot of bugs like to feed on it, and it won’t harm the rest of your garden either. This plant would be the dandelion, and we love it because it will attract ladybugs to your garden. Plus, to be quite fair, dandelions look quite nice.

Dill

Dill might sound gross, but it will attract more than one great bug to your garden

Dill is great because it will help you attract more bugs without doing a lot of work. This is due to the fact that it’s easy to find and extremely easy to work with. Therefore, if you want to attract bugs, you might want to try working with dill.

Some bugs that dill will attract are as follows:

• Ladybugs
• Aphid midges
• Ground beetles

So while it may not look the best or sound all that appealing, dill is pretty good for attracting bugs to your garden.

Please keep in mind that there are so many different plants out there, and they will all attract different bugs to your garden. We could spend all day going over each one, but for the purpose of this article, we wanted to make sure you knew the most common plants to attract bugs.

Are bugs good for soil?

One thing a lot of people like to know, and for good reason, is whether or not bugs are good for soil. This is due to the fact that lots of things influence soil, so does having other bugs really cause that much of an impact?

The answer may surprise you, but yes, it’s very beneficial to have bugs in your garden for soil reasons.

This is due to the fact that when bugs die, they’re very biodegradable. This means that they decompose very quickly, and their bodies will actually help keep your soil strong due to the composition of the bugs. So while you may not like the sight of bugs in your garden, your soil will definitely be thanking you.

Having bugs in your garden is great for soil, but not the only thing you should consider. You always need to make sure that your garden is always being properly maintained.

Worms are also great for soil! If you want to learn more about the role they play in your garden alongside bugs, read Can Ants and Worms Live Together?

Why do we need insects in the garden

This is a question a lot of us find ourselves asking. It’s complicated, because a garden becomes something of its own ecosystem. This is due to the fact that so many different bugs will end up living there, and they won’t always be so kind to each other.

So why do we need them?

You need bugs in your garden for a few reasons, but the main one is balance. You’ll want to make sure that your garden is well defended against bugs that will otherwise cause it harm, but you also want to make sure you have bugs going around pollinating your garden as well. We know that some bugs aren’t appealing to look at or interact with, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad for your garden.

Now all bugs are good for your garden, and while it may seem like that’s the case so far, you’ll definitely change your mind in the next section.

What bugs are bad for your garden?

Not every bug you find is going to be good for your garden. While we may have touched on quite a few species that are, that doesn’t mean that every bug is great for your garden. Therefore, we’ll need to spend some time on some of the bugs that are bad for your garden.

Aphids

Aphids give off a very bright yellow color, and they spend a lot of their time on your fruits and vegetables. They’re very easy to notice because they have a distinct tube that comes out of their abdomen. So why are these bugs bad? Because they’ll eat your fruits/vegetables and spread diseases

Cabbage maggot

Just as the name suggests, this little insect will most definitely cause your garden quite a bit of a problem. Luckily, if you don’t have cabbage, they really won’t be too drawn to your garden. Unfortunately, if you do have cabbage, you’ll start to notice quite a bit of it will go missing.

Caterpillars

When you were a kid you probably loved caterpillars. They hang out on their little webs, and you can let them crawl all over you without any harm. Something about caterpillars was just appealing, but unfortunately they’re not very good for your garden. If any of your plants have leaves, fruits, vegetables, or anything else, they’ll most definitely eat right through it.

The Mexican Bean Beetle

This bug is very bad for your garden, and that’s due to the fact that they’ll eat up quite a bit of crop. You can find these insects in the midwest, and the main issue with them is that they look like ladybugs. They have a very similar design (black spots on their backs), but the key difference here is the color of their shell.

So while some bugs may definitely be great for your garden, this is definitely not always the case. These were only a few of the more popular bugs to look out for, but there are plenty of others. Trust us on that one.

Final Thoughts:

Having a garden is a lot of work. From maintaining your plants to fighting off bugs, you’ll definitely have your work cut out for you out in your garden. Luckily, not all insects are bad for your garden, and sometimes your garden can even benefit from them.

Some bugs are better than others, but you’ll always want to watch out for the bad eggs as well. If your garden is exposed to disease your plants can die, and nobody wants dead plants right?

We know we threw a lot of bug related information your way, but if you ever find yourself lost, you can always refer back here as a guide.

Now that you know the facts, what bugs will you keep in your garden?

If you enjoyed reading this article, why not check out our articles on Everything You Need to Know About Bugs and Pain and Which Bugs are Attracted to Light? Let’s Find Out

Sources:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280921263_Enhancing_gardens_as_habitats_for_flower-visiting_aerial_insects_pollinators_Should_we_plant_native_or_exotic_species