For many, the idea of attracting bugs is appalling. However, the reality is that many bugs are beneficial for your garden. If you have an aphid problem, a well-placed mantis or a host of ladybugs can clean that right up for you. Butterflies add attractive whimsy to the garden. Spiders may give you creepy crawlies, but they can seek out and destroy other dirtier bugs mucking up the place. Better yet, these bugs don’t nibble away at your hard-earned work — they leave you with a lush and beautiful garden to enjoy at the cost of a few tiny friends.
Know Your Friends
What makes a bug beneficial in the first place? Beneficial bugs are defined by their capacity to wreak havoc on other invasive bugs. Some, like spiders or parasitic cutworms, are predators of nasty insects. Your little army might be a one-time D-Day or hang around occupying your borders for years to come, ensuring that their offspring join the regiment as soon as possible. That’s years of insurance for your outdoor paradise.
While you can purchase beneficial bugs, you can also use methods to attract them.
Carrots Offer a More Pleasing View
Carrots are suitable for your eyes, and they’re also an excellent host for beneficial bugs. That’s not just limited to carrots; the entire Umbellifer family (celery, carrots, parsley) provides nourishment, pollination, and rest stops for diminutive friends. Add plants like anise, fennel, dill, and parsley to your landscaping and gardening plans to enjoy in your culinary exploits and lure in good company.
Keeping the Bad Bugs Out
Lawn care can go a long way to maintaining a healthy environment for your garden, and by properly caring for your lawn, you can avoid a host of issues like fungi, rodents, and insects. Begin your lawn care in autumn, aerating the yard and raking away detritus. While you should be careful of trampling frozen growth in hibernation, keep your lawn short before the cold comes to avoid creating a nesting place for unwanted neighbors.
Make Your Garden Stroll-Worthy
Orlando and Central Florida’s wet climate makes for the perfect gardening environment. Make your garden as diverse and colorful as it is beneficial by using the periwinkle hues of the humble cornflower, a weed in its own right but stunning to view and highly attractive to wasps, butterflies, and ladybugs. For drawing in new friends at the first sign of spring, plant pussy willows as an easy-to-grow pollen factory for your busy little bees. Sticking to native flowering plants is best for bringing in the good guys.
See Central Florida’s Flowering Plant List
Tell the bad bugs to “Bug Off!”
If you’re experiencing an invasion (or would like to prevent an invasion) of non-beneficial bugs in your lawn or garden, give us a call at ABC and speak with an experienced pest control exterminator in Orlando.