Animals and Insects that Are Beneficial to Your Garden

It is a myth that you need lots of special chemicals and equipment to keep pests out of your garden. Organic gardeners rely on beneficial plants, insects, and even animals to protect their gardens from pests. If you are looking to use less chemicals in your garden, give some of these critters a try. You just might find that you like gardening organically better than expensive modern alternatives.

Fireflies - (Actually a Beetle) These wondrous little creatures are amazingly helpful in the garden. Not only do they produce beautiful fairy-like lights, they are vicious predators. Fireflies cannot bite or sting, nor will they feed on plant matter. Larva feed on snails and slugs which will eat your garden plants. Adults feed on other insects.

Assassin Bugs - There are more kinds of assassin bugs than I could ever list here, so look them up to see what types live in your area. These insects prey on other insects by lying in wait and attacking when they come close.

Ants - Ants eat a variety of other insects but beware - they will farm aphids for their nectar. Do not expect them to eat the aphids.

Honeybees - Honeybees pollinate garden plants. Many gardeners and farmers keep hives of honeybees for this purpose. They are a gentle species and easy to keep. Do not be fooled by movies about killer bees. Domesticated bees are sweet docile animals and will only attack when their hive is being destroyed or when they feel threatened.

Butterflies - Butterflies are beautiful and will help pollinate your flowers. Beware, however, as they may lay a few eggs on host plants. The easiest way to deal with them is to manually pick off the few caterpillars and transfer them somewhere else.

Ladybugs - Ladybugs are well known as the lions of the insect world. They eat aphids, mealy bugs, and mites like nothing you've ever seen - about fifty per day! You can buy these insects at garden stores by the bag. Just be sure that you let them go in the middle of the night or very early morning. Warm weather and sun will cause them to fly away in which case they will do little good for your garden.

Spiders - Spiders are also ravenous insect eaters. You may want to entice spiders to build their webs in your garden by catching them in a jar and letting them loose among your plants. Wolf spiders live on the ground and will eat larger insects such as beetles and crickets.

Frogs - Frogs will eat insects attacking your plants. Beware, however. They will eat the beneficial insects as well and your pond goldfish.

Birds - Birds in the garden can be good or bad. They are beneficial because they eat insects. On the other hand, birds will also eat young seedlings, seeds, flowers, and fruit from your plants. Many birds, especially crows, ravens and blue jays (which are all in the same family) can make short work of a garden.

Cats - Cats can be helpful in the garden for scaring away birds that pick away at strawberries and other foods. Cats are also helpful if you have a rodent problem. If you do not have cats of your own, you may want to entice the local strays into hanging around with a little food and water set out in a dish or maybe some catnip planted here and there in the garden. Creating a peaceful habitat in the garden for cats will help to keep them around. Be sure there are plenty of hiding spaces, places to climb and sunny areas where they can relax and catch a cat nap.

Dogs - While dogs can sometimes be a nuisance for their digging and eating your plants, they can also be beneficial if kept out of the garden with a low fence. Dogs will usually keep birds, rodents, and other pests out of the garden by chasing them away. Their presence will also usually keep many animals from venturing too close.