Helpful Garden Pests: Insects that Protect Your Plants

Summer is here, and gardens are being planted all over the country. With summer gardens come summer insects to feed, breed and annoy gardeners who work so hard for their plants. But not all pests are evil. Some are very necessary to control other pest in the garden that do more harms than good. So be careful what you kill from your garden. Natural pest control is better than chemical pest control any day!

The first is the common ground beetle. They are found throughout north America and are sometimes consider the gardeners armored knight! They live just below the soil surface growing up to one inch in length. They are aggressive little bugs and great pest control for your garden.

They do most of their control at night when other pest are most active. Adults lay eggs in the soil producing generation after generation of natural control. This beetle feeds on slugs, snails and many pest larvae which destroy plants and ruin gardens. With a collection of the beetles in your garden you have a better chance of stronger plants for the summer.

Next is every child's favorite story time bug. The ladybug! They are recognized throughout the country and accepted as the gentle lady of bug love. Even the most bug phobic will accept the presence of a ladybug. But with their help you have a hungry and welcome pest control unit of beauty.

Ladybugs are a ¼ inch or less in length with rounded little bodies of bright orange to bright red. They have several black spots with a black head and black legs. Most of the adults can be found to migrate and hibernate in the west, spending the winter in the mountains. They will collect in great numbers in a sheltered spot and spend the winter there until spring when they once again make the way to other areas.

They eat most aphids, scale, mites, mealy bugs, whiteflies and some eggs left behind by other insects. The larvae are quite voracious and can eat up to 40 or so aphids in an hour. After eating their fill for about 20 days they turn into the beautiful little Ladybug to grace gardens across the country as one more thing of beauty among the flowers and leaves.

So in the months to come while working the fruits of your labor watch which kind of insect you kill in your garden. Many of them are better for your plants life and production to their full potential. There are many kind of insects in the world and however annoying they may be to humankind they are an essential part of plant production and protection. Without them our life becomes a chemical cure all in the gardens we try to hard to preserve and grow.