Using Beneficial Insects in Organic Gardening?

Since pesticides are not used in Organic Gardening, gardeners must come up with other ways to keep harmful insects from destroying their gardens. Beneficial insects are one of the tools used by organic gardeners to help keep pests under control. Many of these insects can be purchased from garden supply companies. It is also possible to attract some of them to your garden by planting things that they are attracted to. Here are a few of the beneficial insects that can be used for pest control in an organic garden.

One of the most well-known of the beneficial insects is the ladybug. Ladybugs are very efficient at controlling the aphid population in a garden. A single ladybug can eat 40-50 aphids per day. Ladybugs also eat mites and other small, soft-bodied insects.

Another insect that kills aphids is the parasitic wasp. This tiny wasp is a parasite that actually lays its eggs inside of the aphids. The affected aphids will become mummified and die. After the new wasp matures, it crawls out of the dead aphid’s body and starts looking for healthy aphids in which to lay its own eggs.

Honeybees are a popular beneficial insect, not only because they help pollinate plants but because they produce honey as well. You do not have to become a beekeeper in order to make use of honeybees to pollinate plants in your garden, but the honey is a nice added benefit if you choose to get into this hobby as well. Other types of bees are also effective at pollinating crops.

Another insect that helps keep pests out of the garden is the Thrips Predator. This mite feeds on the eggs and larvae of various species of thrips. They also kill harmful mites including spider mites. In addition to feeding on eggs and larvae, they will also eat pollen and honeydew.

These are just a few examples of the different types of bugs that can be used to keep pests from destroying a garden. Controlling unwanted insect populations by introducing desirable and helpful insects is one organic gardening technique that allows gardeners to keep pests under control without resorting to using toxic chemical pesticides in their gardens.