Beneficial Bugs

Though chemicals may help win a few battles against bad bugs, the same chemicals also wipe out the good ones. The most notorious predators, spiders, kill invaders to help you in the battle to protect your plants. Buy ladybugs by the bag and release them after the bad bugs have made their first appearance.

Bugs have been on the planet for longer--as in millions of years longer--than people, which is why so many gardeners are learning to rely on beneficial bugs, the good bugs that prey on bad bugs.

Getting beneficial bugs to call a garden home is fairly easy. Provide them with a source of water, such as a shallow container filled with stones, which give the bugs a place to land and drink without drowning. A hedge or windbreak of some kind is a good idea too, since most bugs don't like extremely windy or dusty conditions. A few pollen-producing plants, especially herbs, scattered in and around the garden will also attract beneficials. But by far the easiest way to introduce good bugs to a garden is to buy them, and they're available at nurseries and lawn-and-garden centers or by mail.

It is best to delay the release of good bugs until the bad bugs are already present. When it's time, try releasing bugs inside some sort of temporary enclosure, such as a row cover, just to give them time to adjust to their new surroundings. Keep the area moist, and let them go within a couple of days.

Resources
beneficial insects
Planet Natural
Website: www.planetnatural.com

lady bugs
Natural Pest Controls
8864 Little Creek Dr.
Orange Vale, CA 95662
USA
Phone: 916-923-3353
Email: natpestc@cwnet.com
URL: www.natpestco.com
Also in this Episode

Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-210
•	Power Equipment Safety
•	Beneficial Bugs
•	Q&A:Trees
•	Deciduous vs. Evergreen