Attracting Beneficial Insects

I recently planted Zinnias in my garden to attract some beneficial insects to our garden plot at the Pleasantville farm.  And, as promised, I’ve put together a table listing the pests and the flowers that attract insects to combat them.

If you see any of the five insects below, let them live.

These are the good guys!

Let the Garden Wars begin!

 

 

Now, there are plenty of other pests that flowers just aren’t going to attract the right insects to kill them off. 

In a lot of cases, there are these nifty, microscopic worms that can take care of them.  They are called Beneficial Nematodes.  They occur naturally and are not harmful to humans, pets or plants, but sometimes you need an infusion of them so you can place an order with www.planetnatural.com (it is sold by the pint so I’m thinking it’s a liquid spray).

Beneficial Nematodes are known for going to war against:

Ants, Beetles, Japanese Beetles, Black Fly Larvae, Billbugs, Cabbage Worms, Cinch Bugs, Cranberry Girdler, Fleas, Flies, Fungus Gnats, Gail Gnats, Grubs, Loopers, Mole Cricket, Mormon Cricket, Saw Flies, Sod Webworms, Soil Swelling Pests, Squash Bugs, Boll Weevil, Root Weevil, Vine Weevil, White Grubs, and hundreds of others.

I can’t guarantee planting flowers or spraying nematodes all over your yard will get rid of all the pests, but at least you’re trying!

Good luck!