The Bright Side Of Bugs: Good Things Insects Do

It may be hard for you to believe, but not all insects are pests! Some insects exist to help you – they help tend your garden, fertilize your soil, and control the populations of the more pestilent of their kind. These little helpers don’t require removal or extermination; in fact, you’ll want to take measures to keep them around. So who are they, and what good do they do?

Praying Mantis

The praying mantis is not only fascinating to watch – it also eats other insects, including wasps, flies, and caterpillars. It uses its claw-like forelimbs to hold prey steady while eating. Keeping a few praying mantises around your garden can reduce the rate of caterpillars eating your plants, and keep the fly population under control.

Worms

Worms are a necessity for any healthy garden. As they travel through your soil, they consume organic matter, clay, and silt. They then leave castings behind (also known as vermicompost) which provide a variety of nutrients to nearby plants. They also help air and water flow more freely through the soil, by altering the structure of compacted dirt.

Beetles

Many species of beetles provide valuable pest control services to gardens. For instance, the common ground beetle eats ants, maggots, and slugs. The adorable ladybeetle (also referred to as ladybug) is another beneficial insect. Ladybugs not only add a splash of color to your garden, they also naturally oppress aphids, grasshoppers, mites, and mealybugs. It's a sign of a healthy environment to have a colony of ladybug residents in your backyard.

Ants

Most people do not consider ants to be valuable assets in any scenario, but not all ants are cause for alarm. Different species of ants contribute different things to home gardens: some are scavengers, while others help with pest control. Ants provide a stabilizing effect to the garden ecosystem, and without them, your garden could easily become disrupted.

Spiders

Spiders get a bad rap because most people have negative reactions to them when they find them inside homes, but did you know spiders provide gardeners with an extraordinary level of pest control? Orb-weaving spiders create webs to catch prey (mosquitoes, black flies, wasps, and other flying insects). They won’t jump out at you or catch you by surprise – they simply want to stay in their webs and eat annoying flies for you.

These are just a few on a long list of helpful insects you should become acquainted with to understand the ecosystem you’ve created in your backyard or home garden. The list also includes earwigs, lacewings, centipedes, and even some species of flies. A good pest control company can provide helpful information on the benefits and risks of certain species to keep you informed on the ecosystem occurring right outside your window. Have any questions about which insects are helpful or harmful? Ask our resident entomologist, Dr. Gary!