Attracting Beneficial Insects

Certain beneficial insects prey on nasty bugs that chew ornamental and edible garden plants.

The garden helpers you will want to attract:

Assassin bugs 

Big eyed bug 

Damsel bug 

Dragonflies 

Ground Beetles 

Lady Beetles (ladybugs)

Lacewings 

Syrphid flies (Hover flies) 

Tachinid flies 

Soldier bugs (Stink bugs) 

Wasps (Ichenumonid, Braconid)

Water sources

Set up birdbaths or shallow dishes of water here and there in the garden. Place sticks and rocks in the water so that insects have a place to perch while they drink. Change the water every two or three days so mosquitoes won’t breed.

To attract and maintain colonies of beneficial insects, minimize or avoid the use of chemicals in the garden.

Plants that attract beneficial insects (All flowers, especially the following):

Alyssum 

Aster 

Black-eyed Susan 

Blanket Flower(Gaillardia) 

Butterfly Weed 

Candytuft

Caraway 

Clover 

Coneflower 

Coreopsis 

Coriander 

Cosmos 

Daisy

Dill

Fennel 

Goldenrod 

Herbs 

Hyssop 

Lovage 

Marigold 

Monarda 

Mustard 

Nasturtium 

Queen Anne’s Lace 

Scabiosa 

Sunflower

Tansy 

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