Alternatives and Beneficial Insects
To encourage biodiversity you should not use pesticides or herbicides. These chemicals will kill butterflies, bees and the beneficial bugs that act as natural predators in your garden. Of all the insects in the world, only 2 % are considered real pests. When we use pesticides we harm all the bugs - not just the ones we wanted to get rid of. A balanced garden has prey and predators. If you have used pesticides in the past it will take some time for the predators to come back. Some garden centres sell predator insects to quickly get your garden back in balance.
Problem - Grubs Solution - Try Nematodes
Nematodes are the natural predator of grubs. They exist in your lawn under natural circumstances but can be easily killed by pesticides and herbicides. Nematodes are available at garden centres that are Water for Tomorrow program participants.
Problem - Aphids Solution - Try using a soap spray
You can create this yourself at home using an old spray bottle and soap or you can purchase soap sprays and other organic solutions to fight aphids at many garden centres and home and garden stores. Also, remember to promote conditions that are beneficial to the predators of aphids - ladybugs, lacewings and assassin beetles. Predator bugs can be purchased from many web commerce sites, search keywords 'biocontrol' and 'beneficial bugs'.
Below are pictures of bugs with related information.
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| Praying mantis in your garden can restore the balance of predator and prey. |
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| Adult ladybugs consume 60 or more aphids a day. In their larval stage they'll consume even more. Do you know what they look like in their larval stage? |
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Known as the canoeist's best friend, dragonflies catch mosquitoes and deerflies. In their nymphal phase (2 yrs) they are responsible for consuming thousands of mosquitoe larvae. |
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| Nematodes are microscopic round worms, effective control for grubs, sold by the million! |
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| Lacewings are voracious predators eating 200 insects per week, also known as the Aphid-Lion. |
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| Assassin beetles lie in wait, stab the prey with their proboscis injecting lethal toxin and their larvae. |
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| Parasitic wasps lay their eggs in their prey and the larvae will eat their meal from the inside out! |
