Garden Friends: Why Beneficial Insects Are Every Gardener's Best Friend

One of the biggest lessons I've learned as a gardener is that not every insect is an enemy. In fact, some of the hardest-working helpers in the garden have six legs. The more I learned about beneficial insects, frogs, lizards, birds, and other wildlife, the more I realized that a healthy garden depends on balance rather than trying to eliminate every bug in sight.

Last week, I received in the mail my copy of the book, Common Sense Pest Control.

To be honest, I've been doing a lot of thinking about BUGS and why they are here. Sometimes it's instinctive to kill every bug in sight.

Yet, after spotting lizards, frogs, Ladybugs, and beneficial bees, I feel guilty every time we spray the yard for mosquitoes. It makes me wonder what ELSE we're killing. Something's not right. And just like our appendix, everything serves a purpose. Nature is incredibly complex, and many things we once thought had little purpose are now understood to play important roles.

With that thought in mind, I've been trying to find a way to live PEACEFULLY with bugs.

Before I go any further... I'm not a whacked out, tree-hugging, earth and sun worshipper. When I say that I want to live "peacefully" with bugs, this doesn't mean I'm going to hold my front door open and set out the food dish. What I mean is that I'm going to educate myself on WHY they are here and how bugs are beneficial to our environment.

And this is where I talk about my garden.

When I ordered this book, I wanted a commonsense approach to handling pests in my garden. After all, instinctively I KNOW it's wrong to take a spray bottle and just go nuts killing everything in sight.

For example, it was just in the news where a guy blew up his apartment by setting off pesticide bombs. I don't blame the guy, as he was probably at his wits end, but there ARE ways to control and eliminate unwanted guests (without blasting out our windows.)

Common Sense Pest Control book

I started to realize that having bugs in my garden is a GOOD thing. Many of the critters are beneficial and of course, some are not so beneficial. BUT, for thousands of years, our plants have adapted and became immune to many pests. This is where HEIRLOOM SELF-POLLINATED plants come into the picture. These ancestral plants have been around for many years and have built in immunities.

When we purchase our (sterile) HYBRID seeds from the grocery stores, many of these seeds have built in pesticides within their DNA. Of course, I now realize it's important to distinguish between traditional hybrid varieties and genetically engineered (GM) crops. Hybrid plants are produced by cross-pollinating compatible varieties, while some genetically engineered crops have been modified to express specific traits, such as resistance to certain insects or herbicides. - so, yes, they will look better, seem to be thriving better and handling these pests... but think about what the cost is to our health and environment? I do think it takes some discernment. 

Our farmers are using the ROUNDUP pesticide and it's working because their hybrid crops have been programmed with pesticide DNA to protect it from being killed by Roundup -- thus their crops are thriving literally pest free. 

But what happens if/when insects and weeds build immunities to Roundup? Oh yes, it's going to happen. Considering the fact that THOUSANDS of our heirloom plants are disappearing and going extinct, this means we could be facing a severe crop shortage. 

Here's food for thought, as this is already happening. Some of these were research projects. 

The DNA of a moth has been inserted into our potatoes

Flounder DNA in our Tomatoes

Fire fly DNA in our corn...

Modern agriculture has explored a variety of genetic engineering techniques over the years, leading many gardeners—including me—to appreciate the value of preserving heirloom and open-pollinated varieties.

Doesn't it make GOOD COMMON SENSE to let nature take its course? The natural and best thing to do is to allow our gardens to build their own healthy immunities. A good heirloom self-pollinated plant will adapt itself to its environment and grow its own resistance to pests.

If you've been swinging the pesticides around your yard, you may need to give your yard some time to recuperate. After all, you need your beneficial friends to return.

Building a Healthy Garden Naturally

Over the years I've found that encouraging biodiversity has made my garden healthier. Flowers attract pollinators, ladybugs help reduce aphids, frogs and lizards eat insects, and birds can help control many common garden pests.

That doesn't mean every insect belongs in the vegetable garden, but understanding which creatures are beneficial helps reduce unnecessary pesticide use and creates a healthier environment for both people and wildlife.

 

Essential garden bugs 

 

Prepping Is Not About Fear. It's About Peace of Mind