What bugs bad bugs, and what delights good bugs?

Get that figured out and your life in the garden is a whole lot easier. Pesticides have unintended consequences, like killing beneficial bugs with the harmful ones. But Ma Nature has lots of “good bugs", crawling and flying sci-fi creatures whose fave food is pests that eat your prize plants. Plant the plants that attract good bugs among the plants that you want to protect, and you’ll make insect friends for life.

With some help from our friends at The Garden Helper and Farmer Fred , we’ve compiled a list of good and bad bugs, plants that attract the good bugs and plants that repel the bad ones, along with hyperlinks to where you can find the less common ones.

Start by planting the right plants to keep away the pests you don’t want and encourage the ones you do. The best method of dealing with destructive garden insects is by preventive controls before a solo bug becomes an infestation.

Many of the bugs which you can use for pest control don't do the work themselves. They just sip the nectar and pollen and make baby larvae. Then Junior takes out the harmful insects, eating them to grow up and make more Juniors to take out more bad bugs- it’s a system!

Many folks know about lady bugs, and that they eat aphids like there’s no tomorrow. Which for lady bugs is often the case. But did you know that the young larvae, black with orange markings, eat more pests than the adults, and they can't fly away, even if their house IS on fire. There are plenty of other good bugs you can attract by planting the plants that they love. Here’s the Top 10 Good Bugs You Want and Plants They Love:

PD Photos.org

To Attract: Lady Bugs Call them ladybugs, ladybirds, lady clock, lady cow, lady fly or lady beetles; just don’t call them late for supper when aphids are on the menu. No, Virginia, you cannot tell their age by the spots on their backs.

Plant: Alfalfa, Morning Glory, Goldenrod, Fern-Leaf Yarrow, Common Yarrow, Carpet Bugleweed, Basket Of Gold, Dill, Golden Marguerite, Butterfly Weed, Four-Wing Saltbush, Coriander, Queen Anne's Lace, Fennel, Prairie Sunflower, Rocky Mt. Penstemon, Alpine Cinquefoil, Marigold - Lemon Gem, Tansy, Dandelion, Hairy Vetch, Buckwheat

Noodle snacks

To Attract: Assassin bugs: Assassin bugs inject lethal saliva that liquefies the insides of the prey, which are then sucked out. The saliva is effective at killing substantially larger prey than the bug itself. People breed them as pets as well as insect control. To each their own, I guess.

Plant: Alfalfa, Carrot, Goldenrod

To Attract: Big-eyed bugs Big-eyed bugs are considered an important predator in many agricultural systems and feed on mites, insect eggs, and small insects such as pink bollworm, cabbage loopers and whiteflies.                                                  

Plant: Alfalfa, Carrot, Goldenrod, Spearmint, Marigold - Lemon Gem, Caraway, Cosmos White Sensation, Fennel

Michael Becker

To Attract: Damsel bugs Damsel Bugs catch and hold prey with their forelegs, similar to mantids. They are considered helpful species in agriculture because of their predation on many types of crop pests, such as cabbage worms, aphids, and lygus bugs.                                               

Plant: Alfalfa, Carrot, Goldenrod, Spearmint, Marigold - Lemon Gem, Caraway, Cosmos White Sensation, Fennel

Malene Thyssen

To Attract: Lacewings The larvae of lacewings are predators. They look like little alligators. Many eat aphids and other pest insects, and are used for biological control . The larvae are specialized predators, with elongated mandibles adapted for piercing and sucking. Enough said.

Plant: Carrot, Fern-Leaf Yarrow, Dill, Angelica, Golden Marguerite, Four-Wing Saltbush, Purple Poppy Mallow, Caraway, Coriander, Cosmos White Sensation, Queen Anne's Lace, Fennel, Prairie Sunflower, Tansy, Dandelion

To Attract: Parasitic wasps Parasitic wasps are considered beneficial to humans because they control populations of agricultural pests. Some of these wasps help pest control in a rather sophisticated manner. Certain types of plants have compounds that work in part with the saliva of caterpillars. When the saliva of the caterpillar and the juices of the plant mix, a fragrance emerges that attracts the wasps. The wasps then kill the caterpillars and often use the carcasses to lay eggs within.                                                     

Plant: Alfalfa, Yarrow, Clover, Goldenrod, Carrot, Butter And Eggs, Fern-Leaf Yarrow, Common Yarrow, Lavender Globe Lily, Dill, Golden Marguerite, Masterwort, Purple Poppy Mallow, Caraway, Coriander, Cosmos White Sensation, Queen Anne's Lace, Fennel, Statice, Edging Lobelia, Sweet Alyssum – White, Lemon Balm, Pennyroyal, Parsley, Orange Stonecrop, Marigold - Lemon Gem, Tansy, Crimson Thyme, Zinnia- iliput
Alvesgaspar

To Attract: Syrphid flies (Hover flies)Hover flies look like little bees that hover over and dart quickly away. They don't sting! They lay eggs (white, oval, laid singly or in groups on leaves) which hatch into half-inch maggots that look like caterpillars. They rise up on their hind legs to catch and feed on aphids, mealybugs and others. Aphids alone cause tens of millions of dollars of damage to crops worldwide every year; because of this, aphid-feeding hoverflies are being recognized as important natural enemies of pests, and potential agents for use in biological control. Some adult syrphid flies are important pollinators.

Plant: Buckwheat, Candytuft, Fennel, Morning Glory, Fern-Leaf Yarrow, Common Yarrow, Carpet Bugleweed, Lavender Globe Lily, Basket Of Gold, Dill, Golden Marguerite, Dwarf Alpine Aster Masterwort, Four-Wing Saltbush, Purple Poppy Mallow, Caraway, Feverfew, Coriander, Cosmos White Sensation, Queen Anne's Lace, Buckwheat, Fennel, English Lavender, Poached Egg Plant, Statice, Butter And Eggs, Edging Lobelia, Sweet Alyssum-White, Lemon Balm, Pennyroyal, Spearmint, Wild Bergamot, Rocky Mt. Penstemon, Parsley, Alpine Cinquefoil, Gloriosa Daisy, Orange Stonecrop, Peter Pan Goldenrod, Wood Betony, Marigold - Lemon Gem, Crimson Thyme, Spike Speedwell, Zinnia–liliput

Bresson Thomas

To Attract: Tachinid flies Larvae of most tachnid flies develop inside a living host, killing it. Only a few species are restricted to one host species. As such, many are important natural enemies of major pests, like corn earworm, imported cabbage worm, cabbage looper, cutworms, armyworms, stink bug, squash bug nymphs, beetle and fly larvae, some true bugs, and beetles. Some species are being used in biological pest control. Many important pests are suppressed by tachinids.

Plant: Coriander, Fennel, Ivy, Clover, Golden Marguerite, Buckwheat, Lemon Balm, Pennyroyal, Parsley, Phacelia, Tansy, Crimson Thyme,

Opo Terser

To Attract: Yellow Jacket wasp Female Yellow Jackets sting, but they also prey on many insects.

Plant: Ivy, Clover, Carrot

To Attract: Minute Pirate Bugs Minute Pirate bugs feed on other small insects, spider mites and insect eggs. They cut a hole into their prey, pump saliva into it and drink the contents. Kind of like a melted root beer float. One species feeds on the eggs of the corn earworm and is useful against mites and thrips. I bet you didn’t know what a thrip was until now!

Plant: Alfalfa, Spearmint, Carrot, Goldenrod, Marigold - Lemon Gem, Caraway, Cosmos White Sensation, Fennel

Now that you’ve got the good guys in place, you can plant these common garden plants to repel the bad guys. Here’s The Top 10 Bad Bugs and Plants They Hate:

To Repel: Plant:

• Ants Tansy, Onions, Mint family
• Aphids Chives, Garlic, Marigolds, Mint family, Dried & Crushed Chrysanthemum flowers, Coriander, Onions, Oregano
• Cabbage worms and moths Tomatoes, Celery, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme
• Carrot flies Leeks, Sage, Rosemary
• Potato beetles Green beans, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Flax
• Cucumber beetles Nasturtiums, Radishes, Tansy
• Leafhoppers Dried & crushed Chrysanthemum flowers
• Mosquitoes Basil, Garlic, Geranium
• Onion flies and Ticks Garlic
• Tomato worms Borage

There are many more pests and many more plants you can install to attract the good guys and repel the bag guys- Check out the lists at The Garden Helper and Farmer Fred, and bug the bugs before they bug you.

For more information about beneficial insects, there are two wonderful books from the University of California Press, written by UC Davis Entomologist Mary Louise Flint: "Pests of the Garden and Small Farm" and "The Natural Enemies Handbook". While you’re at it, check out Living Resources Company for helping to match up good bugs with good homes.