Key Takeaways
Ladybugs are natural pest controllers that thrive on aphids and other soft-bodied insects without harming your plants, making them a gardener’s best friend.
To attract them, grow a variety of native flowers and herbs, and let your garden stay a little wild to create an inviting habitat.
Avoid pesticides and skip store-bought ladybugs—these disrupt local ecosystems and rarely stick around to help.
If your garden is infested with aphids—tiny yellow bugs that crowd together on plants and suck out the sap—you need more ladybugs in your yard.
“They’re important, beneficial insects that help control aphids and other soft-bodied pest insects,” says Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, noting that just one ladybug can eat up to 5,000 insects in its lifetime. They’ll also help pollinate your garden by feeding on the nectar and pollen—but they won’t eat the plants themselves, making them an excellent garden companion.
Here’s how to turn your yard into a ladybug magnet so your plants can thrive.
Meet Our Expert
Related: Yes, There Are Good and Bad Ladybugs—Here’s How to Tell Them Apart
How to Make Your Yard a Ladybug HavenGrow Native Flowers
The answer to bringing all the ladybugs to your yard: Grow lots of native flowers. “Plant it and they will arrive and thrive,” Black says. “Lady beetles most often visit shallow flowers that have nectar and pollen that is accessible to their mouthparts, such as golden Alexanders, blanketflower, and yarrow.”
They also like the flowers of herbs, such as dill, fennel, parsley, calendula, and mint. By planting a diverse garden and letting it get a little messy in the fall, you’ll give ladybugs a healthy home in your yard.
Skip Pesticides
Skip pesticides too, Blacks says. You may be tempted to use them to eliminate the aphids and other pests, but you’ll hurt the ladybugs you’re trying to foster. “Insecticides can negatively impact all beneficial insects, which are susceptible to many products sold for gardens.”
Don’t Buy Ladybugs
While all ladybug (a.k.a. lady beetle) species are good for your garden, it’s especially important to support the kinds that are native to your region. The 450 native North American ladybug species have a healthy relationship with our ecosystem, and, sadly, they’re rapidly disappearing. Some garden centers sell ladybugs in bags for people to release in their gardens, and while this seems like a quick win, Black says it’s a bad idea.
“The lady beetles sold at garden stores have been collected from the wild in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which is likely causing a decline in their population,” he explains. “Also, moving them and then releasing them can spread diseases that hurt other native lady beetles. And they don’t even help control pests. When you do release them, their instinct is to migrate, so they simply fly away.”
Related: Not All Garden Bugs Are Bad—Here’s a Guide to the Insects That Actually Benefit Your Plants
Read the original article on Real Simple
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