Insects can be a nuisance, and it would no doubt be useful to have some way of controlling the number of them that dwell in your garden. However, you should also accept that certain insects are an integral part of a healthy, natural garden space, and that fact should be nurtured as much as possible through your actions. It is strongly inadvisable to try and purge their presence entirely, simply because they give so much to not just your garden, but the environment at large. They’re key players here, and their erasure would spell disaster in time for many – like the animals that eat them, for one!
Therefore, here are 4 ways to control the traffic of insects in your garden.
Recognize the Right Insects
It’s not only unfair to tarnish all insects with the same brush, it’s also wholly unwise also. Some pets can be a real asset in what you’re trying to do with your garden.
This is because predatory insects, like ladybirds, can eat up many of the pests that swarm gardens everywhere. Parasitic wasps play a part too, gobbling up a range of caterpillars, sawflies, ants, and aphids in equal measure. In other words, these creatures can largely be on your team in your pest control efforts, helping you manage the population of more destructive bugs in all their hard work.
Obviously, it doesn’t make sense to turn away or kill creatures that can be a real help. Better yet, ladybirds and parasitic wasps can be rather nice to look at. Grant these colourful additions entry to your green spaces, and you’ll note a considerable difference in matters here.
Set Up Insect Netting
While the presence of insects can be a great thing, obviously, it would be unreasonable to give them free reign across the entire garden. There will be some areas where their input isn’t quite wanted.
Insect netting products from Little Fields Farm can help greatly here, protecting important plants or vegetables that you’re working hard to grow. All their products keep pests at bay, and you can shop with them based on price, brand, or even on a predetermined wish list set by you, if your efforts are to take place over a prolonged period. Available in fine to extra fine mesh sizes and remarkably simple to install, you’re never out of options here.
Insect netting can just afford you some peace of mind as you go about the garden space and ensure that your garden is never compromised by bothersome bugs. It’s neat and tidy too, so it won’t stand out at as an eye sore as an ugly blemish on an otherwise beautiful garden. It’s just what you need to keep bugs at bay, so invest in some today.
Feature Sticks, Leaves, and Ponds
Insects don’t merely buzz around aimlessly. They like having a place to call home too, very much like most creatures.
There are many ways to lure insects into the garden space, but building a suitable habitat in the form of simple logs or more elaborately designed ‘bug motels’ will ensure that they don’t just pass through then head on their way. They love to bed down in wood and foliage, so gathering some sticks and leaves and arranging them in a tidy little clump should help insects want to move in.
Ponds can be a perfect addition here too, as their presence will attract lots of wildlife like frogs, birds, and of course, insects. Scatter rotten logs and dead leaves about the vicinity too, and before long, you will be the architect of a bug haven with a balanced circle of life. It will also ensure many of the bugs stay in a concentrated area, rather than being scattered around the space unceremoniously.
Plant the Right Plant Life
Certain types of plant life can be more prudent in attracting bugs to your garden.
There are some obvious choices here. For example, most people know that buddleia shrubs attract lots of butterflies. Mint and marjoram herbs will also attract insects, so including some of theses in your garden area will surely yield great results. Sunflowers, lavenders, poppies will also attract bees, and most other assortments of wildflower should help things along too.
The Guardian’s feature entitled ‘Flowers to bring a buzz to the garden’ backs up many of the options listed above, so you’re in good hands with this advice. Plant them strategically, and you’ll be able to organise concentrated areas once again where the bugs can gather, without them trespassing on areas you wish to be wholly ‘bug free’.
Conclusion
When people don’t want bugs in their garden, they often resort to spraying harmful chemicals everywhere. Of course, you should refrain from this, because it is something of a cruel countermeasure that leaves no room for any alternative. If you arrange your garden in a smart fashion, you can instead reroute the insect traffic around to focused areas of your greenery, benefitting the wellbeing of your garden, its beauty, and all the nature around it.