Maryland's Wild Acres

Greening your Landscape - Beneficial Bugs

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Did you know that over 95% of the insects aren’t pests? Some bugs help pollinate fruits and vegetables while others take care of common garden pests. By limiting pesticide use in your yard and by providing the right type of plants, you can encourage beneficial bugs to inhabit your backyard habitat which will reduce your need for pesticides.

Steps to Encouraging Beneficial Bugs

1. Design your garden or backyard to have blooming plants throughout the spring, summer and fall to provide nectar and pollen.
2. Provide a water source.
3. Provide shelter such as leaf litter on the ground or groundcovers.
4. Have patience and tolerate a few pests until beneficial insects establish.
5. Identify pest problems before treating and choose treatments according to the pest.
6. If not enough beneficial insects establish in your backyard, then purchase them from a local nursery or commercial insectary.
7. Resist the urge to spray when you first see damage, and if spraying is necessary, consider using safer pesticides.

Least Toxic Pest Products
 

Problem	Active Ingredient
Aphids	Ladybugs
Caterpillars	Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki
Fungal Problems	Copper octonate Extract of Neem oil Potassium bicarbonate (85%) Sulfur
General Insect Pests	Capsaicin and related capsaicinoids Extract of Neem oil Fatty Acid Soap Potassium salts of fatty acids
Lawn Pests (Grubs and Fleas)	Cedar oil (2%) Steinernema carpocapsae (Nematodes)
Mosquito Larvae	Bacillus thuringiensis var. iseaeliensis (10%)
Snails and Slugs	Iron phosphate (1%)
Note: While products like pyrethrum and rotenone are naturally-derived, they are broad spectrum insecticides which can kill both pests and beneficial insects. Therefore, it is best to use narrow spectrum insecticides when possible.

Common Beneficial Bugs

Insect	Food	Attractants
Assassin Bug	Beetles, caterpillars, other bugs	Sunflowers
Damsel Bugs	Caterpillar eggs, fleahoppers, leafhoppers and spider mites	Clover
Damselflies & Dragonflies	Mosquitoes, gnats and flying insects	Open water, small ponds, open fields
Ground Beetles	Snails, slugs and root-feeding insects	Stone pathways, clover & compost piles
Honey Bees	Pollen and flower nectar	Flowers such as asters & goldenrods
Lacewings	Aphids, small caterpillars, whiteflies and thrips	Nectar plants including geraniums
Lady Bugs	Aphids, scales, mites and soft-bodied pests	Nectar plants including geraniums
Praying Mantis	Other insects	Flower & vegetable gardens
Predatory Flies	Caterpillars, beetle larvae and sawflies	Nectar plants
Predatory Wasps	Other insects	Pollen producing plants like fennel
Spiders	Other insects	Flower & vegetable gardens
Syrphid Flies	Aphids, beetles, caterpillars and thrips	Composites like dill, fennel and coreopsis
Wheel Bugs	Caterpillars, moths, squash bugs, cucumber beetles	Shrubs and trees

For Additional Information, Contact:

Kerry Wixted
Wildlife and Heritage Service
580 Taylor Ave, E-1
Annapolis, MD 21401
kwixted@dnr.state.md.us
Phone: 410-260-8566
Fax: 410-260-8596

Acknowledgements:

All photos by Kerry Wixted