There is nothing worse than watching a beautiful garden wilt and die before your eyes. Chances are if your beautiful seedlings just stopped growing you are having and insect infestation. Vegetable gardening and insects go hand in hand. Every gardener will tell you horror stories of vegetable gardening and insects that include tales of Japanese beetles, aphids, and squash borers. What you might not know is that vegetable gardening and insects don't have to be at odds with each other. There are many insects that are highly beneficial to your garden just like a chain link fence for your property.
The praying mantis is one insect that every garden needs. When it comes to vegetable gardening and insects, the praying mantis is the best predator you can find. Called the praying mantis because its long legs are folded as if it is in prayer, this insect can be as big as 6 inches long, although most only reach a length of 2 inches.
Their green color helps to camouflage them from preying birds and allows them to hide from the pests they like to hunt. The average garden mantis will eat all sorts of garden pests including beetles, squash borers, and grasshoppers. These insects are so strong that the larger ones have even been known to eat small lizards or humming birds, yet they are perfectly safe to have in the garden and don't bite or sting the way other insects do.
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Ladybugs are another beneficial insect that can help you to control pests in the garden. Ladybugs feed on aphids and mites that are practically invisible to the naked eye. Though small these garden pests can do extensive damage to your plants, so filling your garden with ladybugs is always a good idea. You can purchase live ladybugs through garden catalogs or even at some nurseries. As long as there are aphids in your garden, the ladybugs will not fly away, but will continue to eradicate them.
Some Words of Warning When it Comes to Vegetable Gardening And Insects
If you plan to release a praying mantis and ladybugs in your garden at the same time, make sure that you have plenty of harmful bugs for both of these types of critters to hunt. If the bad bug supply goes down, your praying mantis will start to eat your ladybugs. Most of the time, they will leave ladybugs alone, but if there is no other food supple, your ladybugs are in danger. It is also important that you never release these beneficial insects into gardens where pesticide has been recently sprayed. Allow at least two weeks for pesticide to dissipate before you release beneficial insects into your garden.
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