Don’t Squash Me! I’m a Good Bug

When you think of bugs and pests, you think of the creepy crawlers and want to reach for your shoe to squash them. You may want to think again! Some bugs are beneficial to your house and gardens. All throughout nature there are predator and prey, and good and bad. Bugs can be categorized in the same way.

Bad Bugs

You will have your bad bugs that will destroy or cause harm to your house and garden. These bugs will gnaw through wood, ruin your flowers and gardens, reduce the living conditions and cause discomfort. Some bad bugs include:

• Termites
• Carpenter ants
• Bed bugs
• Roaches
• Fire ants
• Snails
• Mealybugs
• Beetles

Once these unwanted guests appear, it can become very costly to get rid of them. Depending on the infestation, extermination and a maintenance treatment may become a long-term solution.

Good Bugs

A natural defense to a bad bug is a good bug. Not all insects are harmful. Some are actually quite helpful. As long as the bad bugs have not infested your home or garden, a good bug can help control the population of the unwanted guests.

One of the best fighters against the damaging pests is the praying mantis. This good bug will eat just about anything it can catch. An adult mantis can eat other insects, small rodents and frogs. A praying mantis can be kept as a pet to help control the pests inside your house. Farmers love seeing praying mantises in the fields because the gardens definitely benefit with them in the wild!

Another good bug for both the house and garden is the spider. Spiders help control the bad bug population in the house and garden by capturing prey in their webs. Spiders will catch and consume the smaller insects like termites, ants and bed bugs.

Although many believe ladybugs are good luck, they are also a good bug. A ladybug will hunt for mites and mealybugs. Their main feeding ground is the garden, but they have been known to make their way into houses and can continue the hunt for mites.

To control the slugs and snails in your garden, the ground beetle is your good insect. This shiny black bug will do his dirty work in the dark. They hunt for the snails and slug that are ruining your garden.

For more information on bugs and insects contact us.