Ever wonder what to do about insect pests besides spray them to death?

Ladybugs and Praying Mantises eat several times their own weight in garden pests in one day!

Imagine having a really great pest control in your garden and never having to spray a single pesticide!

Here’s a list of what they love to feast on:

Ladybugs

• aphids
• whitefly
• spidermites
• mealybugs

Praying Mantis

• aphids
• beetles
• grasshoppers
• caterpillars
• moths
• mosquitos
• other insects

This company: http://www.gardeners.com/1500-Adult-Ladybugs/BackyardHabitat_Cat,05-239RS,default,cp.html will send you 1,500 adult ladybugs or 200-300 Praying Mantis eggs.

I plan to order some for May/June when we get lots of aphids and for the past two years I’ve had the dreaded Japanese Beetle. (I did put down milky spore last year twice, but that can take a few years to build up and take effect.)

Another wonderful way to protect vegetation from harmful pests is with coverings. Here is a great, affordable, garden fabric that can be used in the summer to cover crops and prevent them from damage. This works very well with beetles, but may or may not work so great with aphids. Here’s a link to purchase: http://www.gardeners.com/Summerweight-Garden-Fabric/GardenPests_Insects,11749,default,cp.html