Attracting and keeping beneficial insects in the home garden should be a priority for every gardener, whether the garden itself is large or small.  We all know that bees and butterflies are beneficial because they help with plant pollination, but there are many other helpful insects that quietly protect our gardens from the bad guys who are always present and who exist solely to destroy our hard work.

Attracting beneficial insects is an easy thing to do if you just remember a two simple rules:

1.  Plant colorful pollen-filled plants - Planting lots of pollen plants is a sure-fire way to attract the pollinators, and some of the most popular home gardening plants are high on the list, including sunflowers, daisies, dill, yarrow, and butterfly weed, to name just a few.  Please see "Plants that Attract Bees, Butterflies, and Beneficial Insects" for more specific plant information.

2. Eliminate pesticides - Eliminating pesticides from the landscape will go a long way towards keeping the beneficial insects already in the area.  Obviously, there have to be pests in the area to sustain the population of beneficial insects.  If the beneficials exhaust their food supply, they will move on.  This is why any pesticides - either homemade or store-bought - should only be used in worst case scenarios and even then with extreme caution and in moderation so as not to decimate the beneficials along with the pests.

And that's it!  Grow the plants they love, and refrain from poisoning them, and the beneficial insects in your garden will go about their work, helping your garden stay healthy the way that nature intended!

To the left are links on individual beneficial insects.  This is a work in progress, so please be patient while I do the necessary research, and be sure to visit other closely related areas on this site, including the sections on Backyard Habitat and Companion Planting.