As we previously noted in articles here at lawneq.com, there are good bugs and bad bugs. However, what we haven’t discussed is that there are bugs that kids favor.
For example, who doesn’t have childhood memories of chasing fireflies in the backyard of their parents’ home or inspecting ladybug on the leaf of a plant?
If you have kids and a garden, then there are things you can do to attract these bugs.
Attracting Ladybugs
Ladybug
(Courtesy: Mihai Andronic at flickr.com)
Ladybugs can be attracted to your garden by following a five-step plan.
1. Plant lots of herbs as well as white and yellow flowers in your garden. Moreover, ladybugs like to hide under low growing plants and are also attracted to pollen-producing plants. You can also include roses because they attract aphids and aphids attract ladybugs.
2. Include a water source in your garden like dishes of water placed low, a pond, birdbaths, etc.
3. Avoid using insecticides.
4. Leave some dead plants in the garden at the end of the growing season and into the winter to give shelter to ladybugs.
5. Purchase ladybugs and release them in your garden when it is dark among the things listed above.
Attracting Fireflies
Firefly
(Courtesy: Rachel at flickr.com)
You may not be aware that fireflies are becoming scarce. Many blame pesticides and others point to pollution. Still, there are ways to attract them to your garden.
1. As is the case for ladybugs, fireflies like water, too. It is said that they live near ponds, streams, rivers, marshes, lakes or even shallow areas that hold water.
2. Fireflies like to lay their eggs in rotting wood and forest litter near water.
3. They favor long grass so that they can hide from predators.
4. They also desire high places including trees and bushes.
5. They also like areas that are dark at night without man-made sources of light.
6. Keep human traffic to a minimum.
7. Don’t use pesticides.
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