Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden, Revised and Updated Second Edition

With this indispensable gardening reference--now updated with new research, insights, and voices--learn how to create a healthy, balanced, and diverse garden capable of supporting a hard-working crew of beneficial pest-eating insects, and eliminate the need for synthetic chemical pesticides.

After a fascinating introduction to the predator and prey cycle and its importance to both wild ecosystems and home gardens, you'll meet dozens of pest-munching beneficial insects (the predators) that feast on garden pests (their prey). From ladybugs and lacewings to parasitic wasps and syrphid flies, these good guys of the bug world keep the natural system of checks and balances in prime working order. They help limit pest damage and also serve a valuable role in the garden's food web. But, they won't call your garden home if you don't have the resources they need to survive.

With a hearty population of beneficial insects present in your garden, you'll say goodbye to common garden pests like aphids, cabbage worms, bean beetles, leafhoppers, and hornworms, without reaching for a spray can. To encourage these good guys to stick around and do their important work, you'll learn how to create a welcoming habitat and fill your garden with the best plants to support them.

Inside you'll find:

• Bug profiles introducing dozens of beneficial insects and the down-and-dirty details on how they catch and eat their prey
• Plant profiles featuring the best plants for supporting beneficials
• Interviews with entomologists who focus their life's work on understanding the value of insects, including Doug Tallamy, Paula Shrewsbury, Leslie Allee, Dan Herms, and others
• An inspiring look at how plants and insects intersect in the most incredible ways
• Why gardening for bugs is just as important to the greater world as it is to your garden
• Tips for creating insectary plantings and borders to support a broad range of beneficials