Did you know there are good bugs??

First of all, let me say that I do NOT like bugs!! Who knew that there are good bugs out there??

Pictured above: Tomato plant with eggs attached.

I have always known that spiders eat bugs, and dragonflies eat mosquitoes and a few other commonly known things like that but I never knew how extensive the insect world is!

Pictured below: Stink/Squash Bug Nymphs among the peas, corn, and sunflowers.

Until I started seriously gardening I never really knew that so many of the bugs out there were good against the ones that are pests to us.

Pictured below: Three sisters garden (sunflowers, corn, peas) with Stink/Squash bug nymphs on one of the sunflowers. There is also an assassin bug lurking over by the pea pods waiting to munch on the nymphs.

This year in particular, I have dealt with Aphids, Stink Bugs, Squash Bugs, and Vine borers just to name a few of the pests.

Pictured below: Close up of the Stink/Squash bug nymphs in the picture above.

Pictured below: Young Zipper Pea plant with tons of Brown Aphids and aphid eggs on it.

That being said, after many unsuccessful attempts at removing these pests myself, all organic choices, I was ready to throw in the towel and just let the pests have what produce they could get...

Pictured above: First attempt at organic pest control is to blast the little pests with the water hose to make them come off of the plants then commence to squishing. My oldest daughter was helping with this task.

Pictured below: Our 2nd attempt at organic pest control was to "sprinkle" flour on and around the plants, makes it harder for the pest bugs to climb and stay on the plants. A couple of notes about this method: 1. Don't let young children help sprinkle...they make it rain instead; 2. Don't use this method if you can't spend time to wash the majority of the flour off of the plants before mold sets in, and repeat this process over and over due to needing to wash off of the plants.

Then the best thing happened!! I began to see the "good" bugs and their offspring among my plants. Just in time too because, like I said earlier, I was about ready to give up on them.

Pictured below: An adult ladybug hanging out on one of my zipper pea plants in my side garden.

Pictured below: This is a ladybug nymph guarding this part of a zipper pea plant, looking for some aphids to munch on.

There was just one or two randomly at first and before I knew it I had a full blown bug war going on over my garden. Seriously, I walked out there one day (I walk out there everyday) and there was 1 or 2 ladybugs and I saw what I thought might be an assassin bug (also great bug predators, and they can bite us too, ouch!) and then the next 2 days I saw literally like 2 more ladybugs and then it rained a day or so and when I went out to check the growth from the rain (nature's miracle grow), there were like 20 to 30 ladybugs and many of their nymphs as well!

Pictured below: Zipper pea pods with various aged Stink/Squash bugs, their nymphs and an assassin bug is on there, also there is a little lizard hiding behind one of the leaves.

Pictured below: Our version of a 3 sisters garden: Sweet corn, Zipper peas (climbing bush plants), Sunflowers, and Marigolds for bugs.

It really is kind of cool when you think about it like that. You've got these tiny little pesky aphids, because there are always a ton of them, and in come the ladybugs and their nymphs and they are slowly and methodically wiping out the pests, it truly is amazing to watch mother nature at work!

Pictured below: Zipper pea plant covered in little brown aphids and a few ladybug nymphs having so lunch of the aphids. *chomp chomp

In the end, our garden still flourished. That is, after I stopped trying to kill bugs, Ha ha. We got so much produce that we ran out of freezer space and we gave a bunch away to neighbors and other community members.

Pictured below: Our side garden, includes Sweet Corn, Zipper Peas, and some Carrots.

Thanks for taking the time to read our thoughts/experiences so far with BUGS! Follow our page for more posts about gardening, life, moving across country to be off grid and many other topics.