Beneficials in Your Garden

The term "beneficial" is thrown out a lot in the gardening world. If you're not sure what it refers to, it's typically referring to various arthropods and creatures that live in your garden and are 'beneficial' to its health. Beneficials are also the number one reason NOT to use insecticides, herbicides and other toxic chemicals in your everyday gardening practices.





Beneficials come in all shapes and sizes -- and rarely do they become significant pests. Many people think that all creatures in the garden and landscape should go. This couldn't be further from the truth. Many of these creatures play pivotal roles in the ecosystem you're adding to.

Predators are one type of beneficials and they are most often considered general feeders. "General feeders" means they aren't always picky about what they eat. Spiders, mantids and assassin bugs are generally not picky about their food. These creatures are pivotal in biological control of pests in your garden and landscape -- spiders are even beneficial inside your home. Other predatory beneficials in the arthropod world include lacewings, ladybugs and certain other types of beetles.

Predatory beneficials don't just come in the form of invertebrates; lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, birds and mammals also fall into this category. All of these creatures work together to keep populations in check. Some insecticides are so toxic that if a predator eats an infected insect it can die and/or spread the toxin to other animals and water supplies.

Some beneficials are parasitoids that kill their hosts. Sometimes parasitoids are as large as their host. Parasitoids are different from parasites in a few ways including that parasites generally just weaken their host or may not affect them at all and that they are typically much, much smaller than their hosts. Some parasitoids are much smaller than their hosts, particularly in their adult form. Many of these parasitoids are larger as larvae.

Parasitoids generally start their lives on their hosts; the adult female typically lays eggs on or near the host and the larvae feed on the host until pupation. Parasitoids are generally host-specific, either feeding on one species or a group of very closely related species.

Pollinators, such as the humble honeybee, are more quickly embraced as beneficials than other types of creatures. Pollination occurs when pollen is taken from the male parts of the plant to the female parts. Pollinators work because they gather pollen and, in the process, transfer it from one part to another. Honeybees, some wasps, bumblebees, butterflies (to some degree), moths and some flies are excellent pollinators.

The next and final group of beneficials in your garden and landscape are the decomposers and recyclers. These creatures break down vital nutrients from dead and decaying organisms to release vital carbon, nitrogen and other elements into the soil. These creatures are found almost everywhere, but generally in dark, moist environments. Compost piles are aided by these creatures, which include earthworms, pillbugs, millipedes and certain flies.

All of these beneficials make the world go 'round as we know it. Unfortunately, though, many of these creatures aren't appreciated and are killed out of ignorance or by second-hand chemicals that people who choose not to understand.