Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency reports that homeowners in North America use approximately 136 million pounds of pesticides on their gardens and their lawns? That is an extremely toxic amount not just in the air but on our food. The best way to keep the bad bugs away is by using bugs that will eat them. The main thing is to know which ones are bad and which ones are good. This isn’t as hard as it may seem, however if you’re still not sure what is attacking your plants then you can start adding good bugs to attract more good bugs.

The bad bugs that normally attack a garden are aphids and cabbage moths. Aphids appear in groups on the young leaves or stems of your plants. Sometimes you will find entire colonies on the bottom half of the leaves. These are lethal to your garden. Aphids cause plants to mutate, stop growing and suck the plant dry of sap. They also cause the rotting mold looking substance that will damage your plants. Adult Cabbage Moths don’t hurt your plants directly. What they do is lay dozens of eggs on your leaves that will then hatch and eat through the leaves like they are in starvation mode.

To combat these two destructive insects it is best to load up the garden with natures cleaning supplies, Ladybugs. Yes, these tiny insects love to eat aphids. If you want to attract them naturally then surround your garden with dill, dandelions and angelica. Otherwise, you can actually purchase small quantities of Ladybugs. Want something that will eat almost anything? Purchase a Praying Mantis. They will eat grasshoppers, beetles, grubs, aphids and much more. If it moves it may get eaten. Using nature’s own pest control method is much better than adding on all of the harmful pesticides.