Reference
Attracting Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
The short answer
The most reliable way to get beneficial insects working in your garden is to build habitat that draws them in and keeps them there, not to buy and release insects. Lady beetles and green lacewings are voracious predators of aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, and other soft-bodied pests, and many small parasitic wasps and flies attack pests too. Their adults often feed on pollen and nectar, so a steady supply of flowers matters.
Aim for diversity and continuous bloom from early spring through late fall, mixing trees, shrubs, and annual and perennial flowers, and include plants in the carrot family (like dill, fennel, cilantro, and Queen Anne's lace), which are especially attractive to tiny parasitic wasps and flies. Permanent plantings give beneficials places to overwinter. Because broad-spectrum insecticides kill these helpers, conserving them is itself a control strategy.
Who the helpers are
- Lady beetles: adults and larvae eat aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, and other small pests
- Green lacewings: larvae are heavy predators of aphids and other soft-bodied insects
- Parasitic and predatory wasps and flies (syrphid, tachinid): attack many garden pests
How to attract and keep them
- Plant for continuous bloom from early spring through late fall so adults always have pollen and nectar
- Maximize diversity: mix trees, shrubs, turf, and annual and perennial flowers
- Include carrot-family plants (dill, fennel, cilantro/coriander, caraway, Queen Anne's lace) for small wasps and flies
- Keep permanent plantings that give beneficials places to overwinter
Habitat over purchases
Building habitat is more dependable than buying insects to release, which often disperse. Conserving the beneficials you already have is a real control tactic: avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that kill natural enemies along with pests, and tolerate low pest levels so predators have something to eat.
✔ A small planting of flowering herbs left to bloom (dill, cilantro, fennel) can quietly recruit the parasitic wasps that keep aphids in check.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Penn State Extension — Attracting Beneficial Insects — Plant native pollinator plants that provide nectar and pollen to attract beneficial insects to the garden.
- Wisconsin Horticulture — Plant Flowers to Encourage Beneficial Insects — Lady beetles and lacewings eat aphids and other pests; need continuous bloom early spring to late fall; diversity of trees/shrubs/flowers; carrot-family plants attract parasitic wasps and flies; permanent plantings provide overwintering habitat.
- Penn State Extension — Recognize and Conserve Natural Enemies — Conserving natural enemies as a pest-control strategy and avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides that harm them.