Plenty of insects,the pollinators,fertilize your vegetable plants for a good harvest.
It’s important to know the difference because if the good guys disappear, the bad guys take over.
Lady beetles,Coccinella novemnotata,are voracious eliminators of aphids eating up to five thousand in a lifetime.
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These beetles are most often seen feeding at soil level but sometimes climb into foliage.
Ground beetle activity also helps suppress weeds.
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Parasitic wasps are not harmful and do not sting humans or pets.
They are much more interested in flowers than humans and only sting in defense when bothered.
They possess one of the fastest killing strikes in nature at 1/20th of a second.
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Garden spiders are generalists consuming plenty of insect pests and should be protected.
Other beneficial types include barn, grass, crab, wolf, and jumping spiders.
Wrens, titmice, and chickadees eat all types of insect pests from ants to beetles to caterpillars.
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Sparrows and finches consume seeds to help eliminate weeds.
Hummingbirds eat small insects and visit flowers to aid in pollination.
Brown bats are rarely dangerous.
Female Ichneumon Wasp (Ichneumonidae). The larvae of these wasps are parasites of a wide variety of other insects and spiders.M. & C. Photography / Photolibrary / Getty Images
They hunt at night and fly away from human contact.
However, bats can carry rabies causing them to act abnormally aggressive.
if you stumble on a bat with weird behavior contact your local health department or animal control agency.
Bumblebee workers live only from spring to fall.Flickr userKatja Schulz(CC license)
Many also aid pollination and help with weed control.
Avoid broad spectrum pesticides which kill all insects, both good and bad.
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
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Spiders will nosh on whatever insects wander into their web, so consider moving them if they set up shop in an area where you want your good bugs to thrive.Krycheq / Wikimedia Commons
The wheel bug is notable for its spiny crest and, sometimes, its painful biteMike Axelrod/ Flickr /CC BY 2.0
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Bats can always find their way home - thanks to echolocation.Image by Craig Dingle/E+/Getty Images
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