Dragonflies are carnivorous creatures that feed on small aquatic insects, tadpoles, and even small fish. They are most attracted to open, sunny areas near water and can be seen zooming around in sunny parks, meadows, and gardens. They are voracious predators that feed on gnats, mosquitoes, midges, flies, butterflies, and moths. Dragonflies and their smaller counterparts, damselflies, feed on other insects, such as flies, midges, and mosquitoes. They will also take butterflies and even smaller dragonflies. One of their preferred food is the mosquito population, as they are typically near stagnant water where you live. Nymphs feed on small aquatic animals such as other insects, worms, tadpoles, and even small fish by lying in wait and snatching prey as it swims or crawls by.
To attract dragonflies into your garden, create the perfect habitat with the right plants, water sources, and shelter. Improve and pollination while dragonflies are attracted to these plants. Some plants that attract dragonflies include Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), which is one of many native milkweeds that are a must for attracting them.
In summary, dragonflies are carnivorous creatures that feed on small aquatic insects, tadpoles, and small fish. To attract dragonflies to your garden, create the perfect habitat with the right plants, water sources, and shelter.
📹 7 Pests You Probably Have In Your Garden (And What To Do)
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Do dragonflies feed on flowers?
Dragonflies and damselflies are classified as flower carnivores, feeding on insects that they subsequently digest. This process is so efficient that they can digest the insects to their body weight within an hour. They do not engage in pollination activities or visit flowers.
What do dragonflies eat the most?
Dragonflies are insects that feed on flies, midges, mosquitoes, butterflies, and smaller dragonflies. They catch prey in mid-air using their long legs and carry it to a perch. Dragonflies are larger and have bulkier bodies, while damselflies are slender. They have open wings when resting, separate eyes on either side of their heads, and a strong direct flight, while damselflies fly in a fluttery fashion. Dragonflies are also known for their ability to eat butterflies and smaller dragonflies.
Is it good to have dragonflies around?
Dragonflies, a beneficial insect with over 300 million years of existence, are fast-moving fliers that eat insects like mosquitoes and flies. They fly at speeds up to 30 miles per hour, avoiding predators like birds and frogs. Their large compound eyes help them see prey in mid-air. Female dragonflies lay their eggs in mud or water, and nymphs hatch within a few weeks. They live in water for up to two years, making them abundant near bodies of water. Their presence in gardens provides living pest control and is fun to watch.
Do dragonflies deter mosquitoes?
While dragonflies are not a guaranteed method of eliminating mosquitoes, they can serve as an effective means of reducing their populations. The lifespan of dragonflies varies depending on the species, with adult lifespan ranging from a few weeks to several months. To attract dragonflies to an area, it is recommended to provide a water source, aquatic plants, avoid the use of pesticides, and create diverse habitats with perching spots.
What are dragon flies attracted to?
Dragonflies are aquatic insects that thrive in water features such as ponds, small water gardens, and containers with still water. They are attracted to native plants like monarda, rudbeckia, coneflower, butterfly weed, and cardinal flower. Sunlight and warmth are crucial for dragonflies, as they rely on the warmth of the sun to regulate their body temperature. Avoiding pesticides and reducing light pollution can help dragonflies avoid harm.
Minimizing outdoor lighting, especially near water features, can also help dragonflies avoid being drawn to bright lights at night. By creating a hospitable environment with water sources and suitable plants, you can add dragonflies to your outdoor space and enjoy their beauty.
Does dragonfly eat mosquitoes?
Dragonflies and damselflies are carnivorous insects that eat small insects, including mosquitoes. They can make your backyard their home and the mosquito population their dinner if given the right living conditions. To attract dragonflies, consider adding a water feature to your yard, which they prefer. Some species prefer standing water, while others prefer flowing water. Research the common aquatic insects in your area to determine the type of water feature to invest in. If creating a water feature, ensure it is at least two feet deep, as mosquito larvae thrive in shallow water. Having a deeper pond also helps limit mosquitoes in your yard.
What does it mean when there are lots of dragonflies?
Dragonflies can be attracted to your yard due to various factors, including standing water, mosquitoes, ants, and termites. Standing water, such as lakes or ponds, attracts large amounts of dragonflies, while smaller bodies of water like pools or birdbaths can attract mosquitoes. Electric mosquito lamps can also attract dragonflies by connecting them to their prey species.
Termites, in particular, can attract dragonflies as they undergo their own swarming event. When a colony reaches a large size during early summer months, termites produce and release alates, which can reproduce and spread out to create their own colonies. These alate swarms can attract large numbers of dragonflies.
Activities that stir up or disturb prey species, such as mowing your lawn or cleaning out old logs or debris, can also attract dragonflies. For example, mowing can stir up gnat colonies, while cleaning can stir up different fly species. Dragonflies will then swarm the area, swooping down upon the insects as they are agitated from their resting place.
What relationship does a dragonfly and a flower have?
A local dragonfly visitor was observed on a bush, demonstrating mutualism. The dragonfly is eating insects and pests, while plants provide cover and shelter for the dragonflies. This symbiosis demonstrates the benefits of mutualism, where one organism benefits from the other, and vice versa. The plant-life, such as bushes and trees, also serve as a nesting ground for the dragonflies, providing them with a means of rebirth and shelter.
Is it normal to see a swarm of dragonflies?
Dr. Goforth explains that dragonfly swarming is common in various species, but the chances of seeing multiple swarms in a single area can be low. A static feeding swarm is another type of swarm where several hundred dragonflies swoop low over a lawn or pasture in figure eight patterns, catching bugs. The Common Green Darner (Anax junius) is one of the largest dragonflies, with males growing up to 3 inches in length and a 3-inch wingspan. They migrate from the northern US to south into Texas and Mexico.
The dragonfly woman. com, run by aquatic entomologist Christine Goforth from the University of Arizona, provides information on dragonfly swarming and a page to report swarm siting as part of a citizen science project. The swarms typically appear near dawn or dusk, as dragonflies can see their prey better when the sun is low on the horizon. They appear suddenly, fly figure eight patterns over the yard for about an hour, and then disappear. Dr.
Goforth suggests that dragonflies are attracted to large groups of prey organisms, and once prey numbers drop or become less active, they move on. The swarms have been observed in our yard for about 3-4 evenings.
What does it mean when a lot of dragonflies are around?
Dragonflies can be attracted to your yard due to various factors, including standing water, mosquitoes, ants, and termites. Standing water, such as lakes or ponds, attracts large amounts of dragonflies, while smaller bodies of water like pools or birdbaths can attract mosquitoes. Electric mosquito lamps can also attract dragonflies by connecting them to their prey species.
Termites, in particular, can attract dragonflies as they undergo their own swarming event. When a colony reaches a large size during early summer months, termites produce and release alates, which can reproduce and spread out to create their own colonies. These alate swarms can attract large numbers of dragonflies.
Activities that stir up or disturb prey species, such as mowing your lawn or cleaning out old logs or debris, can also attract dragonflies. For example, mowing can stir up gnat colonies, while cleaning can stir up different fly species. Dragonflies will then swarm the area, swooping down upon the insects as they are agitated from their resting place.
What is the best plant to attract dragonflies?
Dragonflies are fascinating insects with bright colors and iridescent wings, and they are important indicators of a healthy ecosystem. They are found worldwide, except in Arctic environments, and are especially abundant in areas with abundant water sources. In temperate regions, they are most abundant in the summer and fall, while in tropical regions, they can be found year-round with a higher diversity of species and populations. Dragonflies are found in areas with abundant water sources, such as Asclepias incarnata, Equisetum fluviatile, Juncus effusus, Pontederia cordata, Sagittaria latifolia, Typha latifolia, and Nymphaea.
📹 Plants That Keep Pests Away
Some plants are good at helping you in the garden. Here are a few of my garden favorites that keep the pests at bay!
Has such bad aphids last year. Three different types (red, green, white) on my plants all at once. It was bad, I was considering pesticides for first time. Then I saw some green worms on them too and got so mad. But my plants suddenly got better, and there were no signs of the leaves being eaten. After some research, I realized they were the larvae of the hoverfly. They completely decimated the aphid population in about 2 weeks. I couldn’t find any! They pupated and became a huge swarm that covered my plants, laying the next gen. To this day, I have never seen such a huge population in hoverflies in my garden and they helped me so much I am glad I waited. I just hope they return again this year! They seemed to be attracted to the “honey” you mentioned that aphids leave, my plants were sticky with it! Even the wasps came by to feed on it 🥲 I am a new gardener (only 5 yrs) so I keep discovering new things every year
As a super new gardener I greatly appreciate you both sharing your wealth of knowledge with us, especially for free. My only request is could you please write out the names of the products you recommend? Whether on screen or in the description box. Sometimes it’s hard to make out what the name is that’s being said and I don’t want to get it wrong. Thank you!
The most abundant pest around here is the earwig. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one fly; but, they sure can climb. Last year, one of the other gardeners suggested that I sink a small cup, like a yogurt cup into the soil and fill it with soy sauce. The earwigs seem to be attracted to the scent of the soy sauce. I tried it and sure enough, the next time I went to the garden, there were earwigs floating in the soy sauce.
You can see the eggs of the cabbage worms and the leaf miners on the undersides of leaves. Instead of using any kind of pesticide, you can just find the eggs and rub them off with your finger. Then cover your vulnerable plants (brassicas, beets, kale, swiss chard, spinach) with fine mesh bug netting for gardens so the moths can’t get in to lay their eggs anymore.
Sun dew carnivorous plants are fatally attractive to fungus gnats. I worked in an open floor wide cube farm where every plant had fungus gnats. One person brought in one sun dew and all the gnats were gone overnight and never came back. I’d like to see you experiment with one, especially in a confined space like a green house.
I’ve actually encountered at least 5 of these pests in my garden and I can tell you the worst one for me has nothing to do with the actual plant, but the fact that the Fungus Gnats love to attack your face. Nose, eyes, mouth, all got flew into by this super annoying pest! 😤 Wish I knew this info beforehand.
I did a container garden of Sunflower and Osteospermum a.k.a African daisy. Looks so pretty and the Sunflower is supposed to attract bees, earth worms and ladybugs. Ladybugs are supposed to eat Aphids. I thought I learned about Sunflower benefits from this website. You all are so helpful. Thank you for your articles.
I planted lettuce with potatoes. It was cold, so potatoes took awhile in spring to pop up. Now they are shading the lettuce. I also found slugs prefer potato leaves over lettuce, since I’m not harvesting potato leaves, so I’m fine with potato leaves with holes in them. Makes it easier to pick them off too.
I really like your bit about fungus gnats. I never thought about watering the garden with it! I will typically put a bundle of hay into a bucket and let it ferment for a few days in water and then throw a mosquito dunk in there and set it out around my property. I’ve noticed a SIGNIFICANT reduction in mosquitos because their larvae are dying in those buckets.
I had aphids all over a trellis full of pole beans! Nothing worked! I read somewhere that old timers used flour to dust the plants and this would kill the aphids as they would bloat from ingesting the flour. I pruned, washed, and then powdered my pole bean leaves with all purpose flour and it worked!
I got a whitefly infestation on my cucumber vines one year. Oh my lanta. I pruned, sprayed, pruned sprayed … they just kept “jumping” to another section of the plants. I was able to maintain until the season was over but it was not fun. You’ve mentioned earwigs in San Diego. Those buggers showed up last year – in force – to my brassicas. My romaine and cabbage leaves became lace … how do you manage those? Much thanks – great vid!
Awesome that you use the Summit Mosquito Dunks. Been using them for years but I hadn’t thought of putting the dunks in water. I’ve been using the Bits but the dunks make it much easier so I don’t have to strain out the bits since they get moldy. Thank you so much for that tip. One dunk per 5gal, cool. What I’m understanding is BT will kill all larvae of most any kind of pest. Will BT also kill the larvae of the good bugs too? Great article. Somewhere I read ppl use toothpicks next to the seedlings but I like the sticks even better.
Does anyone have any recommendations for dealing with stink bugs? I have some shield shaped beetles (that spray stink juice when you bother them) and they keep hanging out on my bell peppers and mating. I try to wash them off but they keep coming back. Not sure if they’re harming the plants but last season they were an absolute nuance, covering everything from my bell peppers to my amaranth
Found this out by accident. I hung a suet block over some aphid infested roses in the morning before going to work. Chickadees, sparrows and bushtits were common visitors at the suet feeder. When I came home at the end of the work day I went out to spray a home-brew insecticide on the roses. There was no trace of aphids on the roses. I now routinely use this practice for aphid control.
Im curious if you’ve ever looked into springtail propagation. Im sure there are different species so youd want to make sure you are getting local species. Its really popular for reptile keepers to do bioactive enclosures and if its not set up right they will get fungus gnats. It’s controlled by using isopod and springtail colonies. YOU HAVE TO GET LOCAL POPULATIONS if you are putting them outside. But the reason i bring it up is because these little critters naturally live in the soil and keep it healthy but since so many gardners are using potted plants or raised garden beds, they likely arent in your soil immediately to help with these issues.
Love your informative articles. I live in the lower Hudson Valley in NY and I discovered a lot of little black bugs on one bean on my pole bean plant. The bugs looked like ticks. I clipped off the bean and the one leaf that one was sitting on and drowned them in water with dish soap because plain water didn’t work. Any idea what they were? I sprayed the plant with Neem and haven’t seen any more. Thanks
One thing that I’ve discovered that controls the fungus knats best is just to light some matches. It sounds silly but it’s sulfur and they do not like it. I don’t know if it kills them or not but it works really well. I’ve had a major problem with them since I moved into my new place about 3 years ago and have tried everything I’ve even killed a few plants because I didn’t water them and killed my soil with h2o2 and killed a few plants from using Diatamascus Earth because of ph and ppm issues and the knat problem still didn’t get any better. If you are having the same issues please try lightning matches and let me know if it works for you.
S.O.S. I got aphids in our Polytunnel, some may have overwintered last year and maybe some new. Managed to bring several ladybird beetles in but progress is slow. Should I throw out top 3 inches of compost by the end of the growing season to prevent overwintering? 😢 Also, fairly certain flea beetles are nibbling on my little radish seedlings.
The tomatoe horn worms I tend to let eat a plant or 2 because the moth form is a magnificent pollinators. Also I’ll have a random pach with native milk weeds for monark butterfly. The cabbage moth is a good pollinator as well just unfortunately there so um not known for this but known for only there damage. Assassin bugs will eat/kill leaf miners.
I just started gardening, and I immediately had a problem with fungus gnats from overwatering. I coated the soil of my seedling pots with diatomaceous earth and I sprayed the soil with a concentration of mostly water with neem oil and a teensy bit of hydrogen peroxide. The gnats are gone and the seedlings are doing fine. Did I get lucky or is this a good solution?
Do you have any recommendations on how to keep rabbits out of the garden? There are wild rabbits all over my area, which leads me toward a container gardening approach, but I wonder if they’ll jump on the containers as well… I bought a couple of Greenstalks and maybe they’ll end up eating from there and cause the stalk to tip over… Any help is appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Plant nasturtiums in and around your garden as decoy plants for green cabbage moth caterpillars, they prefer to lay their eggs on these and will not target your brassicas as much. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, the nasturtium flowers also help to encourage beneficial insects and birds will also be attracted to this food source and help keep other insect numbers in check. You can also eat the leaves and flowers in your salads. They come in a variety of colours in trailing and bush varieties. Try not to use chemicals as this throws the delicate balance of your garden out.
The absolute best solution against aphids that I have ever used is a simple mixture of water, a few drops of dishsoap and a bit of vegetable oil, any oil will do. Spray the solution in using a simple spray bottle. The mixture blocks the breathing holes of the aphids and they die off. Do this every day for about a week and you’re sorted.
I planted onion seedlings in the evening. A few days later, I so happened to be outside in the night, and I saw a cut worm. By then, it was too late it completely desimated all the seedlings. (At the time, I didn’t know what it was. Looking at it, I figured it was some sort of worm, I was confused wondering why the worm was out so late at night, lol)
Neem oil is not permitted for use in my area (Canada, west coast) so I can’t get it or use it. I’m having a leaf hopper problem. They love this clematis have had for 8 years now, and every year they eat it to bits. It keeps coming back, but no matter what I do to the soil over winter I can’t get rid of them. I’ve tried applications of insecticidal soap, but the adults just fly away and infect other plants. I’ve heard of diatomaceous earth is good, so I’m trying that on the underside of the leaves. If you have any better ideas, please let me know.
I have natural soaps mix with three parts water. I also heard Avory Soap is the next best thing Insects are part of life in any type Horticulture or Agriculture dealings .So Gardeners and Farmers deal with pesty pests of insects Plus certain types are good vegetation We must encourage those types of insects.
Hi! I live in Missouri and I have 3 Plumeria plants that I started 3 summers ago. I winter them over in my basement and bring them up in March and start watering them. They look really great right now but last summer when I had them outside they had rusty looking spots develop on their leaves. I used a copper spray on the leaves but it really didn’t make a difference. Do you have any idea of what it might be and how I can treat it? Thanks!
Hi I would like to mention something about pest, and Pierce’s Disease that I am researching on. The reason I concern about this is that it has been threat, and yes in California as well. I recently found there has been solutions, and one of these are called XylPhi-PD ( Not sure if already available in the market) is very effective. I myself like to plant, some are food, and I do like some plants from the other states or countries and I doubt not because of growing issue but if purchasing online, from whoever, would be possible get involve in any issues, as cannot assume the sellers got through all process especially in custom. Well, this would get deep related but another story. Anyway, I wish my info and concern would be helpful, and thank you for sharing your knowledge and all.
I don’t have any of those bugs, because I spray malathion and a good fungicide to go along with it . Also Ortho makes a good garden vegetable spray that works well . I’ve been using spray for sixty years, so don’t tell me about this and that . I’ll be eighty years old in October and I’m going to keep spraying .
Those cabbage worms are bad news if they show up after the head starts forming. The eggs are laid in the tight folds of the head where they go to town. Wasps will go in as far as they can, but they can’t go far enough, so they wait for them to emerge. We have a lot of paper wasps where we live. They don’t hoard food, so once they take their fill, the worms have nothing to worry about. The only defense we’ve found is a mesh net all season. We’re also working on bird houses and feeders in hopes they will help our efforts.
White Fly also secrete Honeydew, which is a sticky substance that creates black sooty mold on the leaves of your plants. So White Fly can spread fungal disease. I have an infestation in my greenhouse this year, and have tried spraying with Baking soda, Neem oil and Castille soap, while putting out yellow sticky traps to guage their prevelance. Anyone else have any tips on these pests?
I’m. So. PISSED! I noticed something was eating my baby broccoli and cabbage sprouts so I bought some insect netting and covered them… I didn’t see anything on the plants when I put the netting on but low and behold 4 days later all I was left with was stems!!! And these green caterpillars are on every plants with a bunch of small green egg looking things on top of the soil!!! They decimated the broccoli and cabbage (the plants only had like 2-4 leaves per plant) but all the lettuce that was right beside it was basically untouched (though I found one on it when I was removing the lettuce). The lettuce pods did have some of the green egg things so I took off the top but if soil and checked the leaves real well (they’re actually growing good, farthest I’ve ever gotten a vegetable to grow, their 3rd set of leaves are starting to grow!) and I put them in fresh soil, added a good bit of diatomaceous earth and going to leave them without a net for a day so I can really watch it. But man I’m so upset!!! Ugghhhhhhhh
Any oest control options for termites? I started off with using bonemeal in my garden which led to an insane amount of ants carrying away the bone meal. I mulched with grass clippings, leaves and hay to try to keep them from getting to it as easily, this led to severe weeds. Then i used wood chips and now i have a termite investation. Neem oil, vinegar and lemon, boric acid etc has not worked and i am at the point where i might just use insecticides to get it under control. The ants are still everywhere too.
In our area, we get some Rabbits but it’s apparently worse in Ohio. Our friend’s family had Rabbits eat the entire garden and I mean the entire garden! Roots, stems and all! I suggested that they put blood meal down because Rabbits hate that stuff! 9:49 Also for your cutworms you can take cardboard from Toilet Paper rings and put it around the seedlings give a barrier to stop them from eating the plants.
what about scales? i moved my basil indoor to overwinter but it still looks like its being chewed on by something i cant see. i don’t know how to tell apart: aphids, mites, whitefly, mealybugs, or scale. but it doesnt look like any of the larger, easier to spot ones. my leaves are notably sticky with honeydew.
Ok so I STILL don’t know how to protect my plants from leaf minor. I live in an apartment and grow a few vegetables on my deck. My deck is right below and to the left of a large outdoor flood light which attracts moths. Last year, leaf minors destroyed my beautiful potato plant before I could get any potatoes. How do I protect my plants?
What about things like rabbits? I currently have one very large rabbit eating away at my collards and mustards (waiting for seed harvesting so not as worried about these) and cucumbers. I’ve tried chili, live traps, and of course my dogs but so far nothing has worked. Where we live alternative traps are still legal and available for use as well as shooting, but I have kids and three dogs so we want avoid trauma. Any idea how to avoid going this route?
Outside i fight aphids, and thats about it. Inside, i fight fungus gnats and spider mites. The aphids are easy to fight, literally just fight them hand to hand. But the gnats come from nowhere, and despite slaughtering them by the thousands, they just wont stay gone. I had to cover the soil in all indoor plants with like an inch of sand just to get them gone, and come back as soon as theres a new plant. And the spider mites just pop up overnight for me, and i either fist fight (squish via fingers) or use a quick blast of flame to get them gone.
I have never had any luck blasting aphids off with water personally, that has only ever been an exercise in futility for me. They just keep coming back repeatedly, and really who has time every day to come out and blast every plant with a hose? You have to get under the leaves as well so it’s a huge pain in the butt. My garden has a lot of ladybugs, spiders, wasps and other predators but I have never seen any of them or their larvae on my brassicas — I am skeptical that they eat cabbage aphids at all bc cabbage aphids bioaccumulate glucosinolates and taste bad (though if anyone has any evidence to the contrary I would be interested to know) — I have actually never seen anything predate on my cabbage aphids, and I have all kinds of wildflowers and predator habitat. I personally believe that we grow too many brassica plants and that is part of why all of their pests, out of their native environment, are completely out of control. I sure like eating them so I get it? But we need to develop some more kinds of vegetables from different families and plant those too. Trying to keep them unstressed I think is good advice, or using insect netting to delay the infestation as long as possible.
Step one: go to any public place Step two: collect lady-beetles Step three: release them in your garden, with all the flowers and hiding spots and food, they will stay Step four: watch as the aphids get eaten alive Step 4.5: locate the ants trail and then then redirect them into a bucket of bug spray, but mask the smell with meat or apple scent
OMG I am TODAY YEARS OLD LEARNING ABOUT CUTWORMS. I definitely had one. I blamed it on a random animal…. I was SO MAD, like “WHY WOULD IT JUST DO THAT??! Might as well have eaten the whole thing than to just leave the top there to piss Me awff!!” lolol Being educated on something and knowing what you’re up against makes it more manageable: I guess that’s why the nation’s education system is…… well, nevermind. HAPPY GARDENING TO ALL THE GENUINE HUMANS!
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Luke 13:5 (KJV)) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)