| Animal | Plants to Attract | Will Help Combat |
| Beetles | Litter and mulch | Fly larvae, moths, grasshoppers, army worms, cut worms, slugs |
| Centipedes | Dark, damp places | Caterpillars and slugs |
| Dragonflies | Ponds. Protected from wind, and predators such as birds and frogs | Mosquitoes, white butterflies, passion vine hoppers |
| Frogs | Water with plenty of damp undergrowth | Slugs, worms, insects |
| Harvestmen | A diverse range of plants | Insects, slugs, caterpillar eggs |
| Hoverflies | Queen Anne’s lace, Parsnip, Angelica, Phacella, Borage | Aphids, Scale, Mites, young caterpillars |
| Lacewings | Queen Anne’s Lace, Parsnip, Angelica | Lacewing maggots feed on Aphids, scale, mealy bugs, mites, whitefly, and moth eggs. |
| Ladybirds and Larvae | Swan Plants, Borage, Angelica | Aphids, whitefly, mealy bugs, mites, scale insects, psyllids |
| Lizards | Warm sheltered corners – rocks against a fence with foliage for hiding | Insects, slugs, ants and flies |
| Parasitic Wasps | Wild flowers – particularly Parsnip, Angelica, Fennel, Queen Anne’s Lace | Lay their eggs in caterpillars or the chrysalis of caterpillars. Some aphids and whitefly. |
| Praying Mantis | A diverse range of plants particularly fennel | Adult caterpillars, bugs, beetles, flies, young aphids, leaf hoppers |
| Predatory Mites | Warmth and shelter. | Spider mites, caterpillars |
| Spiders | A diverse range of plants and places | Large range on insects |
Attracting Bees
There are some simple ways to attract bees to your garden. For example selecting single bloom flowers over double or triple blooms. Avoid highly modified blooms in favour of the more simple traditional flowers – it is easier to land on a simple flower than it is to negotiate lots of frilly petals to reach nectar. Variety is key, after all you wouldn’t want the same meal each and every day! Having plants that bloom at different times allows for an ongoing food source. Blue, purple, white and yellow-flowering plants are their favourites. They can’t see the colour red – it appears as black – but reddish wavelengths such as orange can be seen
The following are some of the trees and plants will attract bees to your garden
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Deterrent Plants
Just with attracting good insects the following will help deter bad instects
- Alliums (Garlic, Onions, Chives) – General repellent
- Artemsia – General repellent
- Cleome – Green shield bug (catch crop)
- Mint – White Cabbage Butterflies, Aphids, Ants, Mosquitoes, Beetles
- Mustard – Aphid repellent. White cabbage butterflies and caterpillars (catch crop)
- Nasturtiums – Aphids, cabbage worms, woolly aphids, whitefly
- Sage – General repellent
- Santolina – General repellent
- Tansy – General repellent
- Wormwood – General repellent
See also Natural Insect Repellents
