Continuing the July theme of gardening, this post deals with the pesky and not so fun part of gardening: insects and pests! Insects are an important part of a garden (and nature), but too much of any is a bad idea.

Bij (personal photograph)

Bijen

I think I have mentioned these little guys on every gardening post, probably because I love having them in my garden. The number of bees are in fast decline, and seeing them in my garden gives me hope that bees will be saved. Bijen are very fond of lavandel and vlinderstruik and are not really known to be a nuisance in gardens. Just let these little guys pollinate your garden and enjoy their buzzing sound! For more tips on what plants attract bees, check the following video.

Vlinders

Butterflies or vlinders are a great garden visitor. Vlinders tend to like the same plants and flowers bees do so if you have one, you are bound to have the other. There are many people who create gardens with flowers that butterflies like in order to promote the insect and, well, because it looks beautiful! Just likes bees, butterflies help pollinate plants.

Mieren

Mieren or ants are a very common in a garden. According to my google and Pinterest research, ants are not necessarily bad for a garden. Mieren help turn soil around and turn dead insects into fertilizer for your soil. Of course, too many ants could be a nuissance and this could attract other insects.

Slakken

Snails or slakken are yucky little creatures that like to leave goo around gardens. From my Google and Pinterest research, snails aren’t necessarily bad for gardens. Slakken simply like to eat the leaves of decorative and edible plants. You can keep these away by putting crushed egg shells around the flower. The shells will hurt their bodies. You can also put a bottle with a little bit of beer inside the dirt and the snails will be attracted to the smell and fall inside.

Bladluizen

If you find bladluizen or greenflies, you are in trouble. These little insects like trees with sweet nectar, especially fruit trees. We are currently dealing with a bladluis infestation on our apple tree and it has made our tree very sad looking. You can try natural remedies such as spraying garlic or hanging bannana peals on the tree, or you can go for the hard core sprays from the tuincentra. The following video gives some advice for treating bladluizen.

What insects do you find in your garden and how do you deal with them?

Useful Vocabulary:

het insect/het beestje- insect
het stuifmeel- pollen
de plaag- infestation
diervriendelijk- animal friendly
uitroken- to fumigate
bestuiven- to pollinate
bevruchten– to fertilize