Insects and Animals Who Provide Natural Pest Control

While many insect types you might notice in or around your property are considered pests that pose potential negative outcomes, there are also several insects that, as part of the natural ecosystem, actually help control the population of common pests. There are even a few particular species some might consider “pests” themselves that actually bring their own extermination benefits for other, more bothersome insects – in fact, some researchers have even attempted to develop specific pest control and related techniques based on insects that perform their own natural forms of extermination.

At Bug Busters, while we certainly won’t go so far as to recommend this sort of testing on your property, we do think it pays for homeowners to be aware of certain insects or larger animal types that often assist with pest control efforts. Here are a few of the most common to be familiar with.

Ladybugs

Also called a ladybug beetle, the ladybug is an insect that can have a moderate positive impact on overall pest control. They will consume certain pests like mealybugs and elm-leaf beetles as part of their normal diet, and more importantly they also eat the eggs these bugs produce – this stops the reproductive cycle that often leads to many major pest infestations.

On top of that, ladybug larvae also assist in this process, taking the same diet as their parents. Ladybugs are also aesthetically pleasing bugs that do not consume structures or come with major bite or sting risks.

Praying Mantis

If you occasionally notice a praying mantis around your property, do your best to leave it alone. This is because the praying mantis is often extremely helpful in ridding the home of insects – it eats a huge variety of insect types, all the way from ants up to other praying mantis categories.

Spiders

Another relatively broad form of natural pest control is the spider, which will eat virtually any insect that ends up in its web. While many humans are terrified of spiders, and it’s absolutely prudent to remove spiders that come with venom or biting risks, most spiders actually do not want anything to do with humans and will try to stay away when they can. They also help control disease and pest spread in the garden.

Possums

Finally, possums are a larger animal that also handles correspondingly larger pests on many properties. Possums like to eat cockroaches, rats, snails and even certain snake types (they have a serum in their blood that allows them to resist snake venom). For regular gardeners, seeing the occasional possum is a good thing – they eat many of the pests that damage fruit and vegetable crops.

For more on the kinds of insects and other animals that serve as natural pest control, or to learn about any of our residential or commercial pest control and exterminator services, speak to the staff at Bug Busters today.