Natural Garden Pest Control (Ladybugs and Praying Mantis)

If you're doing any kind of hydroponics where bugs can still get into your grow space, you may have done some research on traditional kinds of pest control. Yes, you cango to the store and buy different kinds of pesticides to keep your crops free of flies, mites and other pests, or, to get around the issue of using potentially harmful chemicals, you can whip up mixes including vinegar, soap and oils or some kinds of herbs and spices to naturally keep crawling critters away.

There's also another kind of natural pest control that doesn't always get as much attention -- nonetheless, some growers have found it absolutely useful for their hydroponics grow spaces. It involves getting some of the common predator bugs into your garden space, to help you deal with other insect varieties that might tend to destroy your produce.

Ladybugs

Ladybugs are one kind of natural insect predator that could help you keep control of small flies or gnats in your garden, or some other kinds of smaller insects. For example, fungus gnats are a major fear factor for lots of hydroponic growers. Getting predator insects like ladybugs can help you balance the equation in your favor -- and they also look good in a grow areas too.

You might have reservations about the number of ladybugs to use in your garden if you've ever had an infestation in your house-- but with the right kinds of simple control, a moderate population of ladybugs could really be the solution that your grow space was looking for.

The Praying Mantis

The praying mantis is another really interesting insect that has potential to serve as a kind of ‘guard dog’ in your hydroponics environment.

This big, gangly insect is made to eat other insects, not plants -- so you can rest easy that the mantises you introduce to your garden are going to be chowing down on flies, mites and other troublesome pests and not on your produce.

Some growers have even suggested that praying mantises make good pets-- they're somewhat higher up on the food chain, and in terms of evolution, and they also take care of a lot of those tiny insects that often have a negative impact on your garden. There are actually all kinds of resources for the cultivation and keeping the praying mantises in garden spaces as a way of controlling other insect populations without expensive or potentially toxic chemical solutions.

Think about these kinds of innovative solutions as you start to build your hydroponics project -- every year, there's a lot more available for you to build sophisticated, modern generators for fresh healthy produce. Hydroponics is catching on all over the world as a way to feed families locally, save money and protect the environment. Think about getting on the bandwagon and producing more of what you eat every day.