Creatures in Greenhouses
While there are many pests and little creatures that we all agree are bad for the greenhouse, there are a few others that I don't mind having around at all. While each little creature has its own purpose in life, (what it eats and what it does), the following little bugs are beneficial to the greenhouse environment.

Posted Monday, April 10, 2006

There are most likely hundreds of bugs that I could actually say are good in my greenhouse, but here we are just going to discuss a few of the more common ones. Most times you may not even know that these little bugs are in your greenhouse but you do benefit from their existence, and so do your plants.

Spiders - While I myself, do not like spiders, they can be found everywhere. I do not know what they eat in my greenhouse but I do know that they are carnivorous. A carnivorous spider or bug eats other types of bugs. So when I find spiders in and around my plants, I know that they are controlling some other type of bug population that I cannot. Unless you fear a species is poisonous, I wouldn't worry about these mini-allies.

Wasps - Believe it or not, wasps will help you control caterpillars in your greenhouse. While I have problems with caterpillars in many of my outdoor gardens, I really haven't used or seen wasps or caterpillars in my greenhouse. I have heard that you can buy wasps to control other predators in the greenhouse or the garden if need be. The balance of nature usually brings wasps to areas where the caterpillar presence is found.

Bees - Because some people grow a great multitude of plants and flowers they may not be able to keep up with pollination in the greenhouse. These are usually nursery growers. These gardeners will actually keep a beehive in their greenhouse! Usually these gardeners have the largest residential or commercial type greenhouses available. You can buy bees through a variety of sources. Though they are an unnecessary, possibly dangerous pest for a regular home hobby greenhouse.

Lady Bugs - You can buy Lady Bugs through a number of sources. Lady Bugs are known to control aphids in a greenhouse. Aphids are a common problem with greenhouse gardening. It is known that Lady Bugs can be kept in a refrigerator where they will hibernate for a few weeks at a time, and then you can release them in the greenhouse when your pest problems are first noticed for them to take effect immediately. Lady Bugs are known to fly away from the greenhouse, but at least they are not very expensive and a few will stay behind for the dirty work..