Many people are aware that an outbreak of certain harmful insects can stunt a garden’s growth in its tracks; however, there is a misconception that insects are no help to someone with a green thumb. In fact, insects with names like assassin bugs, bald-faced hornets, praying mantises and soldier beetles can help manage pest populations in a garden.

While complete prevention of insect pests in a garden is simply unrealistic, the positives that come with beneficial bugs should not be understated.

Beneficial bugs are one of the best-kept secrets in the gardening industry. These insects are likely to remain in your garden if there is a food supply for them and if you mix the variety of plants to bloom over as many months of the year as possible. In addition, gardeners can purchase several types of beneficial bugs at their local home improvement stores and often times from nurseries.

Other insects that serve as beneficial bugs include bumble bees, centipedes, dragonflies, damselflies, green lacewings, ground beetles, ladybugs, spiders, tachinid flies and yellow jackets.

As beautiful as a ladybug is, many people probably don’t realize they will eliminate aphids and tree lice from a garden. A praying mantis will eat just about any bad bug, from flies to crickets. By attracting beneficial bugs, a person’s garden has that much more of a chance to last all summer long.

Speaking of which, congratulations to the Bald Faced Hornet for winning the July Bug Off!

In the meantime, be safe, stay dry, and hope you all have a buzzing day! The Mousecar is riding around with his windows down, looking for more friends on Facebook (Truly Nolen Mousecar) and tweeps on Twitter (@TrulyNolen) – interested?

Beginning today, we’re starting our next “Bug-Off” competition on our Facebook page and also accessible through Twitter.

This month’s Truly Nolen “Bug-Off”: Which insect has the more colorful name?

We would like you, the reader of this blog, to vote for the insect you believe has the more colorful name – Bald-Faced Hornet or Lovebug!

You can vote either in the comments section of my blog, on Twitter at @TrulyNolen, or the Facebook page for Truly Nolen Mousecar.

To access the company on Twitter, visit http://www.twitter.com/trulynolen. To access my friend on Facebook, visit http://tinyurl.com/Bugoff3.

Voting will take place July 1-14, and on the 15th of July, the winning bug will be announced on Facebook, Twitter and in my blog.

In addition, three voters (one from each avenue) will be randomly chosen to win some fabulous Truly Nolen Truly-Wear merchandise.

I look forward to you continuing to help us determine a Bug-Off winner each month!

In the meantime, be safe, stay dry, and hope you all have a buzzing day! The Mousecar is riding around with his windows down, looking for more friends on Facebook (Truly Nolen Mousecar) and tweeps on Twitter (@TrulyNolen) – interested?

Barry The Bug Guy