Skip the chemical treatments and encourage floral diversity so that beneficial bugs will flock to your backyard and protect your plants.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—If you think of insects as the enemy of a healthy landscape, you couldn’t be more wrong. Sure, nobody welcomes Japanese beetles, aphids, or other backyard pests. But rather than trying to create a bug-free zone, the best strategy is to fight fire with fire. Encouraging certain insects to inhabit your property can help fend off the unwelcome ones, explains Linda Gilkeson, coauthor of Insect, Disease & Weed I.D. Guide, (Rodale, 2001). For the health of your plants and yourself, Gilkeson suggests skipping chemicals. Fill your garden with a wide variety of plants, which will create a rich environment for local insects. “Have faith that a tangled organic garden is your best defense,” she says. “There are so many wild beneficial insects out there; even in big cities they will fly to your garden if attracted right,” says Gilkeson. Read on to find out how to attract these natural helpers.

Here are the 5 best bugs for your lawn or garden and how to attract them:

# 1: Assassin bugs Don’t be intimidated by the name; these are the good guys. Lure these predators to your garden for protection against thrips, spider mites, caterpillars, and other plant-eating insects. Adults are typically brown or black with flat bodies and a distinct cover behind their head. Get them to settle down in your terrain, and typically you’ll find a new generation of assassin bugs targeting and eliminating your insect enemies. And you don’t even have to disclose their activities to Congress.

How to attract them: Give them shelter. Make sure your yard includes bunch grasses, shrubs, and other permanent plantings, which will give assassin bugs and other predator bugs the cover that they crave.