How to grow and protect crops without “chemistry? How to get rid of harmful insects that destroy our labors and appropriate the grown crop?

One of the most eco-friendly ways this is to ensure the residence and normal development of other insects - beneficial ones, which are natural exterminators of "harmful" insects. And for this it is necessary to build houses for beneficial insects.

We all went to school and we know that for every "harmful" there is its antipode - a useful insect - an orderly. Axiom that ladybugs destroy aphids. The lacewing is generally a super useful insect. She eats many varieties small pests: aphids, mealybugs, ticks. Lacewing larvae are even bred in some countries. But there are many other beneficial insects that need our help.

What are insect houses?

To attract wild bees and other beneficial insects, there should be nectar-bearing plants around the site: willow, wild flowers, oregano, phacelia, clover, dill and others.

You all know when in the spring we go together to make and put up birdhouses, titmouses and bird feeders. Those. we have learned to attract birds, to take care of them. We understand that birds are our helpers.

This is how you need to make houses (kind of hotels) for insects. Thus, we attract them to our garden, help them to spend the winter in adverse conditions, and grow the necessary offspring to maintain the population.

Abroad, many national parks and botanical gardens are building similar hotels. Not enough attention is paid to this in Russia.

How to make such a house?

We will consider several options for building such houses.

Option 1

You will need:

• clay,
• straw,
• metal rod.

Mix clay with water and straw to make bricks or cube blocks out of the mixture. While they are still wet, pierce them with a metal bar or tree branches, and let the bricks dry for a few days. Next, before everything is completely dry, remove the rods and rods. The remaining holes will be housing for the bees.

Option 2

Take clay, stalks of corn or sunflowers, or other plants that have a hollow stem. These can be dill, tubular weed stalks, vines, raspberry stalks, etc. Cut into 20-30cm lengths and tie the stems into a bun. Make the frame of the "hotel" and fix these bundles in it. To keep everything better and look beautiful, you can coat the bunches with clay.

Option 3

You will need a wooden box, open on one side, that you will attach to the sunny side of a fence or wall. Fill it with blocks of wood or small logs, in which you drill small holes of different diameters (usually 2-10mm, no more). The open ends of the holes should face outward and be smooth, free of nicks and wood splinters. They can be cleaned with sandpaper or in another way. You should also carefully clean the holes from sawdust. A variety of insects and solitary bees will use these tunnels as nests.
The box should not be deeper than 20-30cm. It must have a roof with a ledge to protect it from rain. Can be used as a box old furniture: chest of drawers, kitchen table-cabinet, etc.

Place the insect house on the sunny side, facing south or southeast, at a height of about a meter from the ground. There should not be any tall vegetation in front of it, so as not to obscure the entrances to the tunnels. It is important that the sun has the opportunity to warm them in the morning.

If the houses are chosen by solitary wild bees, then it is important for them to leave an island of land so that they can use it to build their nests. They use it as a plaster to wall up the entrances to the house.

Option 4

Insect houses can be an excellent dining room for various birds, woodpeckers in particular. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to protect your pets by securing a metal mesh in front of the entrance tunnels.

This project can be done with children. You will have fun and enjoy your time together. There is huge selection various natural materials in the garden or in the forest. It can be fir cones, dry branches, various dried flowers, dry corn and sunflower stalks, leaves, moss. You can come up with many different designs. The creative process is only limited by your imagination. Children also like to see how insects inhabit the home, to watch them in nature.

But these are no longer just houses for insects, but entire hotels and it looks very decorative. Such a design, of course, can be an excellent decoration for your site and one of the solutions for landscape composition.

Pest control takes a lot of time and effort. Try to go the other way and attract beneficial insects to the site! Not everyone knows that seemingly harmless ladybugs are actually voracious predators that exterminate aphids. Both adults and larvae have a good appetite.

Where is your home?

On the summer period insects do not need a home. But to spend the winter, you need a shelter. Purpose-built houses will help insects survive the cold and stay in your garden. Houses can be of any shape and size. Some are intended only for one type of insect, others are a real "hostel". Tiny, birdhouse-like houses are not suitable for a real wintering of insects, but they can decorate the garden. For a full-fledged shelter for the winter, a more impressive building is needed.

With all conviniences

The basis of the house for insects is wooden frame divided into sections. You can not even knock down the box, but simply stack the boards, layering them with bricks and logs, or put them on top of each other wooden pallets from under building materials. Having prepared the basis, proceed to its filling.

In nature, insects seek out secluded places for wintering among leaf litter, under the bark of dry trees, in woodpiles. To mimic natural conditions, sections of the house are filled with dried plant stems, pieces of bark, cones, straw, large shavings, wood chips, and even corrugated cardboard. The material should not hang freely, but it should not be stuffed tightly either - the main thing is to leave gaps where insects could hide. To prevent the contents of the house from falling out, it is fixed with a large mesh. The building is protected from rain by a roof.

To each his own

Logs with holes drilled are for ladybugs. Trellised boxes with bark will be chosen by wintering butterflies. Solitary bees and small wasps will gladly settle in hollow bricks. In the hollow stems of plants, they willingly lay their eggs. The dwelling for hoverflies and lacewings may look different, but hay is always put inside. Clay pots with straw will be appreciated by earwigs (once the aphids have been eaten, the pots will need to be removed).

House for BEETLE

1. Knock down the frame for the house from the boards - a box with several partitions for different "stuffing".

Build a house for insects from improvised materials, this will help balance wide range of of your plants and will increase on your site.

This simple design will help attract beneficial insects to your site, which will bring invaluable help in pest control.

Building an insect house

1 - Start by collecting natural materials to build an insect shelter: roundwood, brick, straw, tubular stems. Choose from improvised local materials that offer more or less large openings to suit different insect preferences.

2 - Make a wooden frame strong enough to support a considerable amount of weight. Use sustainable woods: oak, larch, chestnut... Estimate the size of your house in terms of the amount of materials you have. Put the heaviest materials on the bottom.

3 - Provide a waterproof lid construction (slate for example).

4 - Install the frame in its permanent place before filling (due to weight if the house is large). Raise it 20cm off the ground to keep it out of moisture (and so your dog doesn't nest there). To protect the house from strong winds, hammer stakes around the perimeter and strengthen the house on them, for example.

5 - cut the material to the desired length and fill each opening in the structure.

Tip: If you can install the house in a place protected from the wind and sun, you can leave it open on both sides. Otherwise, it is better to close the back side so as not to disturb the insects too much with air currents.

What materials, for what insects?

1. straw or wood: this material will attract lacewings, whose larvae feed on many pests: aphids, powdery mildew, whitefly, mite eggs.

2. bamboo sticks: provide shelter for solitary bees that pollinate the first flowers fruit trees starting from March

3 inverted pots filled with hay: it attracts earwigs that love pests like aphids

4 boards hidden behind these metal plates: attract insects involved in the decomposition of dead wood

5 drilled decks: These will become a popular home to many very beneficial pollinators such as bees and solitary wasps whose larvae feed on aphids.

6. tubular stems: such as blackthorn, elderberry, will provide housing for hoverflies and other hymenoptera. 7. Brick: valued by solitary bees. 8. Small cells closed from each other: they attract ladybugs that come to spend the winter. Their larvae destroy a lot of aphids.

Place this house near your garden and it will provide you with pollination of your herbs, vegetables, and flowers and you will help to contribute to the health of your local ecosystem. Just remember to move slowly and not threateningly near the house, and not to disturb the alert residents.

If you liked this material, then we offer you a selection of the most the best materials of our site according to our readers. You can find a selection - TOP about existing eco-settlements, family homesteads, their history of creation and everything about eco-houses where it is most convenient for you

The frog house is simple, inexpensive and fun to add to any garden or yard. Children will be happy to take part in the painting and placement of the house, in addition, this is a good opportunity to introduce the child to caring for the environment.

Tell the children about frogs.

Frogs in your garden can be best friends. The main food of frogs and toads are insects, most often pests. The moor frog prefers spiders and cycads most of all, the grass frog prefers slugs and grasshoppers, the gray toad prefers beetles and ants, the green toad prefers bedbugs. They also devour bears, weevils, wireworms, Colorado potato beetle larvae, caterpillars and other pests. Jumping frogs prey on flying insects, including mosquitoes and butterflies. Young frogs and toads feed on aphids, raspberry beetles, mosquitoes, and weevils.

On average, a frog eats 1-2 g of food per day, a toad - up to 8 g. The number of harmful insect species destroyed by frogs and toads is 2-3 times higher than that of insectivorous birds, since they feed on insects with bad smell and protective paint. They hunt at night when the birds are sleeping and destroy nocturnal pests.

At the same time, frogs and toads themselves are tasty prey for larger animals and fish in the water, fish and snakes destroy eggs and tadpoles. On land they are eaten by birds and almost all kinds of mammals, including hedgehogs, minks, otters, foxes, badgers, owls, rooks, raccoons, snakes, vipers, herons, gulls, cranes, rodents.

You will need

Terracotta flower pots, new or old

Non-toxic paints

Trowel (shovel)

Description of work

1. Wash and dry the pot.

2. Paint your pot (preferably with a muted color - green, for example), not forgetting the bottom of the pot. Draw leaves or flowers - it will be a great decoration.

3. Find a place to place the frog house. The place should be sufficiently shady and located in close proximity to a garden or lawn where frogs can find food.

4. With a trowel (shovel), dig a hole the size of your pot.

5 Place the pot on its side in the hole and fill it halfway with earth, leaving some room for the toads, but enough for them to pass through. Keep in mind that toads prefer dark, damp places, and openings that are too large are not attractive to them.

6. Make sure there is dirt in the house. The toads sit around during the day and there is nothing better than real mud. Add water if necessary.

If you have frogs in your yard, chances are they have already found a source of water for themselves.

By adding water near the frog house, you can increase your chances of making the house successful.

Take the saucer from flower pot and put it near the house. The saucer should be small enough for the toad to easily jump into it. Keep it constantly filled with fresh water - this can be entrusted to children.

Sign "Welcome!" greet new friends with a fun sign made from a popsicle stick and paper or cardboard, on which write "Frog House" with a marker (you can tape the sign over the sign)

The best time to attract frogs is early summer.

"Hotel" for insects

The middle of summer has come and it's time to think about saving those who help us fight garden pests - about beneficial insects and help them spend the winter in their personal "hotel"-house. Besides, the insect house will make your garden more interesting. And the children will be very interested in watching the house!

You will need:

Rack from boards with compartments

Rabitz

For filling:

Clay pots and shards

Hollow branches (bamboo)

Corrugated cardboard

small logs

Build an insect house with scrap materials to help balance your wide variety of plants and increase biodiversity in your yard.

This simple design will help attract beneficial insects to your site, which will bring invaluable help in pest control.


1 - Start by collecting natural materials to build an insect shelter: Roundwood, brick, straw, tubular stalks. Choose from improvised local materials that offer more or less large openings to suit different insect preferences.

2 - Make a wooden frame strong enough to support considerable weight. Use sustainable woods: oak, larch, chestnut... Estimate the size of your house in terms of the amount of materials you have. Put the heaviest materials on the bottom.

3 - Provide a waterproof cover design (slate for example).

4 - Install the frame in its permanent place before filling (due to weight if the house is large). Raise it 20cm off the ground to keep it out of moisture (and so your dog doesn't nest there). To protect the house from strong winds, hammer stakes around the perimeter and strengthen the house on them, for example.

5 - cut the material to the desired length and fill each opening in the structure.

Advice: If you can install the house in a place protected from the wind and sun, you can leave it open on both sides. Otherwise, it is better to close the back side so as not to disturb the insects too much with air currents.

What materials, for what insects?

1. straw or wood: This material will attract lacewings, whose larvae feed on many pests: aphids, powdery mildew, whitefly, mite eggs.

2. bamboo sticks: provide shelter for solitary bees that pollinate the first flowers of fruit trees from March

3. inverted pots filled with hay: it attracts earwigs that love pests such as aphids

4. boards hidden behind these metal plates: attract insects involved in the decomposition of dead wood

5. drilled decks: these will become a popular home to many very beneficial pollinators such as bees and solitary wasps whose larvae feed on aphids.

6. tubular stems: such as blackthorn, elderberry, will provide housing for hoverflies and other hymenoptera.

7. Brick: valued by solitary bees.


8. Small cells closed from each other: they attract ladybugs that come to spend the winter. Their larvae destroy a lot of aphids.

Place this house near your garden and it will provide you with pollination of your herbs, vegetables, and flowers and you will help to contribute to the health of your local ecosystem. Just remember to move slowly and not threateningly near the house, and not to disturb the alert residents.