Nothing is better than a garden in bloom. The tranquility of clean and healthy plants is good for the soul. Spiders are a less appealing part of horticulture. They are often unwanted travelers, creeping around as you work. However, spiders, although unpopular, are a sign of a healthy garden.
Garden Pests
Every gardener knows, pests are inevitable. Irritants come in many shapes and sizes. All year, plants require maintenance and protection to stay healthy. Spider webs can be a slight inconvenience, but they control lots of unwanted guests in the garden. Spiders act as natural pest control. Some spiders are worth attracting to your garden, while some can be dangerous. You can manage a spider population using different methods of spider control.
Good for the Garden
Jumping spiders, wolf spiders, and crab spiders are beneficial to plants. These burrow in the ground and move around to find their prey instead of using webs. Common garden spiders, grass spiders, and orb weavers are other beneficial spiders, though these ones do use webs to hunt.
With these spiders in the garden, you will not need harsh chemicals to control irritating pests. They help control aphids, mosquitoes, flies, beetles, wasps, and dreadful spider mites. Spiders manage the problems that pass bacterial infections, fungus, and pathogens that are known to destroy entire gardens. Fortunately, most spiders are not harmful to humans.
Unwelcome Guests
Alternatively, spider webs can also negatively affect healthy bug populations. Since butterflies, ladybugs, and bees are all good for the garden, too many spiders and spider webs can be harmful. Though most spiders are not dangerous, many will bite, and some are poisonous. Beware of black widows and brown recluses.
Wolf spiders are generally not threatening, and they don’t usually bite. A person bitten by a wolf spider may experience pain or allergic reaction, but the venom is not poisonous. Brown recluse bites are rarely fatal, but victims should seek immediate medical attention. Black widows are highly dangerous and unwelcome. Their fangs deliver venom fifteen times stronger than that of a rattlesnake.
Spider Control
After working hard in the garden, seeing the fruit of your labor is a sweet reward. Inviting spiders into your garden is an unconventional, natural method for supporting plant health. When managed correctly, they are a healthy part of a garden ecosystem. You can add mulch and tall plants to foster spiders or remove debris to keep the numbers down. Provide or eliminate convenient places for spider webs. Monitor your garden’s spider population to protect yourself and your garden’s health.
However, if there are too many spiders in your yard, or if you find dangerous spiders hanging out in the garden, you should look at getting spider control. Professionals can identify why these spiders are so drawn to your garden and help you make strategies for getting rid of them. This can help protect both your family and your plants.
Your garden’s health depends on the environment you provide. Utilizing different forms of spiders is an easy way to take advantage of the overlooked heroes of horticulture. Next season, consider using spiders instead of chemical pesticides to address problems. Identifying helpful and harmful spiders will enable you to be a better gardener and work less to maintain a beautiful, healthy garden.