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What to plant to attract Ladybugs

It’s one of the easiest recognisable bugs for kids – the Ladybird/Ladybug and it’s great for us gardeners as well so we want to encourage them to come to the garden for the children’s benefit and also for our own as Natural Pest Control and it’s so easy to get them to stay just by growing some simple flowers, we’re sprinkling our seeds need our vegetable patch as that we’re we spend a lot of the time and also were it would be most beneficial for us to have ladybirds.

Help attract ladybugs to your garden with these plants that are easily to grow and they love. Perfect for the kids to help plant

We’ve been putting up bug houses and also a Ladybug House[affiliate link] as well as our log pile house and keeping dead bamboo and pampas grass within the clumps around the garden as they provide great habitats for the bugs to live in. Although ladybirds love to eat Aphids which is why we want them in the garden, they can’t always rely on them so they also feed off plants and it’s those plants as well as ones that attract aphids that we want to grow in the garden to encourage ladybirds and their prey.

What to plant to attract ladybugs

When aphids aren’t present the ladybugs will feed on plants they like pollen rich plants and yellow/golden flowered plants. Examples to grow in the garden are below – with all of the herbs let them go to flower instead of cutting and regrowing for your own use.

  • Dill
  • Parsley
  • Angelica
  • Caraway
  • Thyme
  • Coriander
  • Fennel
  • Marigolds
  • Sunflowers
  • Dandelions
  • Yarrow

Help attract ladybugs to your garden with these plants that are easily to grow and they love. Perfect for the kids to help plant

Plants to go near your ladybird house

So although we don’t want aphids in our garden to attract the ladybirds to stay we need to ensure that we have some aphids in the first place – if you place your ladybird house near to these plants they will have a good food source and the plants are pretty as well

  • nasturtiums
  • lavenders
  • chamomile
  • scented geraniums

Help attract ladybugs to your garden with these plants that are easily to grow and they love. Perfect for the kids to help plant

I can’t wait to see our garden alive with the ladybirds come the summer and the nice thing about all of the plants – they self seed – so only have to seed the area one and they will continue to grow each summer encouraging ladybirds to stay and breed in the garden each year.

Author
Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, teacher, mum, and home educator from the UK. She loves getting creative, whether it is with simple and easy crafts and ideas, activities to make learning fun, or delicious recipes that you and your kids can cook together you'll find them all shared here on Rainy Day Mum.

3 Comments

  1. We have carrots gone to seed and have many many ladybirds on them and in them when the flowers curl up, They are still mating, lava and pupae all around as well.

    1. Fantastic – will have to leave some to go to seed in pots this year and see how they work in our garden.

  2. Great Idea! this is my first visit here. Was wondering how could you come up this this whole plan and then I read yr bio!

    I’m intrigued! and will be reading more 🙂

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