5 Surprising things bugs can tell you about your garden

Gardening doesn't happen in a vacuum, you have a wealth of experts around your space that can help guide your efforts! It's important you get to know them

Bugs, often considered nuisances in the garden, can serve as valuable indicators of changes within the ecosystem. By observing the presence and behavior of different insect species, gardeners can gain insights into the health of their plants, the impact of environmental factors, and even the overall biodiversity of their garden. Here are 5 surprising things you can learn from the bugs visiting your garden.

1. Ants in your garden means the soil is too dry, or there are aphids nearby.

First, some good news. Ants, despite being often overlooked as pollinators, play a significant role in the process. Their small size and frequent movement enable them to reach flowers that other pollinators may not access, while their diligent foraging behavior spreads pollen between plants, contributing to cross-pollination and genetic diversity in the garden. Ants also don't cause any direct harm to your plants, so there's no need to actively manage them even in fairly large numbers.

But what does it mean when you see a lot of ants in your garden? Why are they actually there? That's where this bit of knowledge can help you answer the question. Ants prefer to establish themselves in very consistently dry and often poor-quality soil. Think of a yard where the grass has died, the ground is hard and sun-baked, and maybe there are even cracks showing here and there. You've just described the perfect conditions for ants to set up shop. Now, apply that same understanding to your garden and it'll tell you the ants in your yard seem to think your soil is dry enough for them to move in. When I see ants have inhabited one of my raised beds, or my compost pile, that's a sign to me that things have gotten too dry and it's time to increase my watering.

One more thing about ants, if you find that they aren't living in your garden but do seem really drawn to a particular plant, there's a good chance that they're following aphids. Ants have earned the nickname: Aphid farmers for a good reason. They have been known to move the little bugs around like farmers move their cattle in order to eat the sticky secretions that aphids leave behind. So while the ants themselves aren't causing the plant damage, they are certainly guilty by association. Let the ants lead you to the source of the aphid infestation and use your hose to clear away the problem pest.

2. Rollie Pollies in your garden means that the soil is always damp and there are probably rotting plants too.

These lovely pill bugs aka rollie pollies aka land isopods aka slaters (and on and on) are not actually true bugs, they're crustaceans similar to shrimp or crayfish. Much like their animal cousins, they even have gills! If you know much about gills, you probably know that they require water in order to function. Fortunately for our land-bound friends, they can breathe without needing to be submerged in water, but they do need those gills to stay damp at all times in order to survive. That means if you see rollie pollies in your garden, chances are it's staying damp all the time, which, depending on what you're growing, may or may not be a good thing. If I saw rollie pollies walking around my tomato plants, I would definitely reduce my watering plan.

The other thing about these guys is that they are decomposers, so they're also here because they've found a food source. Think rotting leaves under a large lettuce plant, dead leaves matted in the corners, old wood that's starting to decay, even pet waste (bleh!) - all great favorites of the rollie pollie.

They may have also found heavy metals in your soil. Another super power of these guys? They will extract those heavy metals- lead, mercury, chromium- and store them crystalized in their tiny guts. They've been spotted cleaning up commercial waste sites for this very reason.

Whenever I tell people these amazing things about rollie pollies, I inevitably get asked, can you eat them? And the answer is yes BUT, if they've been dining on lead or dog poop would you still want to? Some people have shared that they taste good, and others say they're call piss bugs for a reason. I'll let you make the call.

3. Preying mantis and dragonflies in your garden means you have a healthy ecosystem.

Much like other animals, having top predators around is a very good sign that things are thriving. Their presence indicates a diverse food web, with a sufficient availability of prey species to support their populations. Top predators will often stake claims, guarding turf that is especially rich in tasty bugs to eat. Dragonflies and mantises have been shown to stay in a particular plot of land all season if the eating is good and there are sources of water and shelter. Just like the wolves in Yellowstone, top predators play a critical role in balancing populations of other species before they get out of hand.

4. The appearance of crane flies means that summer is just a few short weeks away.

Unlike the unpredictability of a groundhog's shadow indicating the first day of spring, crane flies provide a very precise indicator that warm summer weather is just around the corner. These bugs are often attributed to a lot of misinformation, but they are completely harmless and can even be helpful in the garden as they occasionally eat decaying materials in their earlier life stages (as adults they don't eat anything at all). They are not mosquitos or mosquito eaters, they don't bite, and they aren't poisonous. They're just flies that bat around for their short, two-week existence, laying eggs, and then dying off en mass. Birds will feast on the flies during those two weeks, while you, the gardener, will see it as your countdown to hot weather. When these guys show up in my area, it's my signal to get my watering system working, my summer planting scheme finalized, and any last minute garden clean up complete.

5. Snails in the garden means it's time to weed and remove garden clutter.

Signs of snails and slugs are usually pretty obvious, you see their sparkly slime trails, plants eaten down the the skeleton, and baby plants vanishing overnight. But one thing the presence of snails tells me is that it's time to do some house cleaning. These guys thrive in damp, overgrown, cluttered environments where they can hide out during the hottest parts of the day and emerge at night to a lush food source. The best way to manage snails in abundance is to minimize the number of suitable homes they can occupy around the garden. That means cleaning up old plant pots, clearing out overgrown weedy corners, checking for hiding spots under old fence panels and other things that tend to be laying around the garden. The goal is to make their commute to your garden so long that they decide to look for food closer to home. In fact, one of the oldest and simplest ways to trap snails is to simply lay out a "trap board" near your damaged plants. The snails will seek it out for convenient day time shelter, making it easier for you to come by in the daytime to pluck them off.

Who knew you could gleam so much helpful knowledge just from the bugs visiting your garden? Chances are you'll start to notice other things too. If you have other ones to share, let me know!