6 species of beneficial insects in cannabis cultivation
When you think of insects in your cannabis cultivation, you often think of pests, diseases and lower yields, but did you know that there are also beneficial insects? There are insects that help protect your plants. You can use them so that you do not need harmful and poisonous insecticides. In this blog, we discuss which 6 types of insects you should really have in your garden and how you can use them.
How can insects help grow cannabis?
The word insect is often equated with pest. These little buzzing and crawling creatures gnaw on stems and leaves and can destroy a crop in no time. There are indeed insects that do that, but there are also beneficial insects that can help you with your cannabis cultivation. These can not only protect your plants, but even help enrich the soil. So it is very useful if you know more about these insects.
The 6 most beneficial insects in cannabis cultivation
Below, you will see an overview of insects that can help protect your cannabis plants. So you want to attract this in your garden. That is why it is also a good idea to not only have cannabis in your garden (or on your balcony), but also some other plants that are attractive to insects.
1. Green lacewing
Green lacewings have a narrow, long green body and fine-meshed green wings. These insects lay eggs in the spring and early summer. The adult flies eat only plant food. It is the larvae that hunt for prey on your cannabis plants. They are experts at hunting all kinds of insects, including aphids, thrips, spider mites and whiteflies. They also eat pollen, honeydew and nectar.
If you want to use some of those lacewing larvae, you can purchase them in boxes. 500 larvae can cover approximately 50 square meters of surface area. Deploy them in the affected area and they will do their job.
2. The ladybug
Everyone knows the ladybug. The red insect with black spots is just one of the species, there are many others. Although most people think ladybugs look cute, they are formidable predators. A ladybug can eat about 5,000 aphids in its lifetime. It is also the larvae of this insect that are very hungry. You can therefore easily use these beneficial insects in your cannabis cultivation. You can release the larvae on your plants from March to September.
3. Predatory mite
Predatory mites are insects that belong to the same family as spiders and ticks. These are truly ravenous little monsters. They like to devour spider mites, which, if given the chance, like to cover your cannabis plants with their stringy webs and eat the leaves. By purchasing and releasing predatory mites, you can effectively protect your cannabis plants.
4. Predatory bug
Predatory bugs are insects of about 12 to 36 mm in size. They use poison to kill their prey. You can use them to combat aphids, but unfortunately they can also kill useful insects, such as ladybugs. Predatory bugs are for sale in the form of a tube with eggs. When these hatch, you can release the insects on the leaves of your cannabis plants. You can also lay the eggs on the leaves and wait for them to hatch.
Another option is to make your garden attractive to predatory bugs. For example, plant daisies, marigolds, fennel, dill or goldenrod in your garden. This is not only good for attracting predatory bugs, but also makes your garden attractive to all kinds of insects and thus provides more biodiversity. You then really practice combination cultivation.
5. Rove beetle
Rove beetles are a family of insects. They grow between 1 and 35 mm in size. They are useful insects for cannabis cultivation because their diet consists of other insects, eggs and larvae, such as fungus gnats, springtails, mites and thrips. You can buy these beetles as adult insects (in a box) and you can release them on infected cannabis plants. They are also attracted to compost and mulch, so it's a good idea to spread this around your plants regularly.
6. Nematodes
Nematodes live in the soil. They are microscopic animals that can be divided into parasites and roundworms. The parasitic nematodes can actually damage your plants, they live on and in the roots of plants. The other species are the rounded onesormen. These are useful and feed on insects that we consider pests, such as beetles, moths and snails.
It is very easy to use roundworms. You buy them in a sponge that you immerse in the water of your watering can (or in a bucket). The nematodes spread through the water. Pour this over your cannabis plants and it will help protect them. Make sure they stay in your garden now by creating an attractive climate. You can do this by using organic mulch and planting ground covers, such as white clover.
Fight insects in a biological way
Are you suffering from an insect plague? Of course, it's easy to reach for an insecticide. But these products are harmful to the environment and often also to good insects. Go for a natural method of control by using beneficial insects for cannabis cultivation. Ultimately, they help restore the natural balance.
Plant flowering plants and herbs that attract good insects and increase biodiversity. These types of plants can even contribute to the health of your cannabis plants. If you would like to know everything about growing cannabis, use an extensive manual, such as the Cannabis Grow Bible or the Marijuana Outdoor Grower's Guide. This means you always have everything you need to know about growing cannabis at hand.
