Ditch the carcinogenic pesticides and follow natures model with biological aphid control. Many of you probably know that ladybird beetles aka lady bugs and their larvae eat aphids but did you know that there are several other insects you can attract to your garden that just as eagerly devour those pesky aphids? In this creature feature I am going to focus on one the Psenini wasps aka aphid hunters. According to the Iowa State University Department of Entomology there are 66 speices of Psenini wasps living in North America all of which prey upon aphids and other small softbodied insects. Aphid hunters can easily be incouraged to take up residence in your garden by placing a wood bee block drilled with 4mm, 5/32 to 11/64th diameter holes a few inches deep being careful not to drill all the way through as the holes need a solid back. They nest in cavities in a similar fashion to mason or leafcutter bees but wasp hunters are much smaller and instead of packing the tubes with pollen to feed their young they fill them with paralized aphids.
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From @jetjockey
In #gardening