Spring brings many beautiful things. Warmer weather, sunny blue skies and hopefully a garden filled with blooms and beauty. Part of a vibrant, healthy garden are insects. So whether you have a spacious, sprawling yard in Marin or a rooftop planter garden in San Francisco, these are three of the best bugs to help your garden grow.

Ladybugs

Also called ladybird beetles, ladybugs tend to be an insect most of us like. But in addition to being cute and cheery in appearance, these bugs are a garden's best friend. They snack on plant-damaging insects the likes of aphids, mites and leafhoppers.

Just one ladybug can single handedly consume 60 aphids a day. Their ravenous appetite can quickly annihilate these disease-carrying aphids and keep them at bay. You can purchase ladybugs at many local nurseries or attract them naturally by planting plants that produce pollen, such as daisies, sunflowers and chrysanthemums.

Ground Beetles

While we're on the subject of beetles, the ground beetle is a great one to have around if you are looking to get rid of slugs, caterpillars and cutworms. ground beetles focus their energy on all those pests under your plants. Ground beetles need a dark, damp place to live and placing stepping stones, flagstone, rocks or other decorative heavy objects throughout your yard is an ideal way to lure them in. 

Green Lacewing

Like the ladybug, the green lacewing loves a hearty meal of aphids. They also will consume spider mites, moth eggs and mealybugs. Their heroic appetites only occur in larva stage. Once they spin their cocoons and then emerge as adults, their eating days are over. But, the adults are helpful in continuing the population of larva, and as such, offer a natural pest control solution.

These three insects are helpful in battling multiple other bugs that can do significant damage to your garden. Encourage them to take up residence by planting pollinating flowers and bushes and placing rocks and stepping stones in your yard. They offer a natural, chemical-free pest control option and will help your garden flourish!

Article excerpt from Angie's list, Apple Pest Control.